Match report: Second-half super-show

If only a handful of games are going to be screened in a season, then you want maximum excitement and entertainment.

And that is exactly what we got yesterday, with the underdog Vikings spending the opening 40 minutes tearing into the wounded Bulls to set themselves up for a sensational Challenge Cup quarter-final shock.

This was going to be the game that could be used to prove that the taxpayers' money had been well spent procuring the rights to a competition that isn't just a procession to Cardiff for the top teams.

But at least 18 people from West Yorkshire were sitting in the bowels of the sandy Halton Stadium at half-time utterly convinced that they were going to overturn this ten-point deficit and halt the Viking invasion into the semi-finals of the competition.

"We never thought we were going to lose," said Lesley Vainikolo after a game in which the Volcano took some large Tongan strides towards convincing the media critics that his defensive capabilities do match his irrefutable attacking ones.

"We knew we would come back, it was just a matter of taking control."

After coming back from half-time deficits against both Warrington Wolves and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in recent weeks, the Bulls could have well placed confidence in their ability to recover.

And recover they did, as the inevitable second-half try blitz came and the Bulls went from ten behind to ten ahead - and even that should have been more.

The team-sheets were greeted with raised eyebrows in the press box with Mick Withers "coming off his bed" (in the words of Brian Noble) to make the starting line-up at full back.

Robbie Paul's neck injury confined him to a place on the bench with Leon Pryce filling in at stand off and youngster Stuart Reardon having another go in the first team out of position, this time filling in for Tevita Vaikona on the wing.

Former Bradford star Stuart Spruce was named by Neil Kelly as stand-off for Widnes, although this appeared to be an Ian Millward-style ruse as 'Sprogger' was at full back from the kick off.

And it was advantage Bulls after only six minutes when Karl Pratt, hooking in the absence of the suspended Jimmy Lowes, sent a pass out to Deacon who kept it moving towards the left and into the hands of Shontayne Hape.

The Kiwi youngster showed the ball to his winger, Vainikolo, to create the space before strolling over for his fourth of the season and putting to bed the frustrations of a below-par performance in the Odsal Homecoming the previous week.

But the usual first-half lethargy returned to Bradford and too much ball began to be given away and too many times they fell "for the sort of sucker punches we don't normally fall for" (again the words of Noble).

Viking hooker Shane Millard, whose brother is a professional ballet dancer, himself showed some quick feet to create space for Daniel Frame to burst through.

Although he was held up, the ball was sent to the wing for Jason Demetriou to go straight through Reardon to score in the corner.

And the lead was rightly earned by the home side when Batley boy Dean Lawford sent in Spruce to burst past the flu-ridden Daniel Gartner to get over the line for a second home score. The extras were added and Widnes were 10-6 up.

Last year's coach of the year Neil Kelly was furious after the game that his side didn't make the most of their dominance, and nothing would have infuriated him more than the space awarded to Pryce five minutes later.

Deacon hoisted a trademark bomb and Pryce was unmarked as he assuredly collected the ball coming from above and behind him and scrambled over for a score ("Like Tiger Woods hitting an eagle on a par four," in the words of chairman Chris Caisley this time).

This was Pryce's seventh try in an amazing season, where he has scored in every game, and with Deacon's extras the Bulls were back in front.

Lawford then decided to show off his skills when a hand from the Volcano turned the scrum-half's kick into six more tackles.

He collected the ball at first receiver, took a step inside a despairing Withers before powering around Pryce and under Richard Moore to score.

The home lead was then exaggerated just on the half-time hooter by a controversial Hughes try.

Deacon's attempted dab through landed at the feet of Hughes practically on his own line, so the centre kicked the ball forward.

He chased it down, bent over to pick it up, changed his mind, kicked it again before collecting it and racing the length of the pitch.

The video replay showed there was no knock-on, and it was 22-12.

After the interval, during which the Bulls obviously decided they were going to win, it was all Bradford.

Potter and Frame between them dropped the kick-off and the visitors were over the line just a tackle later. Deacon gave it to his travelling companion Forshaw, who burst over the line for a deserved score.

The Volcano ensured there was no immediate reply by chasing down Potter when last man and bringing him down with a thunderous tackle.

Reardon then spilled a nailed-on score after fantastic work by Fielden, Forshaw, Paul and Naylor had given the youngster a sight of the line, but regardless the Bulls momentum was gathering.

Although Deacon missed a penalty from Spruce's failure to roll away from the play-the-ball, he didn't two minutes later when Steve McCurrie had taken an elbow to Pryce's head.

And then a moment of magic swung the game back in favour of the visitors. Hape broke down the wing, produced a remarkable diving over-the-head off-load to the Volcano who made some more progress.

Deacon then took the ball at dummy half and gave it to veteran Forshaw to roll back the years and cut across the front of the line before diving through a gap to give the Bulls the lead they were never going to relinquish at 26-22.

Pryce then jinked through to set up Paul for a straight dash home and despite Phil Cantillon's effort with four minutes to go, it was all over.

Naylor sealed the win, and the big scoreline, with a powerful dart home just before the hooter from a pass by man of the match Forshaw.