GOOD Friday? Bad Friday more like.

York City Knights not only began their Co-op National League Two season with a shock 26-18 defeat to Northern Rail Cup whipping-boys Gateshead, but they also suffered yet more injury woe.

The Knights' performance was at times shoddy and, when the players realised the game was slipping away, panicky.

And the loss, and the manner of it, immediately brings into question the Knights' promotion credentials.

Those credentials have not been aided by a growing injury list, now joined by Chris Spurr, a star performer so far this term, who went to hospital for X-rays on his right ankle, and John Smith, who has problems with his knee and back.

Ian Brown also felt his hamstring, though in better news Dan Potter should be back for Monday's home game against London Skolars (3pm) which now takes on added importance.

Much of Knights fans' frustrations yesterday will be aimed at fussy referee Paul Carr, arguably the most prominent man on the field, whose not-so-merry whistleblowing and bizarre calls broke up proceedings and played largely into Gateshead's hands, with the underdogs happy to take any fluidity out of the game.

But the Knights can only blame themselves for some poor execution, including the bombing of two gilt-edged chances, and an increasing lack of composure, a result perhaps of misplaced early complacency.

The first quarter was scoreless, which was probably a fair reflection on proceedings. But from York's point of view, the game was at least played mainly in home territory, and the pressure told when Scott Rhodes broke into a small gap and gave the scoring pass to George Rayner, who just reached the line.

Jamaine Wray hit the post with the conversion attempt - indeed his goalkicking was indifferent throughout, with only one successful conversion - but his nimble footwork, and that of Rhodes, in centrefield against more cumbersome opponents kept York in the ascendancy.

Nonetheless, the Knights needed to be more clinical in attack, most notably when Ian Brown failed to find winger Lee Mapals with the line beckoning.

They were made to pay when, after Gateshead's first bit of real pressure, more than half an hour in, second-row Nick Hyde sidestepped Tabua Cakacaka and reached the posts, Ryan Clarke converting for a 6-4 half-time lead.

Cakacaka had been passed fit, as was the returning Joe Helme, so, although the Knights were without several other crocks, as highlighted previously in The Press, Cook still had two big props to put on the bench for some extra size and power. The game was so stop-start it barely mattered.

Elsewhere, Ryan Esders, the Press man of the match at Huddersfield last week, was carrying a knock so was left out, with fit-again Brown returning at centre.

Cook's threequarter line had to be reshuffled again during the game, though, as both Spurr and Brown limped off. Nathan Priestley and Rayner filled in (though Brown later returned), with Jonny Liddell switching to full-back.

Jim Elston, who went to loose-forward in the reshuffle, should have regained the lead for York four minutes after the restart when Helme gave him the ball in front of the posts, but he somehow fumbled it, and Gateshead went up the other end for winger Danny Wilson to increase their advantage.

The try brought more urgency to the Knights and Elston made up for his gaffe when going in from dummy-half for Wray to equalise with the conversion.

The try came after referee Carr gave us all a lesson in the rules as he allowed play-on after Wray had gathered the ball from a massively offside position. It was deemed the ball had come loose from an attempted one-on-one steal by Thunder, so there was no offside.

York, though, did not take advantage of their good fortune and instead slipped into sloppiness: the players watched each other at the restart, the ball bounced out and, after the dropout and further Gateshead pressure, Jonny Scott scored.

Rhodes provided a breakthrough at the other end, sending out a pass to Lingard, who passed back inside for Rayner to score.

But Gateshead were allowed to hit back through Matt Walton, with Clarke's third conversion putting them two scores ahead.

With Andy Gargan ineffective at scrum-half, the Knights needed stand-off Rhodes for late inspiration, but his frustration got the better of him when he wasn't given a penalty for holding down.

Indeed, Carr instead punished him for backchat, as well as Rayner for daring to question his bizarre decision-making, and on the back of the penalties, Clarke scrambled over to secure the win, notwithstanding Rayner's hat-trick try from a charge-down which at least ensured the Knights a bonus point.

Match facts

Co-op National League Two Good Friday, April 6, 2007 at Kingston ParkThunder: Thorman, Walton, Stephenson, Rutherford, Wilson, Martin, Till, Scott, Clarke, Bradley, Wooden, Hyde, Harris. Subs (all used): Peers, Metcafe, Barron, Doherty.

Tries: Hyde 35; Wilson 45; Scott 56; Walton 68; Clarke 74. Conversions: Clarke 35, 56, 68. Penalties: None. Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: None. Sent off: None.

Knights: Rayner 6, Mapals 6, Brown 5, C Spurr 6, Lingard 6, Rhodes 6, Gargan 5, Williams 6, Wray 6, Sullivan 6, Buckley 6, Priestley 5, Liddell 5. Subs (all used) Elston 6, Smith 5, Cakacaka 5, Helme 5.

Tries: Rayner 24, 65, 76; Elston 51. Conversions: Wray 51. Penalties: None. Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: None. Sent off: None.

Man of the match: George Rayner - his hat-trick at least ensured the Knights a bonus point. Jamaine Wray and Scott Rhodes were up there but blotted their copybooks with, respectively, missed conversions and uncontrolled frustration.

Referee: Paul Carr (Castleford). Rating: Fussy and churlish, as if he was reffing unruly children.

Penalty count: 8-6.

HT: 6-4.

Gamebreaker: Ryan Clarke's 74th-minute try, after penalties against Scott Rhodes and George Rayner for back-chat, put Gateshead 12 points up.

Moment of the match: A hat-trick for George Rayner was nice, probably.

Attendance: 557 Weather: Pleasant.

Match rating: Terrible.