KEEPING the pressure on is the aim of York Lokomotive ARLC this weekend at Barnsley Broncos.

The Lokos were pegged back from 18-6 to 18-18 in their hard fought match against Moorend Thorne Marauders last weekend but still jumped into second place in the RL Conference’s Yorkshire Premier (East) division.

Now they travel to South Yorkshire looking for maximum points in pursuit of leaders Scarborough Pirates, who are a point ahead in the table with a game in hand.

Lokos led against Moorend with tries from Jon Hough and Zach Hardy, taking an 8-6 advantage into the break.

In the second period, York went further ahead thanks to a score from ex-York City Knights player Declan Malarkey as the Lokos took control of the game.

Arran Thompson darted under the posts to extend the advantage but the visitors drew level with three late tries – two of which came from contentious refereeing decisions.

With seconds remaining, Tom Storey tried a drop goal from 45 metres out which only just missed the left hand upright and York were forced to accept a draw.

Coach Paul McDermott said: “We had the game won with 15 minutes to go. We were 18-6 in front and Thorne were on the back foot. We defended heroically again on our line and played some very attractive rugby, but we failed to deal with Thorne’s main strike player who ran amok and in the last 15 they battled back for the draw. “It was definitely a point lost, it felt like a loss. This is a very competitive league, with only Scarborough having an ‘edge’. “If the Lokos are to be successful then, we have to find an ‘edge’ ourselves.”