A LAST gasp Jamie Foster penalty from 30 yards handed Saints a deserved point at Odsal.
The youngster kept his nerve to seal a 14-14 draw and keep his side right in the hunt for top spot.
But Saints probably should’ve sealed the win as they were much the better team throughout the soggy match.
They were level at half time despite dominating the opening 40 minutes.
James Roby put in Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook to get Saints underway before Bulls went ahead after they took advantage of two high balls.
Saints had two tries disallowed – dubiously – but pulled level in the final minutes of the half through Tom Makinson.
In the second half, both sides struggled to make headway in appalling conditions but Patrick Ah Van put the Bulls ahead with a penalty from 35 metres out.
And that almost proved to be the eventual winner before Foster’s late intervention.
Five of Saints’ six exiles backed up from Friday’s game, with only Francis Meli missing out with a leg injury.
That meant Kyle Eastmond coming into the centres, whilst Chris Flannery and Josh Perry both returned on the bench.
Saints got off to a good start with Jon Wilkin, Lee Gaskell and Jonny Lomax all penning the Bulls back with strong kicks.
But once they got a set in Bradford’s half they were deadly. The home side conceded a penalty and once James Roby had broken the line, LMS was on his shoulder to get Saints on the board.
Foster with the easiest of conversions.
From the restart, Gaskell hit a huge forty twenty… and when the ball came out of the scrum, Kyle Eastmond slid over under pressure.
But Ian Smith, the video referee, ruled he had lost the ball despite him having downward pressure.
Bradford hit back straight away. A massive high ball went up from Marc Herbert and Brett Kearney profited – out-jumping Paul Wellens.
Patrick Ah Van levelling it up.
Jamie Foster added a penalty to put Saints back ahead before Jonny Lomax side stepped his way to the line and used the wet ground to slide over.
But this time it was ruled off for obstruction.
And like the last decision, it looked harsh.
So ironically, it was no surprise that Andy Lynch benefitted from another high ball to drive over the line – Ah Van giving them a four-point lead.
But Saints were not going to let nearly a full half of constant pressure go to waste – Roby firing a long ball to Makinson for his fifth of the year.
Foster missing the conversion off the touchline.
Half Time: Bradford 12 Saints 12
Both sides struggled to get any sort of territorial advantage early doors with the driving rain and slippery conditions making a mockery of summer rugby.
After Saints should have been given a penalty of their own in front of the posts, Patrick Ah Van forged the Bulls ahead by banging over one of his own – off the post.
Saints bombed a couple of chances to put pressure on Bradford’s line; dropping the ball three or four times as the clock ticked down.
And with 10 minutes to go Saints had another chance – forcing a drop out but not getting any joy from Bradford’s defence.
Four minutes left on the clock Saints had six in Bradford territory once more and then grabbed a repeat set – again to no avail.
But with seconds to go Lee Gaskell chipped ahead, was taken out by Andy Lynch, and Jamie Foster cooly slotted over from 30 yards.
Saints would be happy with the point, but know they can do so much better on a day they dropped too much ball.
Still, in those conditions…
Match Summary:
Bradford:
Tries: Kearney, Lynch
Goals: Ah Van (2 from 3)
Saints:
Tries: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Makinson
Goals: Foster (2 from 3)
Penalties:
Bradford: 7
Saints: 6
HT: 12-12
FT: 14-14
REF: James Child
ATT: 13224
Teams:
Bradford:
6. Brett Kearney; 24. Jason Crookes, 5. Patrick Ah Van, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 19. Gareth Raynor; 33. Ben Jeffries, 7. Marc Herbert; 10. Andy Lynch, 14. Matt Diskin, 16. Craig Kopczak, 11. Olivier Elima, 17. Ian Sibbit, 13. Jamie Langley.
Subs: 9. Heath L’Estrange, 20. James Donaldson, 23. Tom Olbison, 29. Tom Burgess.
Saints:
1. Paul Wellens; 28. Thomas Makinson, 3. Michael Shenton, 7. Kyle Eastmond, 22. Jamie Foster; 25. Lee Gaskell, 20. Jonny Lomax; 10. James Graham, 9. James Roby, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 4. Sia Soliola, 12. Jon Wilkin, 11. Tony Puletua.
Subs: 8. Josh Perry, 13. Chris Flannery, 19. Andrew Dixon, 24. Tom Armstrong.
