THE chants of “Wem-ber-ley, Wem-ber-ley!” rang out from the travelling Barrow Raiders support when the full-time hooter sounded at Bootham Crescent as they celebrated victory in a pulsating Challenge Cup tie which had pretty much everything.

In truth, it is unlikely the Raiders will get much nearer the showpiece final at the famous London venue than the next round – particularly if they happen to draw one of the big boys from Super League in tomorrow's draw.

No matter though. Why not allow the supporters the chance to dream? This year does, after all, mark the 50th anniversary of Barrow's last appearance in the final of the oldest domestic knock-out competition in rugby league.

This year also marks 10 years since they were last beaten by York City Knights, with yesterday's encounter being the 12th time in that period they have tried and failed to overcome the Raiders. Yet the final score of 50-28 does not quite tell the story of how they came close to doing just that.

Having trailed by two points at the interval, York seized the initiative against a somewhat out-of-sorts Barrow side when play resumed and had established a 28-20 lead thanks to two tries from centre James Haynes.

Had Haynes not had a third score controversially ruled out for an obstruction with just over a quarter of an hour remaining – and even Raiders head coach Paul Crarey conceded afterwards it perhaps should have stood – then it may well have been James Ford's side celebrating.

But on such moments games can turn and as they have shown many times already this season, Barrow do not need a second invitation. Indeed, the resulting penalty gave them field position which set up Declan Hulme to send over Dan Toal for his second try of the match and restore their lead – a position they never looked back from.

It must be remembered too that three of the visitors' tries also came in the closing minutes when York's impressive goal-kicking scrum-half Harry Tyson-Wilson had been sin-binned for throwing a punch at Nathan Mossop, perhaps as much as anything out of frustration at some of the borderline refereeing decisions which went against them.

But in matches such as this, it is ultimately about getting through to the next round and not so much how you do it, with Barrow rediscovering their cool amid the red-hot atmosphere both on and off the field.

That was thanks in no small part to the contribution of Luke Cresswell, who has proved to be one of the revelations of the season. He again showed his finishing prowess with four tries, a contribution which would prove invaluable.

Of course, after three minutes it seemed as if it might be somewhat more straightforward, with rampaging second row Jarrad Stack breaking the line and then sending former Workington Town team-mate Hulme racing away from around 50 metres out to score under the posts.

It then took some sterling defence from York to defy the Raiders from a spell of pressure created when Shane Toal kicked down the touchline from broken play and forced a drop-out.

And after turning defence into attack, a high kick from Tyson-Wilson found pacey winger Dee Foggin-Johnston in acres of space behind the Barrow defensive line and he duly raced away to score, with the half-back's conversion levelling up the match on 11 minutes.

But winger Toal pushed the away side back in front with an unconverted score out wide after being set up by Ryan Fieldhouse, and then the elder Toal brother – handed his first start of 2017 in place of the injured Bradd Crellin – then got in on the act as well, finishing under the posts to give Lewis Charnock a simple conversion after Mossop had charged through a gap.

Another kick from Tyson-Wilson, this time a grubber, unlocked the Barrow defence again on 24 minutes though, with Nev Morrison the grateful recipient after picking up and dotting down for another converted try.

James Duerden's first act of the interchange bench helped set up the response from the Raiders as it was his carry and offload which led to Andy Litherland providing the final pass for Cresswell's first unconverted try four minutes later.

But despite being ahead, Barrow were not at their fluent best and York carved out several openings, and although Ben Dent was dragged down just short by some last-gasp defending, the ball was quickly moved to Joe Porter for him to crash over for a third converted try.

Charnock then missed a penalty shot at goal on the stroke of half time following a high tackle on Jarrad Stack, followed by Haynes running in his two tries early in the second half as handling errors by the Raiders started to mount.

Cresswell's second, converted from the touchline by Charnock, saw Barrow claw to within two points on 55 minutes though and then followed Toal's second 10 minutes later on the back of that controversial obstruction call by referee John McMullen, who did not endear himself to anyone of the York persuasion.

Cresswell's hat-trick try on 67 minutes ensured Barrow were well and truly in the ascendancy, with the writing on the wall when Tyson-Wilson was shown a yellow card for his punch.

A fourth from Cresswell, plus one apiece for Mossop and Tom Walker saw Barrow put some gloss on the final score by reaching the half-century of points, and they now await to see what the sixth-round draw brings.

York City Knights: Ben Dent; Dee Foggin Johnston; Neville Morrison, James Haynes, Tommy Saxton; Liam Harris, Harry Tyson-Wilson; Keiran Moran, Andy Ellis, Chris Siddons, Brad Hey, Joe Porter, Tim Spears. Interchange: Harry Carter, Bobby Tyson-Wilson, Rohan Dixon, Brad Clavering.

Barrow Raiders: Ryan Fieldhouse 7; Shane Toal 7, Declan Hulme 7, Andy Litherland 6, Luke Cresswell 9; Lewis Charnock 7, Brad Marwood 6; Joe Bullock 6, Nathan Mossop 7, Ollie Wilkes 6, Dan Toal 8, Jarrad Stack 7, Martin Aspinwall 7. Interchange: Dan Abram 6, Tom Walker 6, James Duerden 7, Brad Brennan 7.

Referee: John McMullen.

Sin-bin: York City Knights: Harry Tyson-Wilson (71, punching).

Attendance: 904.

Playback: 3 – Hulme try, Charnock con (0-6); 11 – Foggin-Johnston try, H Tyson-Wilson con (6-6);han 14 – S Toal try (6-10); 17 – D Toal try, Charnock con (6-16); 24 – Morrison try, Tyson-Wilson con (12-16); 28 – Cresswell try (12-20); 32 – Porter try, Tyson-Wilson con (18-20); 42 – Haynes try, Tyson-Wilson con (24-20); 50 – Haynes try (28-20); 55 – Cresswell try, Charnock con (28-26); 62 – D Toal try, Charnock con (28-32); 67 – Cresswell try (28-36); 74 – Cresswell try (28-40); 78 – Mossop try, Charnock con (28-46); 80 – Walker try (28-50).

Raiders star man: Luke Cresswell: The former Barrow Island amateur underlined what a deadly finisher he is with an impressive four-try haul which proved crucial for the Raiders.