York City Knights Under-16s got back to winning ways in stunning fashion by coming from 28-0 down at half-time to win 34-32 at Featherstone Rovers – before being saved at the death by a post.

The young Knights, beaten for the first time this season by Castleford the previous week, followed the memorable Featherstone win with an unlucky 22-12 loss to Hull KR on Thursday night in the last home game of what has been an impressive mini-season.

The Knights struggled up Featherstone’s famous Post Office Road slope in the first half, also playing against the wind, and paid for a lack of possession and poor defending.

But they produced a memorable fightback with the elements in their favour, with six consecutive tries through Tom Holmes, James Raywood, Josh Pooley, Ash Winstanley, and Louis Meadows (2). Rovers mounted one last surge to score in the last minute – but the conversion to tie the game hit an upright.

Scholarship coach Adam Prentis said: “This was a fantastic achievement for the club, winning three out of four of our opening games bearing in mind the quality of the opposition. “Not many teams can come back from a half-time scoreline like that but the Knights stepped up a gear and believed in themselves.”

They also impressed in defeat to Super League outfit Hull KR.

The game swung both ways before Rovers sealed victory with a final try in the last five minutes, the Knights having lost captain Christian Brining to a broken nose in the last quarter.

Another key man, stand-off Holmes, had also gone off injured in the first half, only rejoining the fray to replace Brining.

Nathan Hammond, the speedy James Ashton, with an 80-metre effort, and Scott Stevenson scored the tries for the Knights.

The Knights U16s’ last game is at Huddersfield next Saturday.