There was absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind that following the run of dismal results and the fact Barnsley had only managed a draw against Leo’s at Shaw Lane, this game was massively important to their survival in Yorkshire 2.

In years gone by ‘Knott’la’ have been a well-established Yorkshire 1 club, being relegated along with Barnsley several seasons ago, and now find themselves as part of the dog fight and they too would be looking for that all important win.

Lady luck was with the Barnsley men as they welcomed back Appleyard at 10, Hobson made a return at Tighthead, Tasker in the 2nd row and big ball carrier Tom Swann in the centre.

Barnsley opened brightly through their dominance at the set-piece. It wasn’t an easy ride for Knott here and as Hobson, Cheetham and Terrington constantly turned ball over at scrum time. Wave after wave of Barnsley attack battered the Knott defence and it wasn’t long before skipper Reed bagged the first of his hat-trick.

From the re-start Barnsley went back on the attack after turning over ball at the line-out were Tasker was dominant. Tom Swann crashed through for a try.

Knott, then had what would possibly be considered their purple patch. Barnsley discipline malfunctioned a little and the referee made his presence felt. Knottingley managed to get their account opened with a 3 pointer, but this would be the only points they registered on the day.

Reed bagged his second from the back of a turn over scrum and Will Smith got on the score sheet playing at 13. The freedom suits young Smith down to the ground and constantly threatened the defence all day.

After the break Barnsley continued their dominance. Reed muscled his way through from yet another scrum. Todd Cheetham and Colbridge also grabbed a slice of the pie.

During the seasons a lot of ‘banter’ has been exchanged between Knott and Barns, nothing too untoward and it usually makes for a tasty affair. No matter how they are doing in the league one thing Knott do NOT in any way lack is bottle and never has that been more evident than on this day as to a man they carried on pressing and attacking, which was great to see, and the game was played in the right spirit.

Before the close of play Tom Hennigan managed to latch on to the end of a break by Swann and dove over for a 5 pointer.

This was a well-deserved, much needed victory by the Barnsley men. Not too much will be made of this as their next opponents offer a completely different bag of tricks but there is at least a light at the end of the tunnel and taking the full 5 points from this at least keeps the wolf away from the door. Skipper Dave Reed was quite rightly named MOTM as he does, most weeks, lead from the front.