SHREWSBURY 1 CITY 0

IT IS hardly the same level of intimidation as “Welcome to Hell”.

Shrewsbury’s answer to the banner that Galatasaray would unfurl at English teams in Turkey is “breathe on ‘em Salop”.

But this quaint Shropshire warning certainly has a lingering effect on the Bantams.

Not for the first time the home halitosis put them off their game.

City find trips to the Greenhous Meadow a harrowing experience.

They were the first visitors when Shrewsbury’s ground officially opened in 2007 – and Stuart McCall suffered his first defeat in management.

The record has barely improved since. This was City’s eighth visit to the soulless stadium on the edge of the market town and sixth loss.

The only win seven years ago, in the last season of McCall’s first stint, was of the smash-and-grab variety as they survived a second-half pounding.

Last season should have been the most comfortable of the lot but an inexplicable rush of blood from Ben Williams late on gifted the Shrews an unexpected lifeline.

Again it was a self-inflicted moment on Saturday that would cost City once more on this unlikely bogey ground as Nathaniel Knight-Percival applied the “law of the ex” in reverse with the stumble that led to his old club’s first-half winner.

It was a poor moment on a poor surface to settle a poor spectacle.

Much huff and puff followed from the white shirts but no genuine hint of a Northampton-style recovery.

City were not alone in kicking themselves for a missed opportunity. It was a bad day all-round for the division’s high-flyers.

Who would have predicted Swindon coming from behind to win at Bolton? Or Peterborough to get hit for five by Bury?

It summed up the strangeness of this division that the Bantams still hung on to fourth spot in defeat while Shrewsbury actually dropped a place back into the relegation zone because of that emphatic Shakers result.

A downbeat McCall looked to keep things in perspective as he voiced his disappointment at a rare no-show from his team.

This was only their fourth loss in 27 league outings – still a hugely impressive record – and the first in seven games.

Unbeaten at Valley Parade, City still have the fourth best form on the road with 19 points.

But there is a worrying trait that has emerged and could threaten to scupper ambitions to improve on their current position.

This was the seventh away game in a row when City have conceded the first goal.

On two of those occasions, at Wimbledon and Northampton, they fought back to grab late wins.

But it is setting themselves an unnecessary handicap to have to overcome each time.

On the plus side, the Bantams have shown that they do not crumble when going behind. But you cannot expect to come back every time the opposition get their noses in front.

McCall’s half-time rally at Shrewsbury focused on “doing a Northampton” and repeating that second-half blitz on the home goal that would eventually bring its reward.

But recent history shows that doesn’t happen for City in Shropshire.

Nine months ago they couldn’t make their superiority count in a lop-sided contest which saw a corner count of 18-0 in their favour.

So the odds on repeating their Sixfields salvo at the weekend were about as high as finding a group of Shrewsbury fans who would actually agree on the “correct” pronunciation of their team.

McCall had seen no reason to change the team that had eased past Chesterfield to make it back-to-back wins since the turn of the year. Few argued with his decision to start fit-again James Hanson and latest recruit Alex Gilliead from the bench.

But, Mark Marshall aside, there was no attacking spark to seriously trouble a Shrewsbury defence that has beefed up considerably under Paul Hurst’s influence.

This was their sixth clean sheet in seven home games since the former Grimsby manager took charge a couple of weeks after they had lost at Valley Parade in October.

The annoying thing for McCall and the muted 900 or so travelling fans was that Shrews keeper Jayson Leutwiler was not stretched beyond a couple of saves that he made to look rather more dramatic than they needed to be.

Marshall at least carried the fight to Shrewsbury in a first half that was littered with casual passes and sloppiness.

A couple of darting runs offered some promise and he did warm Leutwiler’s hands with a crashing shot early on.

But the main feature of City’s play was the number of times they coughed the ball up cheaply, especially when bringing it out from the back.

Knight-Percival had a day to forget on the return to the club that he had skippered to safety last season.

Romain Vincelot fared no better and his passing radar went awry on more than one occasion.

Shrewsbury were quicker to the ball throughout, closing and pressing from first minute to last. City, in the local vernacular, had little time to breathe.

The bobbly surface did not favour their usual passing approach but instead of playing the percentages, the visitors still tried the intricate – and unrealistic – stuff.

Shrewsbury hardly peppered the City goal but they had their opportunities on the break. On-loan Crystal Palace striker Freddie Ladapo had the strength and directness in his game to unsettle the centre halves.

Louis Dodds sent Ladapo through one-on-one on the half hour but Colin Doyle spread himself well to make a fine save.

But that lifted the hosts who struck ten minutes later after Knight-Percival’s mistake.

The defender allowed a ball to squirm under his foot and Dodds was suddenly away. Doyle again did a good job to parry his shot but Ladapo was following up unmarked to score on his home debut.

City had been here before but could not find a response.

Josh Cullen went closest with a free-kick that landed on the roof of the net and Hanson came on and won all his headers. But there was nobody around him prepared to gamble and turn them into anything.

The Shropshire air had left the Bantams gasping once again.