WARRINGTON Wolves were in agreement that the Bradford Bulls Challenge Cup semi-final result was one that they let slip.
The effort put in by the players was superb but at 12-12 early in the second half Warrington had the Bulls on the rack and they failed to turn the screw.
A disallowed try - a wrong call by referee Stuart Cummings - did not help the Wolves' cause at that point and then arguably a wrong call let the Bulls off the hook.
The sequence of events was seen as a huge turning point in the game.
Afterwards Wolves coach Darryl Van de Velde said: "I was confident going into the game but at half-time I was even more confident we were going to win it.
"We had to put a lot of pressure on them because Bradford do not like it under pressure.
"We did that and Nikau scored off Alf's kick and I thought it was definitely a try. Referee Stuart Cummings should have called on the video referee, that's what it is there for.
"We kept them in their own area by tackling them into touch twice.
"When we were awarded a penalty the momentum was going with our side. We had to take the momentum further and roll the dice because I thought we had Bradford shot at that point and that running the ball would have laid the platform nicely for a try.
"But we went for two points from the penalty. Unfortunately Lee missed the goal and Bradford found touch from the drop out when we went to sleep. The sequence was a huge turning point as Bradford got back into the game."
Wolves skipper Allan Langer admitted he wanted to keep the pressure on Bradford from the penalty and appeared to be discussing the options with fellow senior professionals Andrew Gee and Tawera Nikau.
He said: "I wanted to kick it out for touch but Briersy had already told the referee he wanted to go for goal so there was a bit of miscommunication there.
"We had had them under pressure for a few sets of six. We should have kept going at them."
Van de Velde concluded: "It was one of those games I thought we could have won. I was happy with everyone's effort. No-one shirked anything, no-one gave up any ground but it was one of those games that got away and we were beaten by a better side on the day."
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