WIDNES Vikings produced a sensational second half comeback to rescue a well-deserved point against the shell-shocked Bradford Bulls at the Stobart Stadium.

David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ rang out at the final hooter, a fitting tribute to a home side that fought back from being 16 points and a man down at half time to rescuing a 22-22 draw with less than five minutes remaining.

Gareth Hock’s red card after 30 minutes looked to have sealed the home side’s fate as tries from Elliot Whitehead, Brett Kearney, Matt Diskin and Keith Lulia handed the visitors a 20-4 lead, with Patrick Ah Van’s solitary try the only highlight of a miserable opening 40 minutes from Vikings.

But they emerged a brighter side and played better with 12 men then they ever did with 13, with tries from Rhys Hanbury, Ah Van and Lloyd White handing Ah Van the chance to level the scores from the kicking tee.

It started badly for Widnes, as on the visitor’s first possession they sliced Vikings open to start the scoring. A high bomb on the last from Danny Addy was knocked on 10metres out from the Widnes posts and within moments Brett Kearney’s pass had sent Elliot Whitehead through a gaping hole on the right.

Bulls wasted no time in doubling their advantage after only five minutes, a lovely Keith Lulia offload sending Kearney racing through on the left wing to extend his scoring run to six straight games. Jarrod Sammut added the extras to make it 10-0.

The two sides then traded defensive blows, with Widnes given the chance to attack Bulls’ line for the first time following back-to-back penalties, only to be held up by some fierce Bradford defending. The hosts repaid the favour at the other end, Addy’s lovely 40/20 handing Bradford a dangerous position only to be rebuffed by a thumping tackle from Paddy Flynn on Lulia.

After an indifferent start to the game, Widnes clawed some ground back on 20 minutes. With the tackle count wiped inside Bulls’ 10metre line, Patrick Ah Van scooted from dummy half up the blind side to beat Elliot Kear to the corner.

But the home side’s job was about to get a lot tougher. After Diskin burrowed over from dummy half for Bulls’ third try of the night, Gareth Hock’s heated exchange with referee Robert Hicks earned the fiery England forward a red card.

It was the nail in the coffin of a poor first half for the home side and within seven minutes Bulls had twisted the knife. The increasingly unpopular Hicks handed Bulls a knock on near Vikings’ line to the disgust of the home fans. Lulia twisted over for Bradford’s fourth of the evening after 35 minutes, and though Sammut missed another conversion attempt Vikings trooped in 20-4 down at the break.

It looked as though the home side were dead and buried, but they emerged from half time with the wind in their sails and reduced the deficit inside three minutes. A distinctly forward-looking pass was missed by the tough judge and Lloyd White’s nice pass sent Rhys Hanbury crashing over to make it 20-8.

Remarkably that was just the start of their revival. Ah Van snuck over the corner before slotting the conversion attempt to make it 20-14 with half an hour to play. Jarrod Sammut’s 40-metre penalty extended Bulls’ lead to 22-14 five minutes later, but both the home side and crowd still believed a miraculous comeback could be on the cards.

That belief took a surge with a little over 10 minutes remaining after Widnes continued along the seemingly impossible comeback trail. White charged on to Hanbury’s short ball to drop over next to the sticks and hand Ah Van a simple kick to make it 22-20.

With Bulls at sixes and sevens Vikings turned the screw. A home penalty 40m out with four minutes remaining kept the crowd on the edge of their seats and as Ah Van’s kick sailed over the explosion of noise was a fitting tribute to their side’s effort in the second half.

The game ended all square, but to Denis Betts, his team and the home crowd it must have felt like a brilliant victory.

Widnes: Rhys Hanbury; Paddy Flynn, Chris Dean, Willie Isa, Patrick Ah Van; Lloyd White, Joe Mellor; Ben Cross, Jon Clarke, Eamon O’Carroll, Gareth Hock, Dave Allen, Hep Cahill. Subs: Frank Winterstein, Ben Kavanagh, Phil Joseph, Alex Gerrard.

Bulls: Brett Kearney; Elliot Kear, Matty Blythe, Keith Lulia, Chev Walker; Danny Addy, Jarrod Sammut, Nick Scruton, Heath L’Estrange, Manese Manuokafoa, Tom Oblison, Elliot Whitehead, Jamie Langley. Subs: Matt Diskin, James Donaldson, Jobe Murphy, Adam Sidlow.