St Helens' early-season crisis deepened when defeat at improving Bradford Bulls consigned them to their worst league run for 23 years.

While the Bulls collected their first home win of the season to go with three away victories, Saints remain outside the top eight in the Stobart Super League after an abject performance.

They have taken just one point from their last five matches and have now lost four successive games for the first time since 1989 to pile the pressure on coach Royce Simmons.

While Bradford managed to shrug off the absence of nine first-teamers through injury and suspension, Saints sorely missed the creative skills of James Roby, as well as Jonny Lomax, Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Sia Soliola, and looked well short of confidence after their barren run.

With scoring chances at a premium in the wet conditions, Bradford's hero was scrum-half Ben Jeffries, whose brilliant tactical kicking tormented the visitors and created both tries for Elliott Whitehead and Karl Pryce.

Saints never got going but they took the lead in fortuitous fashion midway through the first half when a break by Paul Wellens set up the position for second rower Andrew Dixon to cross, although Bradford fans were convinced there was a forward pass in the build-up.

The Bulls had a try by promising forward John Bateman ruled out by video referee Steve Ganson for a double movement but deservedly went in front seven minutes before the break with the aid of a rare eight-point try.

Right winger Pryce, making his first home appearance for six years, managed to get a foot to Jeffries' kick, pushing the ball over the line for second rower Whitehead to pounce for the touchdown.

Paul Sykes kicked the conversion to put the home side in front and immediately stretched the lead with a penalty, awarded by referee Richard Silverwood for a foul on Whitehead in the act of scoring by Saints winger Jamie Foster.

Foster was then badly at fault when Bradford went further ahead early in the second half.

Jeffries produced another superb kick and Foster hesitated, desperately hoping the ball would go into touch, before watching in horror as it sat up nicely for Pryce to gather and cross at the corner.

Things then went from bad to worse for Foster when he was sin-binned on 55 minutes for interference and tempers became frayed when Bradford forward Olivier Elima was penalised for an off-the-ball push on Lee Gaskell.

It was typical of Saints' miserable evening that they failed to find touch with the penalty and their last chance to get back in the game disappeared.

The Bulls would have added a third try but for a magnificent tackle by Wellens on Jeffries, while Saints missed a glorious chance when forward Tony Puletua dropped Wellens' pass with the line breached before centre Francis Meli grabbed a last-minute consolation try.