YORK CITY KNIGHTS 4 CELTIC CRUSADERS 26

By Ian Golden - http://www.crusadersrl.com

Celtic Crusaders returned to the top of the Co-operative National League Two table after recording a hard-fought 26-4 victory over York City Knights at Huntington Stadium on Sunday.

The match was played in torrential rain throughout the majority of the match and the fact that there were 17 scrums in the game compared to just six tries tells us why the scoreline was a lot lower than your average Crusaders run-out.

The Crusaders took better advantage of the conditions, out-playing and out-muscling their Yorkshire opponents and never really looked like losing, while their small loyal band of travelling fans out-sang the quiet Knights home support who were watching their team suffer their fifth defeat on the bounce.

Crusaders took the lead on five minutes after Luke Young laid off to Tony Duggan who played the York defence a dummy before easily running through to score. Damien Quinn kicked the tricky conversion.

A second try was thought to have been scored by Darren Mapp less than five minutes later but it was controversially cancelled out by the touchjudge for a knock-on. Paul Ballard also got near but he dropped the ball under pressure while driving for the try-line.

The Crusaders eventually crossed again on 18 minutes. Duggan made the break and created a gap for Welsh international Richard Johnston who scored under the sticks. Quinn’s kick made it 12-0.

A 40-20 from Jace Van Dijk led to a third try straight from kick-off. From the resulting scrum, Duggan was stopped metres from the line but from the play-the-ball, Mark Dalle Cort forced his way over.

York got back into the game four minutes before the interval. Ballard mishandled again and Ian Brown pounced on the loose ball to set up Dan Potter.

However balance was restored just before the hooter when Van Dijk ran in from a scrum to score under the posts. Quinn converted to put the half-time score on 22-4.

The rain that had been hammering down for a lot of the match, increased in the second half making conditions slippery and reducing the number of points scored.

Jimmy Elston was denied an early second-half try back for York. He pounced on a grubber kick to ground but the ref had called him back, disallowing the try for a knock-on.

Crusaders took advantage of their let-off and immediately responded with the only score of the second period. Duggan was again the play-maker, setting up Welsh international Anthony Blackwood who did well to barge through and score.

The Welsh side had their chances to increase their lead further but to no avail.
Duggan was denied his second try on the hour after Johnston’s pass to him was judged to have been forward. The influential full-back was also stopped in his tracks by a try-saving Lee Mapals tackle when he ran 60-metres after Johnston caught a Matty Brooks penalty that was heading for touch.

Chris Beasley was also unlucky when his dive onto a grubber kick was just a little too late as the ball bounced over the dead-ball line.

Crusaders’ Operations Manager Gerald McCarthy was happy with the result.

“I’m very pleased,” he said. “Especially after losing narrowly against Oldham last week. To come back and beat another team that was relegated from NL1 last season is a great achievement. All of the team played well but especially Tony Duggan who made some good runs and Chris Beasley who made some great hits – he was outstanding today.”

Knights: Mick Cook, George Rayner, Tom Dunmore, Dan Potter, Chris Spurr, Lee Mapals, Jonny Lidley, Matty Brooks, Dave Buckley, Jarmaine Wray, Adam Sullivan, Ian Brown, Ryan Esders, Rob Spicer. Subs: Jimmy Elston, Stephen Grundy, Toby Williams, Nathan Priestley.

Tries: Potter (36)
Goals: Dunmore 0/1

Crusaders: Tony Duggan, Richard Johnston, Anthony Blackwood, Mark Dalle Cort, Paul Ballard, Luke Young, Jace Van Dijk, Josh Cale, Andy Boothroyd, Phil Cushion, Chris Beasley, Darren Mapp, Damien Quinn. Subs: Geraint Davies, Jamie I’Anson, Dean Fitzgerald, Hywel Davies.

Tries: Duggan (5), Johnston (18), Dalle Cort (21), Van Dijk (40), Blackwood (51)
Goals: Quinn 3/5

Attendance: 1,444
Half-time: 4-22
Referee: Jamie Leahy (Dewsbury)

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