YORK Knights head coach Andrew Henderson was left delighted yesterday evening, labelling side’s performance against Betfred Championship play-off hopefuls Halifax Panthers as “incredible”.

With defeats to runaway leaders Featherstone Rovers and fellow strugglers Whitehaven - the latter by a mere two points on Wednesday evening - York were a side transformed to defy the odds and claim a crucial two points.

Former Toulouse Olympique half-back Louis Jouffret had controlled proceedings for the visitors during the first half but the Knights dug in deep to fight back before a stunning 85-metre solo effort from winger AJ Towse turned the tide in their favour and Myles Harrison sealed a fantastic victory with five minutes remaining.

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With tired bodies and many left dejected by the manner of their beating in Cumbria, this performance was among York’s best this season, and provides them with a strong platform ahead of their trip to Henderson’s old employers, Keighley Cougars, in another basement battle on Sunday (3pm). 

“I thought that it was a fantastic win,” he enthused. “It was a huge performance from the team.

“To think that in the last month we’ve had to play the top three teams in Featherstone at Summer Bash, Batley away and Sheffield away on a five-fay turnaround and all with a disrupted and disjointed team.

“Then to back up a week after that and face Leigh in the Quarter Final of the Challenge Cup and put a huge effort into that one, again with 16 fit players, and to play Featherstone, top of the table, again here with a three day turnaround where we had to travel up to Cumbria and we got narrowly pipped to the post. Then to come back here four days later and lift again.

“It’s been an incredible performance from the team.

“The condition that they’re in physically, you’d think that they’d be broken come today and they wouldn’t be able to come again, but boy were we wrong!

“They lifted and they lifted, and they performed outstandingly well today.

“I thought that across the board it was one of our best performances of the season.

“Defensively, I thought for large parts that we were in control and comfortable, and with the ball I thought that we were excellent.”