DAVE WOODS congratulated his under-strength York City Knights side for putting 22 points past Super League opposition – but bemoaned the mistakes that prevented a closer scoreline.

Woods’ part-time Championship outfit were always massive underdogs against the full-timers from Hull KR, even more so after the Aussie rested five first-choice players, and they duly lost the Challenge Cup fourth round tie 64-22 at Huntington Stadium yesterday.

It came at a cost, too, as young half-back Benn Hardcastle was stretchered off early in the second half with medial ligament damage in a knee, while full-back Tom Bush limped off just a few minutes into the game after suffering a dead leg.

Hardcastle could be out for anything between one month and six months.

Woods had hoped a good start by his troops could give Rovers “twitchy bum time”, but the visitors, looking to overcome a poor run of form in Super League, began well with the wind behind them, and four quick-fire tries either side of the quarter-mark set the platform for an albeit flattering victory.

Woods said: “We started off slowly and they had the big wind at their backs and played the first half very well. We defended well but at the end of defensive sets we let in some soft tries.

“For the first 15 minutes of the second half we did well but then it all started to go wrong again with mistakes like kicking the ball out on the full in general play, kicking off straight out, and not completing sets. You can’t do that against sides in our competition let alone against Super League sides.”

Mark Barlow, who had a good game at hooker, scored two tries, the first of which came at the end of a superb move in the first half. His second, along with a try by Jack Stearman, came early in the second half during 15 minutes of York dominance. Lee Waterman bagged a try on the final hooter, to go with three conversions.

Woods – who had left out playmakers-in-chief Chris Thorman and Jack Lee, with Hardcastle and Barlow replacing them in the line-up – said: “We made a few inroads.

“We did that pretty well at times, and to score that many points is a decent effort, but we’ve got to do it with more regularity and consistently.

“We said (to the players) before the game to enjoy playing the game and enjoy the occasion.

“We were playing against international players, let alone Super League players, and to come away knowing we’ve got that many points on the board – we can take heart from that.”

Woods had justified his decision to play a weakened team in his interview with The Press on Saturday by saying he wanted to keep men fresh for the club’s priority of consolidation in the Championship.

Next up in that campaign is a league trip to Barrow Raiders on Saturday, and the Aussie added: “Barrow are doing all right.

“We need to be in their faces and be on our game, but we’ve got some good players to come back into the squad.”