Bradford Bulls 22 York Knights 8: Odsal comes to life as fallen giants move in sight of Super League

Bradford Bulls' latest chance of a return to Super League appeared to be slipping away after an in-form York Knights built up a commanding 8-0 lead inside the opening half an hour.

But backed by a fervent home crowd, the Bulls came charging back to book a trip to Toulouse Olympique in next week's Championship semi-finals.

The four-time Super League champions will have to do it the hard way with Featherstone Rovers highly fancied to host the Grand Final but they are in sight of the promised land.

Bradford have been out of Super League since 2014 and even spent a season in League 1 at the peak of their financial troubles.

Bullmania is a distant memory but there were flickers of life inside a decaying Odsal as Bradford's interchanges made a telling impact.

Fenton Rogers and Keven Appo scored tries off the bench to wipe out York's first-half advantage, while fellow replacement Eribe Doro helped lay on another for Tom Holmes just after the restart.

In their 34th game of a gruelling season, there was no way back for the Knights as Lee Greenwood’s side set the record straight after two defeats to York earlier in the year.

"We owed York one,” said Greenwood. “We'd not performed well enough in the other two games against them.

"We let the officiating and York get to us in the first half an hour. After that, I thought the bench made an outstanding impact and changed the game for us.

"I’m really pleased for the club. We’re massive underdogs next week but we shouldn’t underestimate the quality in our team. If we get the team performance right, we’ve got a great chance.”

York snatched a play-off place thanks to a remarkable run of 10 wins in 11 games but down to their last 17 fit players, the lowest-ranked team in the play-offs eventually ran out of steam.

Andrew Henderson's men appeared to be on course for another victory after surviving an early scare.

Bradford thought they had broken the deadlock when Ben Blackmore touched down in the corner, only for the officials to rule the final pass from Holmes forward.

Liam Harris got the scoreboard moving with a penalty after the Bulls were penalised for offside as York asserted their control.

The Knights were completing high and gained confidence from a series of solid defensive sets, with Joe Brown an assured presence at the back.

York had a two-score lead after Jesse Dee forced his way over from close range and Harris added the extras – and there was little evidence to suggest they would be ruffled.

Henderson's side were knocked off their stride by a half-break from Bradford full-back Holmes that energised the home crowd.

Lee Gaskell forced a drop-out to keep York on the back foot and they could not stem the tide, Rogers crashing over under the sticks with the Knights still recovering from a powerful dart by Appo.

Jordan Lilley knocked over the conversion to reduce the deficit to two points and the Bulls had a golden opportunity to take control of the tie after Harris sent the restart out on the full.

They did just that with Appo proving unstoppable from close range and Lilley making no mistake from the tee.

After seeing their team turn the game on its head with a rousing rally, an increasingly enthusiastic home crowd showed their approval as the sides made their way off at half-time.

If the three first-half tries could be best described as barge-over efforts, Holmes' score just after the restart captured the imagination.

Doro got York scrambling with a powerful burst and found an offload to Lilley who sent Holmes over next to the posts.

There was no way back for York after seeing Lilley add the extras in damp conditions.

Hull KR-bound AJ Wallace and Blackmore had tries ruled out in Bradford's attempts to land a killer blow.

The Bulls wore the Knights down on the back of a Gaskell 40/20 and ended their challenge courtesy of two Lilley penalties.

As the clock ticked down, the home side were serenaded with chants of "We love you Bradford, we do" from a fanbase that are starting to believe again.

Bradford Bulls: Holmes, Blackmore, Arundel, Gill, Taufua, Gaskell, Lilley, Lawrence, Flanagan Snr, Matongo, Wallace, Butler, Baitieri. Substitutes: Wynne, Appo, Rogers, Doro.

York Knights: Brown, Bass, Kirmond, Clarkson, Towse, Dee, Harris, Santi, Jubb, Ta'ai, Fitzsimmons, Field, Thompson. Substitutes: Pemberton, Michael, Pauli, Price.

Referee: Tom Grant.