EAMON O’Carroll saw his Bulls side go in front inside two minutes yesterday in their Betfred Championship play-off eliminator against Featherstone at Odsal, and there was plenty to keep him smiling in the rest of the game. Building on that early try from Jayden Myers, Bradford went on to record a 25-12 win over their bitter rivals , sending them into a semi-final showdown away to Toulouse. Bulls’ lightning start meant they had scored before Fev had even had a touch of the ball, aside from the kick-off, and head coach O’Carroll said: “It does count for something that we went ahead so early and put that scoreboard pressure on Featherstone from the off.
“But my message to the lads was that we hadn’t defended yet, and that’s how you normally want to get into the game, so that was a little bit of a concern. “Obviously in knockout games, if you score first you’re very happy, especially if you do that in the first couple of minutes. “But you can sometimes let that have a negative effect on you, so I’m glad we didn’t allow that to happen.
” In a tight first half, Jordan Lilley kept the scoreboard ticking over after Myers’ try, a penalty and a drop goal putting them 7-0 up at the break, before Bulls really hit their straps later on. Kieran Gill scored the first of Bulls' three second half tries, which came off the back of the scoreboard pressure Jordan Lilley put on before the break. (Image: Tom Pearson.
) Those two scores were pivotal at keeping Rovers at ar.