City 1, Oldham 1

EVEN if there had been a scoreboard at Valley Parade, nobody would have believed it anyway.

The all-singing, all-dancing giant screen is not expected for a few weeks yet. When it does finally fill the gap between Midland Road and the Bradford End, it is unlikely to highlight too many more unlikely results than this one.

Firstly, credit where it's due to a resilient Oldham side who are confounding the pundits that dismissed them as relegation fodder before a ball was kicked.

Given we're only a month in, that could still change completely – likewise with City's lofty second spot.

But Stephen Robinson's hastily-assembled squad should be as satisfied with their first few weeks' work as Stuart McCall's Bantams. This was another valuable point earned the hard way.

Now down to the nitty-gritty. How on earth did City not come away with a fourth straight win?

The numbers simply don't add up – 22 shots to Oldham's five; 16 corners against one – and yet the goal tally remained equal.

That was not for the want of trying on City's part and the crowd's generous reaction at the final whistle appreciated that. Their team had scored highly in the entertainment stakes at least.

Of course, the stalemate was mission accomplished for the visitors. For a side entirely assembled over the summer – not one of Oldham's 14 players on Saturday were at the club last season – they showed commendable togetherness and heart in riding the rampage to come away with something.

It seems that even with entirely different personnel, old habits die hard. Regardless of line-up or manager, Oldham have been a tough nut to crack on their travels for a while and have lost only six of their last 26 league away games.

One of those had been on their last visit to Valley Parade in January but, as a spectacle, this was chalk and cheese in comparison.

On that previous occasion, City edged a stodgy affair from their only shot on target. The final whistle produced a muted response, more relief than celebration.

This time, although the result was certainly a case of two points dropped, there was a universal appreciation of the way the home side had performed.

It may not have been winning football on this occasion, dashing hopes of a fourth victory on the bounce, but it sure was watchable.

Slick passing, attack-minded and free-spirited in possession, McCall's men continue to win over any doubters.

The players have certainly taken to his approach – James Meredith, one of Phil Parkinson's frontline troops, has been fulsome in his praise for the freedom on the ball that players are allowed.

His comment that the Valley Parade faithful were probably not used to this style because "it was not route one" may not go down too well with the man who signed him.

But it was well received by the fans. Interestingly his words were also acknowledged on Twitter by former team-mate Alan Sheehan, who did not have the best of times in a City shirt.

There certainly appears to be a more forgiving nature about the crowd when mistakes are made – though maybe come back to me on that one a few months down the line...

Even with the slap in the face from going behind so early, there was no hint of tetchiness or panic setting in.

McCall admitted he was not surprised by the manner of Oldham's goal, which was only the third that City have conceded in the league.

His team are woefully lacking in height right now – Romain Vincelot, for all his qualities, is hardly a towering centre half and James Hanson remains a big miss at both ends of the field.

We know Hanson's role in defending set-plays is as vital as attacking them. City remain vulnerable without that presence.

So when Marc Klok delivered a free-kick deep into the mix, the experienced Peter Clarke rose decisively above Danny Devine to power the Dutchman's ball beyond Colin Doyle.

Just as Coventry had done, the visitors had grabbed the initiative from the off. Only this time, City wrestled it straight back.

There was still the odd scare on the break, and McCall admitted on first view that Oldham had a strong case for a penalty when Vincelot slid in on Billy McKay, but City did not become flustered.

They bossed midfield, where Mark Marshall and Nicky Law provided the legs and attacking prowess for the engine room of Josh Cullen and Oldham old boy Timothee Dieng.

Marshall continues to look a different player to last season – all he needed was a "cuddle", said McCall afterwards – and was clearly boosted by his rocket strike last week.

He looked on for another cracking goal when cutting in for an angled right-foot drive. But Connor Ripley, who spent half a season on loan at City without a single appearance, showed the Valley Parade faithful what he could do with a wonderful one-handed save.

Devine, playing right back for the injured Tony McMahon, threatened to dribble through the entire Oldham defence before grazing one post; Dieng then saw a deflected shot just beat the other. It was a pulsating response.

With Oldham playing such a narrow diamond, Meredith was more winger than defender as he exploited the generous space on the left flank.

And right on half-time he drove an inviting ball across the goalmouth that Billy Clarke should have stuck away.

But Clarke had come to the fore after the break in the previous home game – and did something similar again. He was instrumental in winning the penalty 12 minutes after the restart that he then converted.

Marshall played the ball into him hard and low, he shielded it from his marker before turning sharply to find Cullen. Ousmane Fane was all over him and the West Ham man went to ground, convincing referee Ross Joyce to blow.

It was City's third spot-kick in two games – that's more than they are used to getting all season. But again evidence of the willingness for players such as Cullen to get into the penalty area.

Clarke smashed it home and Valley Parade prepared for another comeback win with so much time to spare.

But heavy traffic around the Oldham goal meant they could not find that second. The need for another striking option by Wednesday night remains obvious.

Oldham hung on and you did not need the scoreboard's bright lights to confirm the sense of disbelief from home fans and players alike at the final outcome.