Halifax wrap up third straight win over big-city neighbours Bradford Bulls

THE roar from the home stands which greeted the Bulls turning over possession in the dying embers said everything.

Dale Ferguson lost the ball deep in Halifax territory with time running out and Bradford's last chance of salvaging the match had gone.

A third straight win over their big-city neighbours beckoned Richard Marshall's men.

Moments later, that victory was confirmed amid more delight and delirium in the home support.

This was another knife in the side of a Bulls team struggling for confidence and missing key men as they slumped to their first Kingstone Press Championship defeat of the year.

Halifax, as they had done last season, sensed another win over their local rivals and took it thanks to a collective spirit embodied by men such as Dane Manning, Luke Ambler and Richard Moore.

As Jimmy Lowes said afterwards, referee Jon Roberts' call to chalk off a seemingly good first-half try for debutant Johnny Campbell was harsh to say the least.

Nevertheless, it is now just one win in five games for Lowes' men and raises more question marks over this squad's ability to seriously challenge for promotion.

Bradford had plenty of pressure but struggled with their last-tackle options and this result will only increase calls for a genuine scrum half to be recruited as a matter of urgency.

Shortly before kick-off, Bulls owner Marc Green marched onto the terrace housing the visiting supporters with a bag of creme eggs and handed them out to youngsters.

His gesture, however kind, was greeted with general disinterest.

What the fans really want is promotion back to Super League and weekly battles against the likes of Leeds, St Helens and Warrington.

Thomas Bosc, currently out of the picture at Catalans Dragons, is the latest name to be linked with the Bulls as they seek an answer to their play-making conundrum.

As per this fixture last season, Bradford were significantly understrength, with Adrian Purtell, Adam Sidlow, Danny Williams, Matty Blythe, Rhys Lovegrove, Adam Sidlow and Ben Kavanagh all out.

The absence of so many players saw Etu Uaisele handed a starting berth at left centre, while Campbell made his first appearance in a Bradford jersey on the left flank.

The Bulls enjoyed the early pressure when a drop-out forced a repeat set which led to Adam O'Brien's neat pass sending Uaisele through a hole inside the left channel and over the line.

Danny Addy could not convert and the hosts replied in the 22nd minute when Scott Murrell's rapier-like pass sent Jake Eccleston over in the right corner.

Mitch Clark was replaced in the 16th minute before James Clare was tackled on ten metres by Tommy Saxton as Halifax forced the turnover.

Clare, playing in the centres again, was then held from Richie Mathers' pass before the Bulls forced a third drop-out.

From there, miscommunication between Campbell and Lee Gaskell saw them both try and catch the ball, forcing an embarrassing knock-on and an angry exchange of words between the pair.

Former Bulls prop Richard Moore came off the bench and immediately made his mark with some huge carries – and Halifax scored again in the 29th minute when Manning touched down Gareth Moore's last-tackle grubber inside the left channel.

Clare then sought to break clear before Roberts brought back play for an earlier knock-on from Halifax.

Jean-Philippe Baile then made his first appearance of the season after replacing Jay Pitts as Bradford sought to find a response before half-time.

They looked to have found one when Campbell caught and grounded a kick from O'Brien in the left corner.

The officials deemed that Murrell had put him into touch – but it looked the wrong call and Campbell certainly felt it should have been awarded.

Halifax began the second half strongly and a brilliant break from Richard Moore saw him gallop past a trail of Bulls defenders and find Miles Greenwood with a deft offload which led to Murrell being denied from close range.

Steve Tyrer, who converted both of Halifax's first-half tries, added a penalty in the 50th minute before O'Brien was caught off the ball by the impressive Manning in an incident that was placed on report.

O'Brien was fine to continue and almost scored in the left corner, only for Murrell to hold him up over the line with the kind of defensive effort which epitomised Halifax's collective desire.

Clare powered over the line with 11 minutes remaining and Addy converted to cut the gap to four points – but Halifax held on thanks to some obstinate defending.

Attendance: 4,108