MARK APPLEGARETH praised the “cool heads” who got York Knights over the line in their play-off semi-final win over Halifax Panthers.
York progressed to their first Championship Grand Final, but a 20th consecutive victory in all competitions was earned the hard way as they defied a late fightback.
Samoan fullback Toa Mata’afa settled matters with a try and Applegarth said: “Luckily we had a cool head.
“Liam (Harris) and Toa at the end showed exactly why they are two of the best players in this comp and they came up with a clutch play when we needed it.
“I’ve got to give credit to Halifax. They never went away, did they? They showed exactly the team spirit that’s got them into the play-offs.
“In saying that, I thought we made life hard for ourselves. We managed to get into a lead but then came up with a couple of pressure releases that allowed them to get back into the game.
“At the end we were in a nice lead and gave them some scraps to feed off. If you give that to a team of Halifax’s quality, they’re going to go at you.
“I’m really proud of the character that we showed. Our defence was first class. There are some great lessons for us to learn going into next week.
“Ultimately when you’re playing play-off rugby it’s all about getting the win and we got that.”
Halifax coach Kyle Eastmond said: “It’s a bit of a lesson on how to win big games. We deserved to be beaten in that game if we’re brutally honest.
“It’s not about how many opportunities you left out there or tactically what you did wrong. It’s the way you approach a semi-final with the right mindset to be disciplined enough to win a game.”
York will host the Grand Final, against the winner of Sunday’s other semi-final between Toulouse Olympique and Bradford Bulls, next Sunday (October 5, 2pm) at the LNER Community Stadium.