York City Knights get survival lifeline with Halifax victory

Thorman kicked five goals for York on his return from injury

York City Knights kept their hopes of escaping relegation from the Championship alive with a 22-8 win over Halifax at the Huntington Stadium.

The Knights now lie eighth, four points clear of bottom club Toulouse, after three tries ensured a surprise win.

Coach Dave Woods told BBC Radio York: "It was a tremendous effort. We came up with silly errors and tried the big plays and some of them didn't come off.

"But we stuck to it right to the end and congratulations to all of them."

Woods added: "I don't think it's just the 17. I think it's the blokes that didn't play tonight, all of them in the reserve grade that are pushing these fellas and working just as hard.

"It was a tremendous effort from everyone and a great result for the club."

The game saw the return of Chris Thorman who had been ruled out with a broken thumb since the win at Dewsbury in June.

Woods continued: "Chris is invaluable to us. He's played at test level and his experience is great.

"But I don't think we can take anything away from the young blokes that have been out there doing the job.

"We have missed him but we can't rely on him every week so we need to make sure we take some pressure off him and to be fair the boys did that tonight."

The win moves York three points clear of the relegation zone, with their final game being a trip to Sheffield Eagles on 4 September.

Woods commented: "It's a long way away. It's a shame it's not next weekend but it gives us a bit of time to recoup and get some good training in again."