Bradford Bulls 19, Hull FC 12

The true value of this victory will not be known for a few more weeks.

Those with half-full glasses were last night hailing it as a major step back towards claiming a first play-off place since 2008.

The scenes at the final hooter certainly suggested Francis Cummins’ players still believe a top-eight finish is within their reach.

After six straight Super League defeats, the Bulls had to stop the rot at some point.

Last night was it.

In a tense encounter, they left it late but ultimately ran out deserved winners thanks to timely interventions from Luke Gale and Matt Diskin.

With the scores tied at 12-12 in the 75th minute, Gale dropped a goal from 20 metres to edge his team in front.

As if to ram home the importance of the result, Diskin then barrelled over the line in the dying embers and celebrated wildly.

It was not quite a return to the swashbuckling rugby which saw the Bulls climb to third in the table after 12 rounds but it was chiselled on the same collective desire.

Crucially, key men are back playing again, although the loss of John Bateman and Tom Olbison either side of half-time gave cause for concern.

Nevertheless, Cummins had been boosted by the return of Brett Kearney, Jarrod Sammut, Olbison, Jamie Langley and Chev Walker after injury.

Kearney slotted into his customary position of full back, Olbison started alongside Bateman in the second row and Langley at loose forward.

After four matches on the sidelines, Sammut was not risked from the start.

Thus Gale continued alongside Danny Addy in the halves and Ben Evans was handed a starting berth in the front row.

Walker was also on the bench but there was no place for James Donaldson as uncertainty continues to surround his future after the Bulls recently offered him a one-year contract extension.

Hull FC, buoyant after beating Catalan Dragons in the Tetley’s Challenge Cup quarter-finals last weekend, had won the last seven Super League meetings between the sides.

Yet Peter Gentle’s side have hardly been setting the world alight in Super League combat in recent weeks and this was their fifth straight defeat.

Forward Ben Galea announced his retirement aged 34 last night after the arm injury he sustained in Perpignan last weekend but this was pretty much Gentle’s strongest available side.

Victory was non-negotiable for Cummins’ players as they went in search of the two points needed to keep their campaign alive.

After all, if the Bulls could not beat one of their closest play-off rivals on home soil, could they really consider themselves serious contenders for a top-eight finish?

On a baking hot summer’s evening, and in front of the Sky television cameras, there was certainly no hiding place for the Bulls.

Not that they suggested they were looking.

The hosts, wearing red socks in support of the Eve Appeal campaign which saw non-executive director Kate Hardcastle make an impassioned speech on the pitch before kick-off, slowly but surely avenged their record 70-6 home defeat at the hands of Hull last season.

In a balanced opening, Langley made his presence felt with some big carries in the opening exchanges, while Gale kicked cleverly out of hand.

But there was nothing to separate the sides until Hull opened the scoring out of nowhere in the 12th minute when influential hooker Danny Houghton collected possession inside the left channel and found Kirk Yeaman with a neat pass.

Yeaman advanced before finding Tom Briscoe in support with an inside pass which allowed the England winger to gallop through the Bradford defence from 20 metres out.

The defending was awful as Briscoe evaded the challenge of Elliot Kear and then Kearney en route to the line for a try which Danny Tickle converted.

Manase Manuokafoa, who began on the bench due to him carrying a knock, and Walker came on to replace Evans and Langley respectively.

Referee Ben Thaler, who infuriated the home fans with a number of his decisions, awarded the Bulls a penalty when Kearney was obstructed chasing another high kick from Gale.

Yet again it came to nothing and a number of half chances came and went without reward.

Bateman picked up an ankle injury midway through the first half and, after attempting to run it off, he was soon replaced by Sammut.

With Sammut came the hope that, if the Bulls backed themselves, they might just be good enough – and within five minutes of his introduction, the enigmatic stand-off flighted a dangerous high kick behind the Hull defence.

Under pressure from Foster and Keith Lulia, Tom Lineman failed to deal with the ball and who was there to scoop it up and score?

Unsurprisingly it was Sammut, who celebrated his try with gusto in front of the Coral Stand before the score was verified by video referee Richard Silverwood.

Foster converted – and it got better for the Bulls minutes later when Gale threw an innocuous pass to his right.

The ball bounced but rather fortuitously fell to Adrian Purtell, who showed impressive pace to race clear inside the right channel and alertness to usher the supporting Kear over from 20 metres out.

Foster again converted and belief grew within Cummins’ players that this was to be their night as they headed into the break with a 12-6 lead.

Five minutes after the restart, Sammut attempted to cheekily gather his own short grubber kick but Hull gradually turned the screw and scored their second try in the 52nd minute.

Houghton’s cut-out pass found Tickle and he barrelled under the posts from close range and then kicked the conversion to level the scores.

Hull began to up the tempo and ask some serious questions of the Bulls’ defence, forcing two goal-line drop-outs in quick succession.

Yet the hosts held Hull out for three successive sets before the pendulum began to swing back in Bradford’s favour.

After a 40-20 kick from Sammut was not awarded by Thaler, Gale kicked one that was given, allowing the Bulls to build some heavy pressure on Hull’s line.

Diskin knocked on when well placed and Langley then failed to control the ball just short of the line as Hull survived.

But with five minutes remaining, the ball was worked back to Gale 20 metres out and he executed the drop-goal, before Diskin applied late gloss to the win when he barrelled over from close range.

Attendance: 7,914