YORK City Knights chairman Roger Dixon today declared himself a proud man after the Powergen Challenge Cup quarter-final at the McAlpine Stadium.

The National League Two underdogs lost 50-12 to Super League side Huddersfield Giants yesterday but battled gamely and Dixon said it was a great day out for the club and their fans.

Knights supporters provided a sizeable contingent in the 4,286 crowd and - barring some apparent minor bother which saw stewards stand between rival fans at the top of the John Smith's Stand - provided constant noisy and colourful backing to the players throughout the 80 minutes.

"I thought the Knights did themselves, the club and the city proud," Dixon told the Evening Press.

"It was a wonderful day and the fans were magnificent. The dream may be over but on the basis of that performance on the terraces and on the field, there should be many more to come."

Coach Richard Agar had mixed feelings after the game, bemoaning the Knights' indifferent first half-hour in which they trailed 38-2 but praising their performance over the last 50 minutes.

He said: "The players are a little bit dirty on themselves that they did not show the same fight in the first 30 minutes as they did in the last 50, conceding tries from the kick-off and things like that, things we'd trained for yet failed to stop.

"One or two failed to come out of their shells a bit but, hats off to them, at 38-2 it could have been easy to collapse like a deck of cards but they held their heads up and came out fighting."

Agar said those last 50 minutes could have a crucial bearing on the rest of their season, which continues with an Arriva Trains Cup group tie against Gateshead at Bootham Crescent on Wednesday. The league campaign kicks off at Easter.

"If we had gone on and collapsed in the second half it would have raised a few questions, but they showed in the last half that the task wasn't as frightening as some might have thought," he said.

"Huddersfield might have dropped off a gear and probably pushed one or two more passes but we have to credit them and their coach - he's known exactly where to hit us."

He added: "I think we will be better for the experience. We will have gained a lot more self-belief from that second-half showing."

Agar also lauded the Knights' cup run, plus the support from the fans. "The run has lifted our club's profile, the players have enjoyed it and more than anything the fans have been nothing short of amazing," he said.

"I hope some of these new fans now get behind us week in week out - and that's down to us.

"It's a huge lift when you come off and they appreciate the fact you've worked hard for the club."

Huddersfield coach Jon Sharp - a childhood friend of Agar's - was quick to add his own praise to the Knights' crusade.

Sharp, who had previously said he would show York full respect, fielded his strongest team bar resting minor injury victims Darren Fleary and Paul Reilly.

He said: "We played some great stuff and some ordinary stuff. We did not maintain the level we started off with but we did a job.

"We made several changes (in the second half) and moved people around and that might have contributed to a few bits and pieces when we looked a bit rough - but York contributed to it as well.

"I'm not taking anything away from them. They came here and acquitted themselves well, particularly in the second half. A 12-6 second-half scoreline speaks for itself."

As for the semi-finals - Huddersfield's first for 33 years - he added: "I'm not bothered who we get, I'm just happy to be there. It's massive for this club."

Updated: 10:26 Monday, March 29, 2004