RUNNING up the infamous Mount Pleasant hill is no fun at the best of times.

But when hosts Batley are running down it with pace and purpose, it becomes even less fun.

So it proved yesterday as York City Knights lost their crucial bottom-of-the-table clash 41-34 to increase the pressure on boss Mick Cook.

The Knights fought back in the second half with the slope and wind, but the first half in which Batley led 34-4 and looked far better than their results would suggest had done the damage.

And to rub salt into the wound, the Knights' horrendous injury problems deepened as Craig Farrell was stretchered off in obvious pain in the last minute.

Batley had targeted this game for two points and it showed before the break. York had done likewise but, by all accounts, what they did in training did not transmit onto the pitch.

Against the hill and tricky wind, York needed the kind of defence that stood up so well against Huddersfield last week. But they didn't produce it.

Slack tackling saw home winger Michael Wainwright cross in the corner, before a set move put Batley's record try-scorer, Craig Lingard, over, Steve Jones adding the first of his six conversions. Then, after Jones missed a simple penalty, Mark Toohey went in all too easily, and a 60-metre attack was finished well by Andy Boothroyd for a 22-0 lead.

Giving away four penalties in that opening quarter did not help, though York were grateful Ben Thaler's whistle disallowed a fifth home try for offside and then awarded York a scrum 15 yards out.

This led to the Knights' sole first-half reply as scrum-half Paul Thorman's excellent pass saw Neil Law finish superbly.

Thorman's inclusion had been queried by supporters, no matter that he had had a decent game against Huddersfield. Most had wanted Phil Hasty to return but he was again omitted there has been no news of injury so one can assume he has been left out purely on merit, be that for his on-field or off-field form.

Fellow former Hull KR player Mark Blanchard was also out, as 18th man, with Cook selecting Farrell as a substitute second-row instead, Farrell moving inside following the return of wingers Austin Buchanan and Peter Fox.

Cook's biggest gamble, however, was the inclusion of centre Chris Spurr after just 80 minutes of Academy action following his long injury trouble.

That gamble paid off as the former Bulldog was solid and got a second-half try his lengthy battle for fitness had deserved. York, however, had given themselves too much to do by that stage.

When they did have the ball in the first half, it was important they produced a good kicking game, but neither half-back got the uphill angles right nor the downhill ones for that matter and after one Thorman kick failed to cause trouble, Lingard scored again, before Toohey sold James Ward a dummy for a 34-4 interval lead. That became 40-4 when a John Smith high tackle gave the hosts a platform from which Martin McLoughlin blasted in.

York thereafter showed fire and excellent ball skills to make a game of it. Jamaine Wray won a penalty and Scott Rhodes ghosted in, Thorman goaling his first of five. Then a wonderful attack ended with Rhodes firing Farrell in.

Tenacious home defence halted York's momentum until Smith came to the party with good skills and then a better finish.

The penalty count eked up in York's favour and, from one, Rhodes ran across the line, with Spurr taking the long pass and scoring out wide.

Toohey dropped a goal to leave York needing three scores, two after Buchanan finished superbly. But York ran out of time, no matter that Law had a last-minute try ruled out for a forward pass.

Batley: C Lingard, Lindsay, Marns, Jones, Wainwright, Gallagher, Duffy, Rourke, Boothroyd, Grayshon, Richardson, Spears, Toohey. Subs (all used): Lythe, McLoughlin, Henderson, Marsh. Tries: Wainwright 7; Lingard 12, 34; Toohey 16, 40; Boothroyd 17; McLoughlin 46. Conversions: Jones 12, 16, 17, 34, 40, 46. Penalties: None. Drop-goals: Toohey 70.

Sin-binned: None. Sent off: None.

Kinghts: Blaymire 6, Buchanan 6, Spurr 7, Law 6, Fox 5, Rhodes 6, Thorman 6, Sullivan 6, Liddell 6, Bates 5, Smith 6, Buckley 7, Paterson 6. Subs (all used): Wray 7, Farrell 6, Ward 5, Helme 6. Tries: Law 26; Rhodes 49; Farrell 51; Smith 61; Spurr 63; Buchanan 72. Conversions: Thorman 49, 51, 61, 63, 72.

Penalties: None. Drop-goals: None.

Sin-binned: None. Sent off: None.

Man of the match: David Buckley The in-form Aussie was York's stand-out player in the first half and worked hard in the second.

HT: 34-4 Referee: Ben Thaler (Castleford) Rating: All right.

Penalty count: 7-8 Attendance: 825 Gamebreaker: Batley's clinical scoring with the slope in the first half.

Moment of the match: Chris Spurr ended his long injury nightmare with a well-taken second-half try.

Weather watch: Windy but pleasant.

Match rating: A great first half for home fans was followed by a fired-up second half, but ultimate disappointment, for the visitors.