Phew! Bradford Bulls breathe huge sigh of relief as they scrape home against Dewsbury Rams

AS the final hooter sounded, it came as monumental relief.

To Jimmy Lowes, to his players and to the vast majority of a rain-soaked Odsal.

In the closing stages, the Bulls were clinging on desperately against a part-time outfit who for long periods had threatened to embarrass them.

The club had hoped to mark the 20-year anniversary from Bradford Northern to Bradford Bulls by going top of the league for the first time this season.

They needed to beat Dewsbury by six points more than Leigh beat Batley to reach the summit.

But they merely scraped to victory after an error-strewn display which saw Adrian Purtell continue his impressive season with a second-half brace.

That it was a 15th straight Championship win was largely forgotten after a home performance branded "rubbish" by Lowes.

The Bulls head coach pointed an accusing finger at not only his players but also himself and his staff.

He queried his own choice of substitutions and, after the post-match press conference, chairman Marc Green shook Lowes’ hand.

“This is the dreaded vote of confidence,” joked Green with a smile.

Back in June 1995, when Northern became the Bulls, Bradford became trailblazers of the Super League era, on and off the field.

They exploited the opportunities of summer rugby to generate an intoxicating atmosphere at Odsal.

They appeared in five consecutive Grand Finals from 2001 to 2005, then added World Club Challenge triumphs after each of their three victories.

Two decades on, and after a painful demise on and off the field during the past nine years, yesterday’s crowd of 3,998 underlined how far the club have fallen.

Dewsbury, it has to be said, were outstanding.

Glenn Morrison has made a highly impressive effect on Dewsbury’s fortunes since taking control almost three years ago.

The Australian former Bulls back-rower, who has made no secret of his desire to coach in Super League, would have been particularly keen for his team to impress at his old stomping ground.

Bradford were buoyed by the return of Matty Blythe off the bench for his first appearance of the season while Jake Mullaney made his comeback at stand-off alongside Danny Addy.

Yet there was no denying the Bulls sorely missed the inspiration of Lee Gaskell as they struggled badly for creativity throughout the opening 40 minutes.

The incessant rain certainly made handling conditions difficult and became something of a leveller between the sides.

In truth there was little to cheer for the rain-soaked supporters who braved the weather on the Popular Side Terrace.

With ten minutes played, Dewsbury almost forged ahead.

Loose forward Aaron Brown found Kieran Hyde breaking from full back and his neatly-weighted pass invited the former Bulls academy player to race clear.

Hyde just lacked the pace to go all the way as Mullaney tackled him inside Bradford’s 20-metre line but the visitors thought they had scored on the next play.

Matty Wildie’s clever kick to the left corner was pounced on by Dalton Grant but he narrowly failed to ground the ball and no try was awarded by referee Chris Leatherbarrow.

Chances were scarce and the atmosphere, not helped by the weather, was decidedly flat.

Bradford’s best move came in the 24th minute when neat handling from Adam O’Brien and Jay Pitts found Adam Sidlow in space inside the right channel.

As if inspired by the storming run which saw him cross the line against Doncaster seven days earlier, Sidlow again drove at the heart of the visiting defence.

He made considerable ground and found Adam Henry before his short pass could not be finished off by Etu Uaisele less than ten metres out.

With chances at a premium, it was a golden opportunity missed.

Blythe then came off the bench to replace Pitts in the 29th minute before the Bulls almost opened the scoring from a searing counter-attack.

After a Dewsbury attack came to nothing in the right corner, Danny Williams collected possession and raced down the left wing before finding Purtell in support.

Purtell played the ball back to Williams but the winger, who should really have gone for the line himself, opted to offload to Henry inside.

Yet the Kiwi knocked on 20 metres out under pressure from a Dewsbury defender.

It was another chance spurned and, after a knock-on from Addy gave Dewsbury a set of six 20 metres out, they punished the Bulls ruthlessly with the game’s opening try.

Replacement Byron Smith evaded the attention of several Bradford defenders to find scrum half Anthony Thackeray, who twisted his way over the line from close range.

Brett Seymour added the extras and Dewsbury deservedly led 6-0 at the interval.

Presumably Lowes gave his men a verbal roasting during the break but his words clearly did not have the desired effect as the Bulls fell further behind within five minutes of the restart.

Hyde’s high bomb was expertly taken by former Bradford star Karl Pryce, all 6ft 6in of him, as he towered above the home defence to score a try converted by Seymour.

At 12-0, disaster beckoned the Bulls.

They finally awoke to the seriousness of their situation with two tries in five minutes.

After a spell of sustained pressure on Dewsbury’s line, Adam O’Brien’s superb long pass sent Henry crashing over from close range.

Ryan Shaw, who had replaced James Mendeika at full back moments earlier, added the extras.

Still Dewsbury continued to probe and they forced the Bulls to drop out under their posts before the hosts soon grabbed their second try.

This time a fine break from Mullaney inside the left channel saw him break from inside his own half to make 50 metres before an intelligent pass sent Purtell racing clear to score.

Shaw again improved the try to level matters at 12-12.

Now it was game on.

The Bulls finally edged ahead in the 67th minute when Hyde fielded a kick and attempted to find Grant with his pass. But the ball ran loose and into the grateful path of Addy, who scooped it up and scampered over the line.

That put Bradford ahead for the first time and Shaw’s third goal made it 18-12 before Purtell grabbed his second to finally finish Dewsbury off.

Sidlow collected possession around 30 metres out and his short pass sent Purtell through a hole in the visiting defence, Shaw converting.

There was still time for Dale Morton to touch down Brown’s kick in the right corner and Hyde’s conversion cut the Bulls’ lead to four points with three minutes remaining.