YORK City Knights Academy boss Paul Higgins said his young side were still going in the right direction' despite losing 46-14 at home to their Widnes counterparts.
Tom Dunmore booted York in front with a penalty but Widnes took a 16-2 lead into half-time and stretched it after the break, despite tries from hooker Tom Hodgson, who picked up a Simon Wadsworth off-load to cross from five yards out, and centre Marcus Allen, who bagged an 80-metre interception, Danny Giles converting both.
Higgins said: "At 16-2 at half-time, I never expected us to win the game, especially with no first-teamers. I asked the players to compete but I'm afraid we didn't really.
"But I can't fault them for their commitment and effort. They're still making strides.
"Widnes are a big powerful side.
"They've been together a couple of years and they got to their Grand Final last year. They're a pretty organised side.
"We lost 46-16 to them in our first game when we had three first-teamers (Under-21s sides are allowed to field up to eight open age players) and we lost 46-14 this time with no first-teamers and with losing Nathan Priestley, who has a bit of first-team experience, to a groin injury after 30 minutes.
"We still have a lot of work to do but we're progressing and hopefully the players are learning from the experiences they're getting."
Second-row Priestley's injury is not thought to be serious.
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