JON Higgins admits he’s still not entirely sure how Dudley Kingswinford won their first game of the season.

DK looked certain to suffer a third straight defeat in National Two North when they trailed Leicester Lions 24-8 with 20 minutes to go at Heathbrook last Saturday.

But a rousing comeback saw them stun the visitors and snatch a vital 32-29 victory.

Player-coach Higgins said the importance of the result could not be understated.

He said: “It’s absolutely huge to be honest.

“I don’t know about the finish but the first-half was far from thrilling, it’s the worst I’ve seen us play since I’ve been at the club.

“We somehow managed to win in the end which I can only put down to character.

“If we had lost it would have been a long road back. We told the guys at half-time the whole season was hinged on the next 40 minutes and we had to dig deep.

“I’m not saying we even deserved to win but we managed to and that is huge for us.”

Higgins admitted he and fellow player-coach Pete Knight may make changes for the trip to Darlington Mowden Park, after the introduction of replacement Al Francis , Gareth Bown and Joe Carpenter helped turn the game.

Bown scored the try which set DK on their way and kicked key conversions and penalties.

Higgins, who was one of the players replaced after a below par display, admitted some members of the squad had “put a marker down.”

He said: “The guys who came on made a huge difference and were the turning point.

“We decided quite early in the second-half to empty the bench and while that is sometimes a risk on this occasion it paid off.

“The results in the division are all over the place and it’s difficult to know what we can expect at Darlington.

“We know they will have a big pack which is pretty much standard for this division.”