After both suffering losses in the opening round of the Betfred Championship, it was a meeting of the York City Knights and Dewsbury Rams from the LNER Stadium for a Yorkshire derby between the sides separated by just over forty miles.
Both sides ended their 2021 seasons outside the play-off places and needed the confidence boost of a first win in 2022 to get their first points on the board, coaches James Ford and Lee Greenwood knew the importance of the fixture.
Dewsbury opened the scoring on twelve after a tip tackle on Ross Peltier by York as Matty Beharrell drilled his penalty goal over the cross bar in awful weather conditions.
The City Knights should have been in on twenty but Brendan O´Hagan was unable to collect a kick through with the try line begging.
The first try of the game finally came on twenty-eight minutes after some good hands from York as they progressed downfield through Will Oakes who found Matty Marsh with a pinpoint past pass to make it through the defensive line and score by the posts. Jamie Ellis added the conversion to put the home side 6-2 ahead.
On thirty-eight a Beharrell kick was grounded by Michael Knowles from an offside position as the half back chased his own kick. It should have been the levelling try but the sides went into the interval separated by four points in what was a close game.
A sensational run from Will Oakes down the wing saw him illegally pushed into touch by the Rams tacklers with the home side awarded the penalty.
On fifty-nine Pauli Pauli probed the Rams defence and held them at bay before offloading to Jamie Ellis to easily glide through a gap and score, the York half back added the conversion himself for some daylight between the sides at 12-2.
A weaving run by Jack Logan was halted twenty metres short of the line but a fast play the ball saw Sam Davis force his way over the line for the third York try of the afternoon. As Ellis added the conversion the City Knights were pulling clear and heading for their first win of the season.
A delightful try with Brendan O´Hagan chasing down his own grubber kick to ground and put the outcome of the game beyond any doubt. Ellis added the conversion for 24-2 with just a handful of minutes remaining on the game clock.
Chris Clarkson picked up a walk-in try after collecting an Ellis kick, the City Knights turning on the style as the last minutes of the game ebbed away. Ellis added the conversion, completing a faultless afternoon with the ball, for a 30-2 win.
York had to absorb some early Rams pressure and go behind on the scoreboard, but once they got a foothold in the game there was no going back. The game was controlled by the half-backs O´Hagan and Ellis, both of whom got their rewards with points. Its York with their first points of the season and the Rams who have lost their opening two.
York City Knights: Marsh (T), Brown, Glover, Logan, Oakes, O´Hagan (T), Ellis (T, 5G), Matongo, Jubb, Michael, Clarkson (T), Kirmond, Thompson. Subs: Davis (T), Teanby, Dixon, Pauli.
Dewsbury Rams: Turner, Gabriel, Ryder, Graham, Dixon, Beharrell (G), Sweeting, Peltier, Speakman, Beckett, Walton, Knowles, Annakin. Subs: Butterworth, Magrin, Ferguson, Kidd.
Half-Time: 6-2.
Full-Time: 30-2.
Score Progression: 0-2, 4-2, 6-2 : HT : 10-2, 12-2, 16-2, 18-2, 22-2, 24-2, 28-2, 30-2 : FT .
Referee: Tom Grant.
