St Helens 28, Bradford Bulls 16

Mick Potter suffered a frustrating reunion with his old team as St Helens finally enjoyed some home comforts in Widnes.

After defeats against Warrington and Harlequins, Saints last night put the Stobart Stadium jinx to bed with a first win at their temporary headquarters.

It was a setback for the coach who had steered them to the last two Grand Finals. But Potter will have been pleased with parts of the Bulls’ game – particularly the way they did not throw the towel in when Saints brought out the party tricks.

Three tries in nine minutes either side of half-time ultimately proved the difference between the sides. The fact that Saints scored two of them while Bradford were down to 12 men will grate.

Both teams were coming off pride-restoring victories the week before and Potter kept faith with the same line-up that had worked so hard to put the Huddersfield horror show behind them by ending Castleford’s unbeaten start.

Kyle Eastmond was back in action of sorts for Saints after his club ban for gesturing at fans. The 21-year-old, set to switch codes for Bath at the end of the season, was involved in the under-20s curtain-raiser and not the main game.

The busy winter turn-over at Odsal meant that only half of the Bulls personnel on duty had featured in the 60-12 drubbing when the sides last met at Knowsley Road seven months earlier. Not a bad thing.

But it was one of the survivors, Jamie Langley, who launched a blistering start for the Bulls with a superb break to halfway.

Marc Herbert followed up with a perfectly-weighted kick to the corner and Shaun Ainscough outstripped Jamie Foster to score, Patrick Ah Van converting.

Michael Platt was held up just short as the Bulls continued to ask the early questions. Then Herbert confidently swallowed a high kick from Brett Kearney but was held on his back in goal.

The Bulls were looking hungry with the ball – and then showed the same steely streak without it that had tamed the Tigers.

Saints piled towards the line but Platt stopped Chris Flannery a couple of metres out and sheer numbers under the posts thwarted Tony Puletua.

The home pressure paid off after 15 minutes when Foster picked up Paul Wellens’ pass on the bounce to plunge in, although it was debatable whether his foot was in touch.

Saints brought the tricks out as Sia Soliola back-handed a pass for Jonny Lomax but the scrum half fumbled as he looked to run in.

Lomax immediately made up for the error by setting up Wellens to power through the best efforts of Kearney and Platt for a second try, which Foster improved.

Lomax and Lee Gaskell, the youthful half-back pairing, had proved too much of a handful for Leeds last week and they were pulling the strings again.

But the Bulls were playing their full part in a wide-open contest and there were hairy moments at both ends. They were not helped, though, by the absence of Langley, who looked to be carrying an injury as he went off.

Heath L’Estrange lifted spirits with a terrific darting run from the back of the scrum. Then Ainscough dived to reach Matt Diskin’s pass in the corner, although the ball was ruled forward.

But then Richard Silverwood, the referee Bulls fans love to hate, intervened when he sin-binned Paul Sykes for persistent infringing after holding down James Roby.

The mood of the supporters darkened further with a second harsh penalty call from the next set and Saints cashed in on Bradford’s short-handed numbers as Lomax sent in Wellens for his second try. Foster goaled as the Bulls fans vented their fury at the official.

The Bulls had one last shot at hitting back but Kearney was stopped within touching distance of the line as the half-time hooter sounded.

Silverwood’s return for the second half was greeted with more jeers behind the posts and a predictable chorus of “you’re not fit to referee”.

The Bulls were still a man short – and Saints took full advantage within three minutes. Roby and Lomax stretched the line and Foster finished once again.

Worse was to follow, with the Lomax and Gaskell axis creating a hole for Flannery to ease in for Saints’ fifth try. Foster tacked on the extras and the Bulls found themselves 20 points adrift.

Platt almost engineered a quick response when he came up with the ball from the kick-off but Craig Kopczak was tackled just short as Saints stood firm in front of their line.

The Bulls found a glimmer of hope with 16 minutes left. Youngster Tom Olbison took the credit for his work in the build-up before Sykes picked out Ah Van for his third touchdown in Bradford colours.

Unfortunately the Kiwi could not follow up with the conversion. He sliced the ball so badly it almost went sideways.

At least the Bulls had a sniff now – and were handed a man advantage when Soliola was yellow-carded for a grapple tackle.

Could the visitors strike again? Shad Royston tested the line; Diskin drove for the middle but the gathering momentum was killed by a wild, wasteful pass from Sykes.

Saints, still down to 12, eased their advantage to three converted scores with a Foster penalty nine minutes from time.

Saints briefly went two men light when Michael Shenton followed Soliola into the sin bin. They were back up to 12 when Bulls produced a defiant finish, Herbert and Ainscough again combining for the winger to score from the Aussie’s kick to the corner.

There was still time for Sykes to power towards a further score, only to dump the ball in the lap of Wellens. It summed up a night of close but not quite.

Attendance: 7,676