YORK City Knights boss James Ford went home “pretty happy” despite seeing his side lose their Yorkshire Cup semi-final at Batley Bulldogs.

The Knights, despite being without half a dozen first-teamers, led 18-0 approaching half-time, but Batley hit back with three tries in six minutes either side of the interval and, with the infamous Mount Pleasant slope and a howling gale behind them, they grabbed the winner three minutes from time with the visitors reduced to 12 men.

Ford, however, hailed a good advert for the pre-season county cup competition, as well as his players’ efforts, believing there was “a lot to be positive about” as they took another step closer to being ready for the campaign ahead.

Said Ford: “I thought we showed we’re getting closer to what we expect at this club.

“There were glimpses of us in attack where our combinations and execution were much better, and in both halves, especially the second, we showed character and resilience that we’ve become known for defensively.

“It was a good game. Credit to Batley. They’ve come back from 18-0 down – it probably should have been 24 or 30-0 if we had taken our chances – and they’ve showed resilience and character themselves and why they’re a good solid Championship team.”

The promoted Knights’ opening game of the Championship season is at home to favourites Toronto Wolfpack on February 3.

Their last outing of pre-season, meanwhile, will now be at home to Dewsbury Rams next Saturday, with a 6pm kick off. Dewsbury lost their Yorkshire Cup semi-final to Bradford Bulls this weekend.

Ford added: “We’ve got a few weeks to keep improving towards round one (of the league).

“To beat sides that we’re hopefully going to be in and around, we need to take our chances and we can’t come up with as many basic errors as we did.

“We put ourselves under a lot of pressure and, while we did a fair job of withstanding it, if we can deal with the root causes, I’m sure that we will be in a good position come round one.”

That pressure often related to penalties conceded, with the count ending 12-6 in the Bulldogs’ favour.

On that, Ford said: “I think we could probably have been a bit smarter. Some of those penalties around the ruck were 50-50 and some could have gone our way. There were a couple of similar issues that we weren’t awarded.

“If we can improve and reduce our penalties, we will do that. As referees get match sharp they will improve their consistency too.

“It’s a pre-season friendly, we’ve seven players out. I’m going away from this pretty happy despite the result.

“We want to win every game that we’re involved in but I think there’s lots to be positive about.

“There are also lots of things we can use from this and learn from to make sure we’re a better side the next time we come here.”

He added of the wind and slope: “The conditions weren’t great, but they’re the same for both teams.

“I thought both sides make a decent fist of the conditions. It wasn’t easy but both sides played some nice rugby league. The winner here was rugby league, along with the Yorkshire Cup and the supporters, who have seen a good game for a pre-season warm-up game.

“The players are also one step closer to being ready for the season.

“Why would you not want to come back and watch the Yorkshire Cup when it’s played to this level?”

One minor blow was a hip injury picked up by full-back Matty Marsh but, whether he plays against Dewsbury next week, he is expected to be fit for the league opener a fortnight later.