No, I think this is the wrong translation. "We did something" -- true, the non-control group received treatment. "While it wasn't hugely successful" -- it /was/ hugely successful. "It was definitely a step in the right direction" -- no, the point about significance is that it wasn't /definitely/ a step in the right direction, but it might have been.

Perhaps "we did something, and while we're not certain whether it was what we did or luck that made the difference, it was hugely successful and deserves more research."