MATCH SUMMARY Hull (20) 26 Tries: Blacklock, Whiting, Cooke, Chester, Tony Goals: Cooke 3 Bradford (0) 24 Tries: Peacock, Vainikolo 2, K. Pryce Goals: Deacon 4

The Bulls went in 20-0 down at the interval and trailed 26-6 with just 20 minutes left at the KC Stadium.

But two tries from Lesley Vainikolo and a touchdown from Karl Pryce pulled them to within two points of the home side.

Hull scored first-half tries through Nathan Blacklock, Richard Whiting, Paul Cooke and Chris Chester before Motu Tony grabbed a fifth after the break.

Bradford coach Brian Noble admitted his team's slow start had cost them a place in the next round.

"We put ourselves under too much pressure and it is something we need to work on for the rest of the season," said Noble.

"In the end, the clock beat us, another five minutes and we would have won.

"It was a masterful effort to get so close but we are bitterly disappointed. There was no lack of effort or determination, it was just composure."

Hull coach John Kear said his thoughts had been on the tie since the draw was made over a month ago.

"We looked at this game as part of a four-week cycle," he said. "You could say we put all our eggs in one basket and we came up with an omelette.

"It doesn't matter whether you win by a point or a hundred, all that matters is that we're in the hat.

"We had a tremendous first-half performance and had the character and determination to hang on."

Hull: Briscoe, Blacklock, Whiting, Yeaman, Raynor, Cooke, R. Horne, Dowes, Tony, Thackray, Chester, Kearney, McMenemy.
Replacements: King, Carvell, Brough, G. Horne.

Bradford: L. Pryce, Pratt, Reardon, Langley, Vainikolo, Harris, Paul, Fielden, Deacon, Peacock, Parker, Meyers, Radford.
Replacements: K. Pryce, Vagana, Lynch, Ferres.