Tormented Bradford rugby league fans suffered dejection once again as the Bulls were tamed in a rain-soaked Challenge Cup final.

Supporters spoke of their frustration as their side slumped to a third cup loss in six seasons at the hands of St Helens.

And as the final hooter signalled their 13-6 defeat, the faces of the travelling faithful said it all.

Hopes had been high before the Saturday's centenary tie but the actions on the pitch rarely lived up to expectations.

Bradford's Lord Mayor, Councillor Stanley King - who watched the match alongside his St Helens counterpart - said: "It was very sad that they didn't quite go all the way.

"The conditions were pretty awful. The pitch was sodden and the ball must have been very slippery. It was very disappointing."

Charlie Ebbage, 71, is a former chairman of the Bulls supporters club.

He said: "More than anything else I was bitterly disappointed, not just by the loss but with the performance. We played well in the first 15 minutes and then it seemed that psychology took over when they scored, it was almost like the players were thinking 'Here we go again'. It just seems as if we can't beat St Helens in the final."

Mr Ebbage felt that some of the referee's decisions went against the Bulls. He said: "I don't think the 50-50 decisions went with us, they seemed to go to St Helens, I don't know why. He's usually a good referee but there were a couple of incidents that I would've given a penalty for, but there again he was closer to it than I was."

Fan Kevin Morgan, 42, who watched the game in the Hare and Hounds at Odsal, said: "We are all very disappointed with the performance. They had the perfect start in terms of possession, in the first ten or 15 minutes they had the majority of possession but got nothing to show for it.

"The general consensus in here is that they just didn't perform on the day."

Richard Sears, 31, from Clayton Heights, said: "With all the uncertainty around Henry and Robbie Paul the team's minds seemed to be on other things. We can't play on the big stage. We've beaten St Helens in the league but when it comes to the final we'd rather play anyone else apart from St Helens.

"We're gutted. It was a very, very good atmosphere, then St Helen's got their first try and our heads went down and we never recovered."

David Rathmell, 52, couldn't make it to Twickenham and watched the game at home. He said: "It was very disappointing that we didn't manage to score a try. I think the game plan went wrong, they should've swapped some players at half time.

"They could have moved Henry Paul to full-back and Michael Withers on to the wing and brought Paul Deacon on at scrum-half, I think there could have been a better plan for the second half.

"I think we let ourselves down on the day, the weather didn't help, but then it was the same for both sides."

Though they lost out to St Helens, praise was still heaped on Bulls for their efforts at Twickenham.

The Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend David Smith, was in a conference and didn't get to see much of the game, but says he felt that the team played well.

He said: "I think it's a great disappointment for everyone involved after a tremendous effort by the Bulls themselves, and I hope they will go from strength to strength for the rest of the season."

The team were also wished future success by Council Leader Margaret Eaton. She said: "The Bulls have done a tremendous job in highlighting the profile of Bradford in the past few years and it's terrible that they didn't win at the weekend.

"I'm sure they will be able to recover, they mustn't be disheartened - tomorrow's another day."

Ann Cryer, MP for Keighley, thinks that some people may feel that the defeat may affect commerce in Bradford, but she feels this is not the case.

She said: "The Bulls loss gives a general feeling of nothing going well, but on the whole I don't think it will have any effect on commercial life of Bradford or Keighley.

"I'm sorry that the Bulls lost, there are lots of people that support the team week in and week out and I hope they continue to support them."

For Gerry Sutcliffe, MP for Bradford South, Saturday just wasn't the Bulls' day.

"It was a disappointing game. They will have to put it behind them, nothing much can be drawn from it," he said.

"It is disappointing, but it was a good day for all the fans who travelled down. It was a bit damp, but at least they were in the final, that's something to take heart from.

"Nine times out of ten they would've beaten them, it was just an off day."