Foster saves Saints at Odsal

Lynch and Gaskell collide, leading to a late penalty for Saints

Jamie Foster held his nerve with a last-gasp penalty to grab St Helens a 14-14 draw against Bradford at a rain-soaked Odsal Stadium.

The young winger stepped up after the final hooter to land a long-range two-point attempt after Bulls' Andy Lynch had been penalised for taking out Lee Gaskell as the Saints player attempted to chase his own grubber kick.

The late blow was tough on the hosts after they had looked set for a third straight win thanks to Patrick Ah Van's 60th-minute penalty.

With Warrington and Huddersfield losing and Wigan drawing away at Castleford, the drawn outcome in Bradford means none of Super League's top four managed to record a win on a busy Sunday in Super League.

Trademark dart

Saints knew success on their travels would move them level with the Wolves and Giants at the summit, and they broke the deadlock after seven minutes thanks to a trademark dart out of dummy half by James Roby.

The hooker, who had missed England's International Origin match against the Exiles through injury but was cleared to play for his club less than 48 hours later, ran across the line before passing to Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook.

Foster kicked the easy conversion and the visitors looked set to move into double figures when Kyle Eastmond, selected in place of the rested Francis Meli, thought he'd crossed on a blindside move from a scrum.

However, the television official felt the rugby union-bound back had lost control of the ball as he attempted to ground it, meaning the try was not given.

The let-off proved crucial as Bradford immediately went down the other end to level matters. Brett Kearney marked his return from a broken hand by climbing above fellow full-back Paul Wellens to claim Marc Herbert's up-and-under.

Foster kicked Saints ahead again with an 18th-minute penalty before his side had a second try chalked off by the video referee.

Jonny Lomax looked to have burst through a gap to get over to the left of the uprights but, after viewing several replays, the official adjudged that he had used team-mate Andrew Dixon as an obstruction.

Instead it was the Bulls who touched down next, and again it was a high kick that provided them with the opening.

A spiralling bomb was missed by Gaskell and although Tom Burgess was held up on the very next tackle, Lynch was on hand to force his way over.

Serious injury

The try came at a cost for the home side, though, as hooker Heath L'Estrange suffered a serious knee injury in the process of setting up his skipper.

Saints hit back four minutes before the break when Tom Makinson dived in at the right corner, though Foster's inability to add the extras from tight to the touchline meant the two teams were on level terms at half time.

The scores remained deadlocked until the hour mark as the extremely wet conditions made it tough for the players to hang onto the ball.

Ah Van succeeded in the second half where he had failed late in the first, knocking over a two-pointer that went in off the right post.

That seemed set to be enough to settle a tight contest until referee James Child ruled that Lynch had blocked off Gaskell. Foster found the target with his kick under intense pressure, meaning a first draw between the two sides in 45 Super League meetings.