York Knights move out of relegation zone after beating Halifax 40-18

The Knights’ start was as bright as the scorching sunshine at the LNER Community Stadium with early tries from AJ Towse, Ukuma Ta’ai and Josh Daley firing them into a 16-point lead midway through the opening half.

Halifax did respond through Adam Tangata on the stroke of half time, but Andrew Henderson’s side crucially struck first after the break through debutant Davy Litten and Joe Brown to extend their advantage as the Panthers’ defensive frailties continued.

Though guilty of overplaying at times amid their unfamiliar advantage - seeing Halifax hit back twice in the space of five minutes - Jimmy Keinhorst’s late try from range proved to be the icing on the cake for just their second win of the league season.

Swinton Lions now await the Knights next weekend, but it remains to be seen whether they can make it back-to-back wins against a team that they put 40 points past at Heywood Road last season.

MATCH RECAP: York Knights 40-18 Halifax Panthers

Henderson made four changes to the side that started last weekend’s AB Sundecks 1895 Cup semi-final, including giving Hull FC loanee Litten a debut at full-back in place of the suspended Will Dagger.

Taylor Pemberton started alongside the influential Ata Hingano in the halves – his inclusion in the position the common denominator between the Knights’ two wins this season – whilst Jesse Dee returned from a bicep injury to start in the second row and Will Jubb was reinstated at hooker.

Franklin Pele, the Knights’ second on-loan Hull FC player to join this week, was named on the bench, but impressed in a lengthy stint.

Halifax saw their own injury problems worsen, with star Louis Jouffret coming off with injury early on, followed by James Woodburn-Hall.

Pemberton had hinted that the Knights were looking come out of the blocks well earlier in the week, and that is exactly what they did.

Halifax’s defensive frailties were brought to the fore from the very first set as Jouffret mis-fielded Hingano’s swirling kick, with the ball bouncing off his chest and into the arms of a grateful Towse, who was brought down just short.

From the next tackle, the Knights went central before turning back to the left edge, with the former Heworth winger stepping inside and crashing over into the corner with just two minutes on the clock.

AJ Towse opened the scoring with just two minutes on the clock. (Image: Alan Milner/Milner Creative/York RLFC)

With regular kickers Liam Harris and Nikau Williams both injured, Pemberton took over kicking duties, but could not quite curl the ball round from the touchline.

That was the first time that the Knights had struck first in five matches, and they threatened to extend that lead further when Keinhorst was tackled without the ball three minutes later, but Towse could only watch on as a pass in his direction instead flew into touch.

Such was the Knights’ early dominance, Halifax did not have their first set until the seventh minute, but though they worked the ball well across the line, Ben Tibbs lost the ball under pressure from debutant Litten.

The young full-back’s knock-on then presented Liam Finn’s side with their first real opportunity, but York stood up well to the test of their try-line defence.

The hosts saw opportunities continue to fall their way, with Woodburn-Hall bundled into touch on his 10-metre line before Connor Bailey broke through the Halifax defence, but they did not extend their advantage until the 17th minute.

Having seen another Hingano kick cause havoc among the Halifax ranks, Ta’ai profited, gathering the loose ball before burrowing underneath the posts.

Pemberton slotted over the conversion with ease, going on to score all five of his subsequent attempts.

Daley was introduced at nine as the Knights looked to continue that momentum, and he had an instant impact.

Less than a minute later, he was across the whitewash to the right of the posts, twisting and turning out of a tackle after Hingano’s surging run through the Halifax defence.

Josh Daley made an instant impact off the bench, going on to score twice against the Panthers. (Image: Alan Milner/Milner Creative/York RLFC)

The Panthers lost Jouffret on the 25-minute mark to a knock, though continued to see their chances, with the Knights misfielding Gareth Widdop’s kick to the right corner setting up a scrum on the 10-metre line, but Joe Keyes could not keep hold of the ball.

York lost Tom Lineham to a bicep injury on the half-hour, forcing Bailey into the centres and Conor Fitzsimmons into the back row, with Halifax hitting back on the stroke of half time after a slice of luck.

Hingano could not get a clean connection to his kick on his 40-metre line, with Jacob Fairbank chasing down the ball before playing in the supporting Tangata to race beneath the posts.

With the gap closed to 10 points, it was imperative that the Knights scored first after the break, with a quick-fire double ultimately putting the game out of Halifax’s reach, despite Bailey seeing another effort ruled out.

First, Litten pounced on a loose ball into the left corner after James Saltonstall had missed Hingano’s kick, before Brown profited from another poor pass to run from his own 20-metre line to score next to the posts.

Joe Brown scored a stunning long-range effort shortly after the break. (Image: Alan Milner/Milner Creative/York RLFC)

Things bettered still for Henderson’s side with 56 minutes played, as after another Halifax mistake inside their 10-metre line, the Knights went right to Daley, who proved too hot to handle to complete his brace with a dummy half scoot.

The Panthers though continued to battle on, perhaps making the scoreline more flattering as overconfidence opened up mistakes in York’s play.

Litten’s mistake from a grubber saw Saltonstall feed Ed Barber to cut the gap, and the former was involved once again after a rapid break on the right edge, playing the ball back inside for Zack McComb to race beneath the posts.

But it was the Knights who had the last word with a little over a minute and a half remaining, Keinhorst the beneficiary from another poor Halifax offload to race from halfway to score into the left corner to round off a fantastic afternoon.

YORK KNIGHTS; Litten, Brown, Lineham, Keinhorst, Towse, Hingano, Pemberton, Ta’ai, Jubb, Santi, Dee, Bailey, Thompson.

INTERCHANGES: Fitzsimmons, Teanby, Daley, Pele

TRIES: Towse (2), Ta’ai (17), Daley (21, 56), Litten (42), Brown (49), Keinhorst (78)

GOALS: Pemberton 6/7

HALIFAX PANTHERS: Jouffret, Saltonstall, Woodburn-Hall, Barber, Tibbs, Widdop, Keyes, Douglas, Johnson, Larroyer, Davies, Gee, McComb.

INTERCHANGES: Tangata, Fairbank, Lannon, Hursey.

TRIES: Tangata (38), Barber (66), McComb (71)

GOALS: Widdop 3/3

POINTS SEQUENCE: 4-0, 8-0, 10-0, 14-0, 16-0, 16-4, 16-6, 20-6, 22-6, 26-6, 28-6, 32-6, 34-6, 34-10, 34-12, 34-16, 34-18, 38-18, 40-18.

HALF TIME: 16-6

YORK’S STAR MAN: Ata Hingano. Halifax did not know how to deal with his kicking game, which played a crucial role. Special mention too to Josh Daley, who was excellent during his stint at hooker.

REFEREE: Liam Rush