Wolves' bite too big for Knights

A 10-try blitz of York saw Warrington ease into the fifth round of the Carnegie Challenge Cup at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday.

Warrington romped home 56-10 against the Knights, who finished the match with 12 men after prop Danny Ekis was sent off on 64 minutes.

The Championship One part-timers caused an early shock after Simon Grix gave Warrington a second-minute lead from Chris Bridge's pass

A burst from John Oakes ended with Danny Ratcliffe crossing for the visitors and Richard Knight converted to give York a 6-4 lead over their Super League opponents.

But Ben Harrison then put Vinnie Anderson over to regain the advantage before scoring himself, with Hicks adding the extras on both occasions.

An opportunist try by Paul Hughes midway through the first half cut the gap to 16-10 but Ben Westwood crashed over for Warrington's fourth after 26 minutes.

Praise

Jon Clarke then put Michael Cooper over for his first try of the season to take the hosts into the half-time break with a 28-10 lead.

Bridge scored on 48 minutes to make it 34-10 and, following the dismissal of Ekis, York were unable stem the tide, Lee Briers, Vinnie Anderson, Louis Anderson and Paul Johnson all crossing before the whistle.

It was a third win in a row for coach Tony Smith, who singled out prop Garreth Carvell and Ben Westwood, both returning after five-match absences, for special praise.

Smith said: "They were the two best players on the field," he said. "We were professional with the ball and scored some nice tries.

"We were a little patchy in the first half with three errors but lifted it in the second half. The job went well.

Smith also paid tribute to a gutsy perforrmance by their part-time opponents.

Feisty

He added: "York have two cheeky little brothers in Paul and David March who probably annoy their own mother!"

"They were feisty and had a go and can be proud of themselves."

York director of rugby James Ratcliffe said: "It's hard enough playing against a Super League team with 13 players never mind 12 but four tries conceded in the last 10 minutes didn't do us justice.

"It was a valiant effort from our lads. It was a very good performance against world-class stars and full-time opposition. Hopefully it will prove a springboard for our season."