Grand opening falls flat as Shrews tame Bantams

New start, new hope, new pitch – but once again that familiar half-empty feeling at the final whistle.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen who have not been before, to the Bradford City experience.

The highs and lows of a home game encapsulated in 90 minutes – or rather the three and a bit either side of half-time.

Maintaining the infuriating pattern of the season’s early days, City once more let an interval advantage slip through their fingers.

Swindon needed seven minutes of the second half to cancel out their deficit; York four. But Shrewsbury required only 25 seconds, their almost apologetic equaliser sneaking in while many in Valley Parade’s biggest opening crowd since the Premier League were still finding the way back to their seats.

Unlike a year ago, there was no dramatic finale; no James Hanson rising high to power in a late, late winner. Instead, just that irritation and frustration gnawing away at the stomach at another home game squandered.

At least the equaliser came early, very, very early instead of the procession of last-minute levellers that plagued last season.
But this was not the grand unveiling for the £149ers that we had all anticipated.

The bumper attendance fell a couple of hundred short of that which greeted City’s Premier League home bow against Sheffield Wednesday in 1999 and the game, too, failed to hit the heights.

It was an unsatisfying encounter between two teams too closely matched up to allow much room for manoeuvre.
Many had hoped that the diamond was a thing of the past at home but Phil Parkinson, with a cautious eye still on building up the fitness levels of his two new wingers, persisted with a system that Shrewsbury copied.
That meant midfield became bogged down like a chess match heading for checkmate and it was too tempting for both sides to launch it long.

City, if anything, were guilty of trying to force the issue too much. Desperate to impress the large audience, their touch was too often rushed without due care and attention.
Shrewsbury seemed content to nullify any attacking intentions with the excellent Ryan Woods protecting the back four like a hungry Alsatian guard dog.

Parkinson had employed Billy Clarke in the hole behind the two big men, Hanson and Steve Davies. But everywhere Clarke went, Woods was sure to follow; his distinctive ginger head always within a five-yard radius whenever the home side came within a sniff of goal.

Clarke did escape his clutches to get off the mark but that was down to a sloppy pass from Shrews skipper Liam Lawrence rather than any failing on the part of his “shadow”.

The Irishman was one of the afternoon’s brighter lights and the sight of him limping out after running into a defensive brick wall midway through the second half was a major concern.
It’s a worry whenever the phrase “medial ligament” is mentioned in a medical report. The loss of Clarke for any significant period of time will come as a hammer blow.

The biggest plus for Parkinson came in the position that remains a headache. While the “to be confirmed” sign still hangs over left centre half, Alan Sheehan did his own interim chances no harm whatsoever.

The Irishman’s long-term picture has seemed as clouded as City’s attempts to replace Andrew Davies. Since coming back from his brief loan at Peterborough, Sheehan’s future has looked no clearer – especially with the addition of a further left back in young prospect Greg Leigh over the summer.

But his ability to play in the middle as well adds another string to the bow and he seized the opportunity after Parkinson withdrew Nathan Clarke from the firing line after a difficult first week.
Sheehan is very comfortable on the ball for a central defender, sometimes too comfortable, but he cut out any casual moments with a disciplined display.

He also posed a real threat at the other end, hitting the post from one effort and the side-netting with another.
With the long-running saga to bring in an identified target dragging its heels, the composed performance from Rory McArdle’s latest partner could not have been better timed. It was no coincidence that McArdle, the equaliser aside, looked much more like his old self.

Shrewsbury’s attacking threat may have been minimal but City hardly battered the door down.
The curious decisions from referee Gary Sutton also did not help.

He twice enraged the place by awarding Shrewsbury goal kicks after Jason Leutwiler had clearly got a decisive touch; early on from a well-struck Josh Morris free-kick and then to deny Clarke’s follow-up after Sheehan’s shot into the ground had bounced back off the woodwork.

Parkinson sarcastically accused the ref of making up a new rule and ignoring corners. If I was the Shrewsbury keeper, I’d have been tempted to argue with Sutton as well to make sure of the credit for two important saves.

So it came as no real surprise when the Lincoln official refused to acknowledge the howl of protest after Jermaine Grandison appeared to swipe Paul Anderson’s legs in a frantic stoppage time.

Instead of giving City a third attempt to get it right from the penalty spot, he blew against the substitute – to the universal confusion of those around.

It had looked so different just before the break when Clarke made Lawrence pay for not looking where he was passing.
City had numbers forward as he intercepted the loose ball and, although his initial ball to Davies was heavy, the return was spot-on as Clarke swept it into the roof of the net.

The half-time buzz was a familiar mix of relief and nervousness after what had happened in the previous two outings. Once again those misgivings proved justified.

The equaliser was ugly; in keeping with much of the football around it.
Connor Goldson scuffed his clearance upfield but James Collins flicked on and suddenly Tyrone Barnett was bearing down on goal with McArdle.

The combination of defender and Ben Williams seemed to have forced Barnett down a cul-de-sac but his shot still squeezed through, spinning off McArdle on its way in.

Goldson, the Championship-bound defender being coveted by Leeds, then denied Stephen Darby the rarest of goals by clearing off his own line and a stodgy stalemate was assured.