Eagles beaten by Bradford

12/06/2022

Sheffield Eagles recorded back-to-back home defeats, losing out to the Bradford Bulls 10-30 at the Olympic Legacy Park on Sunday afternoon.

Mark Aston welcomed Kris Welham back to the fold, replacing the injured Josh Guzdek at centre. The other change saw new signing Cory Aston make his third debut for the club from the bench.

Bradford started brightly and it didn’t take long for them to open the scoring. Inside five minutes, David Foggin-Johnston was on the end of a looping Bulls pass and he finished off the move acrobatically in the right corner.

The visitors added their second try in the 20th minute, symbolising their dominance within the first quarter of the contest.

A Bulls grubber kick into the Sheffield in-goal area was fumbled by Matty Chrimes, leaving Corey Johnson the chance to touch down for the Bulls. Patton converted his first of the day for a 0-10 lead.

Despite a slow start, Sheffield soon levelled up the scores temporarily thanks to two tries in the final ten minutes of the first half.

Anthony Thackeray’s wide pass to Ben Jones-Bishop was batted back inside by the Jamaican international for Kris Welham to finish off the move with class.

Two minutes before the half-time break, the Eagles got their second and final try of the afternoon through another well-executed score.

Matty Chrimes was sent down the Sheffield touchline following a pass out wide from Laulu-Togaga’e’s on his 200th Eagles appearance, the winger kicked the ball inside for the arrival of Sheffield skipper Thackeray who touched down. Farrell converted for 10-10.

On the last play of the half, Bradford hit the front again. Declan Patton’s banana kick found Brandon Pickersgill who gave the visitors a half-time lead.

Half-time: Sheffield Eagles 10-16 Bradford Bulls

Stand-off Patton kept the scoreboard ticking in the early stages of the second period with a penalty goal to make it 10-18.

Former Eagles winger Ryan Millar added a double for the West Yorkshire outfit to seal victory for the Bulls.

First, Kieran Gill managed to get an offload away for the German-born speedster who found his way to the line.

The second try was set up by Elliot Kear, who broke through the Eagles' defence and fed Millar to complete his brace.

Full-time: Sheffield Eagles 10-30 Bradford Bulls 

Next up for the Eagles is a Friday Night Lights game against Leigh Centurions on 24th June, 7:45pm kickoff. 

Tickets are available here but if you're planning on coming to more games at the OLP and don't have a season ticket, Half Season Tickets are now available here! 

By Lewis Coleman, photo by Alex Coleman