Widnes Vikings moved to within four points of St Helens at the Super League summit with a 22-18 win over Bradford Bulls in Cheshire this afternoon.
Jack Owens and a Kevin Brown double helped the Vikings into a commanding 16-0 lead, with the boot of Danny Tickle adding two conversions.
Dennis Betts's men looked good to take that advantage into the interval, only for the Bulls to lay the foundations of a prospective second-half comeback courtesy of a converted Liam Sutcliffe try before the break.
The fightback edged toward materialising after Elliott Kear crossed over eight minutes after the restart to close the deficit to four points.
However, a converted try from Patrick Ah Van shortly afterwards re-established Widnes' 10-point lead, before the Bulls came again as Brett Kearney reduced the arrears once more with 13 minutes remaining.
It proved to be last action of the contest as the Cheshire outfit held on for the win.
Shane Callaghan
