Edinburgh are through to a European semi-final for the first time in a decade but they were made to work all the way against a Vodacom Bulls side who chipped away at their lead during an engrossing second half. They will now meet either Bath or Gloucester for a place in the EPCR Challenge Cup final and will again have home advantage. The semi will take place on the first weekend of May and Edinburgh will host the match at Hive Stadium rather than move it to Murrayfield. Sean Everitt said either English team would pose a huge threat but the Edinburgh coach will go into the game with confidence after his team kept out the Bulls with a gutsy second-half defensive display. The home side were 31-7 up after 42 minutes and eventually won 34-28 as the South African visitors fought their way back. James Lang scored two first-half tries for Edinburgh and Magnus Bradbury got one to give them a 24-7 lead at the interval as the Bulls had Zak Burger yellow-carded early on. Grant Gilchrist’s try early in the second half moved Edinburgh further ahead and the Bulls then had Jannes Kirsten sin-binned. But the team from Pretoria came storming back. A Bulls penalty try and a yellow card for Ross McCann was a double blow for Edinburgh and further scores from Cameron Hanekom and David Kriel - his second of the match - brought the visitors to within a score. “The Bulls are a dangerous team with the power that they have up front,” said Everitt. “Getting a big lead at half-time helped us, obviously. We took our opportunities in the first half and that's what you need to do against a team like this because they do have the ability to come back. “The second half obviously started well and then Ross McCann's yellow card was a change in momentum, unfortunately. They introduced Canan Moodie and he won a couple of balls out of the air and put us under the pump. “But I thought that the way we kept them out at the end, and Pierre Schoeman's turnover on the whistle, showed the guts that these guys showed defensively to keep out a very, very good Bulls pack.” There were only three minutes 22 seconds on the clock when Lang got the first of his tries. Matt Currie’s brilliant break was the catalyst but Ben Vellacott’s quick pass to Lang was also key. Edinburgh’s cause was helped when Burger was yellow-carded for slapping the ball out of Lang’s hands. It was a deliberate knock on and the home side took advantage of their extra man. A quick tap penalty by Boan Venter opened the door and Bradbury barged his way through. Ross Thompson’s second conversion made it 14-0 but Edinburgh lost a soft try soon after. There appeared little danger when Harold Vorster gathered an awkward pass on halfway but the Bulls centre ran straight through the middle unchallenged before passing to Kriel to score. Edinburgh quickly responded and there was a touch of fortune about Lang’s second try. He tried to thread through a grubber but the ball bounced back off an opponent and into his arms and he gratefully ploughed over. Thompson landed the conversion then added a penalty following a Bulls lineout infringement to stretch Edinburgh’s lead to 24-7 at the break. Vellacott wasn’t able to start the second half due to a foot injury as Edinburgh cashed in on Bulls indiscipline. They were again reduced to 14 men when Jannes Kirsten was sin-binned for a high tackle on McCann and Edinburgh’s fourth try quickly followed. The ball was worked wide and Gilchrist was able to power over. Thompson’s conversion put the home side 31-7 in front but any notion that the game was done was quickly scotched. Two Bulls tries in four minutes brought them right back into contention and the yellow card for McCann evened things up at 14-a-side. The Edinburgh winger was guilty of illegally trying to stop a Bulls attack and referee Pierre Brousset awarded a penalty try as well as a sin-binning. Hanekom then plundered another try and Johan Goosen’s conversion reduced Edinburgh’s lead to 31-21 and a little tension began to spread around the stands. Kirsten returned to the fray soon after but clearly hadn’t learned his lesson. He went in high on Schoeman and was lucky not to be shown a second yellow which would have meant red. Edinburgh had the right to feel aggrieved and they channelled their anger in the right way, forcing the Bulls up the pitch and Thompson kicked his second penalty to give the home side a little breathing space at 34-21. The Bulls weren’t done, though. They continued to pummel the Edinburgh line and, from a tap penalty, Kriel was able to get over for his second score. Johan Goosen’s conversion reduced Edinburgh’s lead to six points with four minutes remaining. The home side ended the match defending in their own half but did so with great resolve and Schoeman won a huge turnover at the death to ensure their place in the semi-finals. Edinburgh: Tries: Lang 2, Bradbury, Gilchrist. Cons: Thompson 4. Pens: Thompson 2. Bulls: Tries: Kriel 2, penalty try, Hanekom. Cons: Johannes, J Goosen 2. Yellow cards: Z Burger (Bulls, 8min), J Kirsten (Bulls, 41min), R McCann (Edinburgh, 46min). Edinburgh: W Goosen; D Graham, M Currie, J Lang (M Tuipulotu 67), R McCann; R Thompson (C Scott 72), B Vellacott (A Price 40); B Venter (P Schoeman 50), E Ashman (D Cherry 50), J Sebastian (D Rae 63), S Skinner (R Carmichael 71), G Gilchrist, J Ritchie, H Watson (B Muncaster 62), M Bradbury. Vodacom Bulls: D Williams; S Petersen (C Moodie 44), D Kriel, H Vorster, S Jacobs; K Johannes (J Goosen h-t), Z Burger (E Papier 68); S Matanzima (J-H Wessels h-t), A van der Merwe (J Grobbelaar 60), W Louw (M Smith 53), R Nortje (R Ludwig 56), JF van Heerden, M Coetzee (M van Staden h-t), J Kirsten, C Hanekom. Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra). Attendance: 4,737.