BARROW Raiders head coach Paul Crarey labelled his side’s 20-6 victory over York City Knights as “brutal” as they earned their sixth win on the spin in North Yorkshire, writes Chris Jackson.

The Raiders made the long trek home in jubilant mood after edging a low-scoring encounter which was evenly balanced heading into the dying stages of the game.

Despite dominating the first half, the Raiders only had Chris Hankinson’s try to show for their efforts and after Russ Spiers levelled matters for the Knights early in the second half, it was likely both sides may have to settle for a share of the spoils.

However, Eze Harper’s brace late on turned the tide of the game in the Raiders’ favour before Brad Crellin put the icing on the cake with another score, with just seconds remaining – to the delight of Crarey.

“We bombed a few chances in the first half when the ball didn’t just go to hand, so when they came back into the game at six all, it was game on,” Crarey admitted.

“For 20 minutes, it was just a game of chess, we were kicking to the corners, they were kicking to the corners. It was about who made the mistake.

“We knew if we stayed in their half long enough, we would get the break and that break came.

“The game was brutal at times. I take my hat off to James Ford (York coach) and his team. They have been through a lot. A draw would have been a fair result but we are very happy to take the points.”

Crarey admits his side are starting to hit their straps as they approach the business end of their League One campaign and in a game which mirrored the rugby league games of old, the Barrow head coach hinted his side may just developed that winning formula at the right time of the campaign.

“From both sides, it was a real quality game, as both sides had completion rates of over 80 percent. These are the games why you play rugby league, to test yourself against the best in the division,” Crarey added.

“York are a well-structured and well-organised side and a little bit of adversity makes you stronger and I knew they would play with a passion.

“The scoreline possibly did not reflect how tough that game was. It could have gone either way but we have a winning culture going at the moment and sometimes that’s hard to break. We fought and dug in and I cannot praise the lads enough.

“As a club we are reaping the rewards we have put in over the season.

“We are the form team. We have gone to second, third and fourth placed teams and got results. It’s onwards and upwards for us but it’s important we keep our feet on the ground.”

MATCH FACTS

RAIDERS: Ryan Fieldhouse, Eze Harper, Cameron Pitman, Max Wiper, Chris Fleming, Chris Hankinson, Jamie Dallimore, Joe Bullock, Nathan Mossop, Oliver Wilkes, Liam Harrison, Brad Crellin, Martin Aspinwall. Subs (all used): Dan Abram, Anthony Bate, Matty Holmes, Brad Brennan.

KNIGHTS: Richard Wilkinson, Tommy Saxton, Ed Smith, James Morland, Ben Dent, Johnny Presley, Pat Smith, Mark Applegarth, Kris Brining, Jack Aldous, Josh Tonks, Matty Dale, Mike Emmett. Subs (all used): Harry Carter, Russ Spiers, Andy Smith, Brad Hey.

Referee: Warren Turley

Attendance: 664

Penalty count: York City Knights 7 Barrow Raiders 4 PLAYBACK

36 MINUTES: Chris Hankinson try, Hankinson conv 6-0 43 MINUTES: Russ Spiers try, James Morland conv 6-6 71 MINUTES: Eze Harper try 10-6 74 MINUTES: Harper try 14-6 80 MINUTES: Brad Crellin try, Hankinson conv 20-6

STARMAN OLIVER WILKES- The Raiders were pack were immense on the day, with Wilkes leading by example as always.