JAMES FORD has stated that he “more satisfied” with York City Knights’ dramatic 36-34 comeback victory over London Broncos than his side’s 34-14 win at Sheffield Eagles.

Having beaten Sheffield on Thursday, York fielded an experimental side against London, with four teenagers - Brad Ward, AJ Towse, Toby Warren and Myles Harrison - named in their starting 17.

The youthful Knights looked set for defeat at several points against the second-from-bottom Broncos but eventually took a decisive lead with seven minutes left.

Despite what the two scorelines may suggest, Ford threw more praise on his side’s narrow win over London than the 20-point victory achieved at Sheffield.

“It’s strange because I’m more satisfied with that than I was the Sheffield game, because I was pretty cheesed off after that one,” said the head coach.

“With the young boys there coming through the other side and contributing to us winning, I’m really proud.

“These short turnarounds can produce some strange games. With the changes we made, I came here expecting a real tough challenge and a lack of cohesion at times.

“But I certainly don’t regret the changes that I made. I’m incredibly proud to have four 18-year-old York lads plus Ports (Joe Porter) out there.

“The two wingers (Ward and Towse) were pretty good and looked pretty promising and I thought that was the best that Toby has played four us.

“You don’t win a league or play-off campaign in round 14, but you can lose one by losing a host of key players, so that’s why we took the decision to make sure everyone in the squad got an opportunity over this period to try to limit that happening to us.

“I’m really proud of those young boys.”