12 man Catalan defeat Bradford
12 man Catalan rallied round superbly to record a 34-28 victory over Bradford this afternoon which saw David Ferriol sent off for a reckless tackle.
The Bulls started the brighter after Olivier Elima crashed over for the hosts on 9 minutes after bursting through to touch down from short range. Ah Van converting.
With Catalan on the attack near the Bulls line, Elliot Whitehead attempted to knock the ball free but knocked on in the process. From the resulting scrum, the ball was spread wide and Clint Greenshields ran a good angle to score in the corner, Dureau missing the conversion.
With both sides committing their fair share of handling errors, it was Andy Lynch‘s knock on which Catalan exploited with Damian Blanch crossing in the corner from the resulting set. Dureau missed the conversion.
When Greenshields held onto Emila for too long after the tackle, the Bulls opted for the two points and Ah Van slotted over goal to level the scores at 8-8.
Referee Phil Bentham awarded another penalty for the Bulls after Catalan were holding on too long in the tackle, Ah Van slotted over the two points to put the half time score at 10-8 to the hosts.
Despite Dereau’s second half restart going out on the full, it was Catalan who got the first points of the second half after Sebastian Raguin burrowed his way over from dummy half. Dereau again missing the conversion.
The Dragons were down to 12 men after David Ferriol put in a reckless high shot on James Donaldson, Phil Bentham right issuing a red card to the Catalan prop. Ah Van took the two points on offer to level the scores at 12-12.
The Bulls made the extra man count after 50 minutes with Tom Burgess crashing over under the sticks, Ah Van again adding the extras.
The Dragons rallied round though and kept pressing for the score with Damian Blanch coming close after making a superb break, only to be dragged down a metre short of the line.
The visitors did cross on 57 minutes after Ian Henderson scooted from dummy half to touch down. Dereau adding the extras, his first goal of the game.
Brett Kearney was denied a try on the hour mark after the video referee adjudged a double movement from the experienced Bulls full back.
From the resulting penalty, the Dragons moved up field and Steve Menzies superbly off-loaded to Lopini Paea who broke to eventually allow Dureau to score under the sticks. Dureau adding the extras.
Catalan extended their lead shortly after when Casty gathered Ben Jefferies’ offload, who then passed to Blanch, who raced in to score under the sticks.
The Bulls came back fighting though with Jefferies ghosting through after some good attacking play from the hosts. Ah Van adding the extras to bring the Bulls to within 6 points of the Dragons.
However the visitors responded immediately when Millard broke the line, off-loaded to Greenshields, who raced half the length of the field to score in the corner. Dureau failing to add the extras from the touchline.
Raynor did get a consolation try for the Bulls just before the hooter, Ah Van missing the conversion, to leave the final score at Bradford 28-34 Catalan.