York Wasps 56 Dudley Hill 10; Nigel Askham reports.

Lightning was never going to strike twice at the Huntington Stadium as renowned knock-out specialists Dudley Hill made a disappointing exit from the Silk Cut Challenge Cup.

Two years ago they deservedly grabbed the headlines with a well-earned success on the same ground, but a repeat never looked on the cards as York made their skill and speed tell from the off.

Coach Kelvin Lockett, who guided the Parry Lane boys to glory in 1997, had set out a game-plan to keep it tight in the opening quarter and build from there.

But the toss of the coin and York's high-speed opening effectively killed hopes of another giant-killing act before they could gather any momentum.

In truth, Hill needed everything going for them to bridge the gap in class, and being asked to play into a howling gale, which played havoc with the dancing girls' pom-poms throughout, was not the ideal start.

It literally left Hill gasping for breath as York quickly got into their stride, and three tries in the opening 22 minutes left them playing only for pride.

Former Hunslet back-rower Craig Booth was chief tormentor as half-backs Mark Cain and Darren Callaghan called the shots.

The strong-running Wasps skipper began and finished the romp with strong efforts and added two more either side of the break to give the Hill defence a torrid time.

Six goals gave him a haul of 28 points to make him an obvious choice for man of the match, but the skill and speed of Cain and Callaghan were always to the fore.

Lockett tried to stem the tide which had caught Hill badly wanting on their right flank by switching Richard Bingley from the left, but it was finger in the dike stuff really as York found gaps almost at will.

Full back Andy Preston linked up well for a couple of first half tries, and with ex-Odsal centre Shaun Austerfield and substitute Lee McTigue adding others the Wasps were 34-0 up in as many minutes.

Former Castleford and Bramley hooker Dean Blankley got his reward for a gutsy display by plundering a try from acting half-back on the stroke of half-time.

Gordon Long tagged on the simple conversion and there must have been hope that with the elements in their favour on the re-start they could make more impact on attack.

But their kicking game was sadly lacking and, while there was some improvement in defence, they had to wait until seven minutes from time to give their good following something else to cheer.

Long provided it with a fine dummy and diagonal run to the corner, but not before York had crashed through the half-century barrier.

Leroy McKenzie, Spencer Hargrave and Matt Woodcock all showed the Hill defence a clean pair of heels as the visitors' defence began to tire, and two more efforts from Booth completed a low-key Hill showing.

But credit has to be given to the professionals for the way they killed off their enthusiasm with that early onslaught and for giving Hill the respect their recent National Conference League form deserved.

Blankley caught the eye with his determined darts and solid defence, while Bob Chapman and Marco Rossi worked tirelessly to try and stem the tide.

Hill will be disappointed that they didn't really do themselves justice on the day but, after fighting back from relegation a couple of years ago, a top-five finish in the National Conference would be tangible evidence of their progress.

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