SHREWSBURY 0 CITY 1

WITH time ticking away, if not quite quickly enough for City’s sanity, Hope Akpan’s afternoon in the searing Shropshire heat was done.

The end-game was in sight after a pulsating contest that had somehow yielded only Jack Payne’s classy first-half goal.

Shrewsbury continued to press as both sides slugged it out from one end to the other and back again.

Fresh legs in the holding role in front of the defence previously occupied by the tiring Akpan seemed in order.

Ryan McGowan, maybe, would provide that solid presence to ensure the backdoor remained shut.

Instead it was Sherwin Seedorf that Michael Collins summoned from the bench.

That substitution for a rapid but raw winger at such a delicate stage instead of a more conservative and tried pick was City’s mission statement in a nutshell.

All the talk of being on the front foot and taking the game to every opponent revealed in one late switch.

Rather than protect what you’d got, the intent was still there to attack for more. It was evidence of the mantra that owners Edin Rahic and Stefan Rupp have repeated from the off.

The opening game will never make or break a season. It is no more than a first step, as Collins was so keen to stress afterwards.

But make no mistake, Saturday was a red-letter day for the Bantams top brass. After so much pain, so much change, so much uncertainty, it was an absolute must to put something tangible on the board from the word go.

Rupp had issued a public message beforehand to talk up the “much-improved squad, featuring players capable of achieving”. But seeing is believing.

Those boisterous travelling Bantams crammed in the away end will have revelled in what they witnessed.

Watching City had become a joyless experience during the second half of last season, especially on the road – just three draws and five goals scored in the 11 trips since the previous triumph at Fleetwood on New Year’s Day.

But as the sun beat down and their team willingly went toe-to-toe with the hosts, long-established scowls made way for broad smiles once more.

The atmosphere had been cranked up by the moment 15 minutes before kick-off when the players broke from their warm-up to perform a group huddle right under the noses of their fans.

The gesture, led by Greg Abbott, had the desired effect of uniting the support base with a new team that some in the crowd were probably still struggling to recognise.

Suddenly the divisions between the supporters and the toxicity that had shrouded Valley Parade since the dark days of January seemed to disperse.

Suspicions may remain and deep-rooted feeling won’t suddenly change on the evidence of one afternoon. But, on and off the pitch, the club felt as one once more.

Collins appeared the coolest customer in the place. The youngest boss in the business may have aged quite a bit during the spells when Shrewsbury were really turning up the heat, but he looked calm and in control doling out instructions from the touchline.

But there was a moment when the mask dropped in the euphoria that followed Payne’s strike. Enveloped in a bear hug from good buddy Martin Drury, the head coach’s emotions were on full view with a throaty roar.

His tactics to use Kelvin Mellor as a third centre half and go at Shrewsbury in a 3-4-3 had caught the hosts on the hop.

Shrewsbury had unveiled the league’s first safe standing area for the game but those in the five standing rows high behind their goal were silenced by City’s fast start.

Adam Chicksen, who had his best game in a City shirt, was almost playing as an extra winger as they set up base camp in the home half.

City’s positive play got its reward on 20 minutes. George Miller, starting ahead of Eoin Doyle at centre forward, hustled James Bolton into a mistake inside his own penalty area.

The loose ball bobbled back into play from the byline and Payne set his sights, adjusted his feet and swept a precise finish past fellow on-loan Huddersfield team-mate Joel Coleman in the Shrewsbury goal.

Shrewsbury’s response was a strong one, led by the impressive Shaun Whalley. One of only four survivors who started the play-off final in May, the winger threatened to drag them back into the contest.

But City dug in defensively – and earned their luck along the way. Anthony O’Connor was peerless at the back and produced one stunning block to thwart a disbelieving Omar Beckles.

Josh Laurent also laid a first-day claim to miss of the season when he chipped against the bar and then somehow lashed the rebound over a gaping net from eight yards.

But City weathered the storm and took the game back to the Shrews in equally determined fashion.

Sean Scannell, living up to the “Mo Salah song” being belted out in his honour, forced a tip-over from Coleman.

Doyle became the 10th of City’s 11 debutants midway through the half – and promptly could have scored from his first touch as the ball bundled against the post from close range.

But the Irishman’s unselfishness then blew the chance for City to create some breathing space in an increasingly frenetic contest.

Sent racing clear by Payne, the fans behind Coleman were ready to acclaim Doyle’s first appearance on the scoresheet.

Doyle, however, opted to square a pass instead to Miller – and an offside flag spared the youngster’s blushes as he scooped the ball wide.

McGowan later light-heartedly tweeted a tactical diagram showing the strike pair what they should be practising this week.

But it was no laughing matter when Alex Gilliead came perilously close to inflicting the “law of the ex” on his previous employers with a bar-rattling effort from outside the box.

The basketball nature continued when City sub Tyrell Robinson found the woodwork. It remained a case of take your eyes off the action at your peril.

But City got over the line and the scenes when Kevin Johnson’s whistle finally brought a welcome halt to proceedings were long overdue.

Whatever transpires this coming season, on first glance it could be fun.

SHREWSBURY: Coleman 6, Bolton 7, Kennedy 6, Sadler 6, Beckles 7, Loft 5 (Grant 66min), Colkett 7 (Gilliead 74min), Laurent 6, Whalley 8, Amadi-Holloway 7, S Payne 6 (Okenabirhie 81min). Subs (not used): Arnold, Haynes, John-Lewis, Barnett.

CITY: O’Donnell 7, Mellor 7, O’Connor 9, Knight-Percival 7, Chicksen 8, Akpan 6 (Seedorf 86min), Wright 7, Riley 6 (Doyle 66min), J Payne 8, Scannell 7 (Robinson 77min), Miller 7. Subs (not used): McGowan, Bruenker, Hudson, Wilson.