BATLEY 21 BULLS 20

BULLS turned victory into dramatic defeat as lowly Batley claimed only their third win of the season in dramatic circumstances.

The Bulls, eyeing a third straight win, lost a 12-point lead in the first half – and then Jordan Lilley blew two big chances to clinch it late on before the home side struck.

So having beaten second place last week, the visitors slumped against the side who started the early kick-off third from bottom.

And they had only themselves to blame after a complacent display that lacked any composure at key times.

An away following that accounted for at least half the crowd must have been scratching their heads and wondering if this was the same team that had done such a disciplined job on Sheffield the previous Sunday.

This display was unrecognisable from that one.

The Bulls had been boosted by the long-awaited return of Jordan Baldwinson for his first senior appearance since damaging his ACL in Toulouse last June.

Joe Arundel was back after missing the Sheffield win and Zac Fulton had fully recovered from his dead leg.

But there was no Michael Lawrenson in the ranks after he pulled his hamstring in the final training session of the week.

Batley fielded three dual-reg recruits from Castleford, including former Bulls prop Samy Kibula back for his second spell at the Bulldogs.

The Bulls, playing up the infamous slope first, found themselves under self-inflicted early pressure after knock-ons from Fenton Rogers and Liam Tindall deep in their own half. But Batley failed to take advantage in a scrappy start to the game.

Mitch Souter was taken down by a brilliant tackle from Fulton’s break and Tom Holmes was held up behind the line as the Bulls began to find their rhythm.

That was evident as they struck twice in a three-minute burst through scoring machine Fulton.

The Aussie stretched to plant the opening try over the line – and then burst from inside his own half for a sensational score from the next attack. But the lead did not last long.

Batley hit back quickly with quick hands releasing Joe Burton to score against his old club in the left corner.

And their comeback was soon complete after Ben White took advantage of Hooley’s well-judged 40/20 to side-step a couple of half tackles and go in under the posts.

Tyran Ott wasted a scoring chance with a poor switch kick attempt but Josh Woods lost the ball near the Bulls line after Hooley’s break.

After the two scoring flurries from either side, it remained a tight and fairly scrappy tussle and Lilley twice missed drop-goal attempts in the closing moments as the half finished level.

Eamon O’Carroll had only used three first-half subs – possibly saving fresh legs for the second period going downhill.

Lilley forced Batley into an early goal-line drop out. Tindall crossed but ref Scott Mikalauskas ruled out the winger’s score for a forward pass from fellow Hull loanee Jayden Okunbor.

But Bulls did edge back in front on 48 minutes through Lilley’s penalty after Ott was taken out off the ball by Kibula.

Baldwinson appeared for his first action seven minutes later as both sides continued to cancel each other out.

Okunbor halted George Senior on a menacing Batley break but a Bulls offside call allowed Josh Woods’ boot to square things up again just after the hour.

Batley then went in front for the first time 10 minutes from the end, Alistair Leak spotting a gap in the defence to dive in from dummy half – despite some claims that he lost the ball in the process.

Bulls needed a spark from somewhere and got it as Aidan McGowan’s early kick caught out Batley, Tom Holmes sprinting onto it to win the race and touch down.

A ball steal on Lilley gave him the chance to nail a 35-yard penalty from right in front – but he scuffed it wide.

And the skipper for the day then blew another huge opportunity with a third missed one-pointer after the Bulls had seven tackles to line up the position.

He threw his head back in frustration the second he made contact, knowing that it was again drifting wide of the target.

Lilley was made to pay as Woods showed how it should be done at the other end, firing off a game-clinching drop goal himself before the white shirts could close him down.

There was still time for the Bulls to do likewise. But they failed to line up a fourth attempt for Lilley in a helter-skelter finish that lacked any sign of game management.

BATLEY: Hooley; Buchanan, Mitsias, Senior, Burton; White, Woods; Gledhill, Moore, Cooper, Manning, Walshaw, Putt. Interchange: Leak, Kibula, Flynn, Ward.

BULLS: Holmes; Tindall, Okunbor, Gill, McGowan; Ott, Lilley; Doro, Souter, Rogers, Arundel, Fulton, Davies. Interchange: Appo, Baldwinson, Scurr, Peposhi.