A Nic Evangelinos double, late in the second half, ensured victory for the Dolly Blues but the Whites once again committed themselves well against a higher-ranked side.

Evangelinos' opener came from the spot after Widnes skipper Mike Burke was dubiously penalised for a bodycheck on David Norris, and the Whites boss felt that the referee got his decision wrong.

"We said today was going to be a really tough test for us and it proved to be that," Dempsey said.

"It was scrappy and quite direct but the result is irrelevant. We've got something out of today.

"It wasn't a penalty. Burkey's got tight but Norris is a very experienced lad. He's felt contact and gone down but it was a very soft decision from the referee.

"The second goal was a freak error. We just got caught a little bit too high but it's taken a dubious decision to break us down.

"We've then made changes and pushed for a goal but we've been caught late. As I say, the score is irrelevant and the performance was good so I think we're in really good shape for the FA Cup next week.

"In terms of our opposition of the past week, these are sides that would be looking to win our league if they were in it. That's why we pencilled in those games.

"We managed to beat Ashton United in midweek with a really good performance and held Atherton Collieries to a 1-1 draw until the 92 minute.

"And today there was a large period of the game with absolutely nothing in it so we've played three very very good sides and we've ran each of them really close.

"There'll be sides in our league that would have played the same opposition and been beat convincingly so we'll certainly take the positives, train well in the week and head to Winsford next week in really good spirits."

Dempsey admitted that he wanted to treat the friendly as a competitive game, with central defenders James McCulloch and Tom Stephens ultimately being unused substitutes.

But the boss says he was eager to get a look at the partnership of Burke and Jordan Barrow, with McCulloch set to miss a run of games at the start of the season.

"It wasn't anything to do with individuals or performances, I just wanted to have a look a Burkey and Baz as a pair," Dempsey added.

"Kirky's away at the start of the season but he's been outstanding for us. He was absolutely awesome at Ashton United in midweek as was Stevo.

"I just felt that it wasn't really the game to disturb too much, especially at the back. You can see the squad's settling down and it's taking shape quite nicely."