CITY 0 CHARLTON 2

THE tackle earned universal appreciation from the stands and the dug-out.

The unity and togetherness that David Hopkin has preached since day one encapsulated in the sudden spike in Valley Parade volume.

Jim O’Brien’s shuddering challenge on one-time fans favourite Josh Cullen won the ball not the game.

It did not alter the course of an afternoon that saw City drop into a relegation place after their fourth defeat on the bounce – and six in the last seven.

But it was an indication of the Hopkin factor that every Bantams fan will be praying can do the trick in resuscitating some life into a season that is already shaping up to be a long, hard slog.

The bite and competitiveness that the head coach intends to breathe into troops wounded by the recent upheaval was clear to see.

Here was another of those small steps going the right way – even if the eventual outcome was depressingly familiar.

Hopkin’s impact cannot be judged on the current situation as he juggles every fit player into some kind of working unit.

Until a few of the walking wounded declare themselves ready for action again, he must work with a hand that most poker players would probably throw in.

Those coaching skills that coaxed Livingston from the depths of Scottish football back to the Premier League will be well tested.

But the sight of O’Brien, his first acquisition on Thursday, bringing the crowd to their feet is an indicator of Hopkin’s confidence in his ability to turn it round.

Selection for the Charlton game was virtually a head-count exercise. The presence of scholar Eliot Goldthorp on the bench as the only other fit central midfielder summed up the paucity of his squad currently robbed of 13 players.

Hopkin’s favoured 3-5-2 approach mutated into 5-2-3 out of necessity. Another tactical tweak in a campaign that has already seen many.

As one fan said on Twitter: “It must be the highest number of different formations in the least number of matches.”

The midfield axis was an all O’Brien affair, a free agent and a rookie, with Jim – in the number five shirt never worn by Matt Kilgallon - partnered by Huddersfield teenager Lewis making his first start.

Arguably not as strong as the pairing in the City technical area – Hopkin and Greg Abbott in their playing prime would be just what the doctor ordered right now.

But both were impressed with the O’Brien combination that showed the right mix of tenacity and adventure in coping with two of the best middle men in the division in Cullen and Ben Reeves.

City’s problems, unfortunately, were behind them where the three centre halves really struggled.

“We managed the game quite well from the middle third to attacking third,” was Hopkin’s pointed post-match comment.

They were too often caught out, too easily prised open and both Charlton goals – emphatically finished as they were – came from Anthony O’Connor backing off to allow the shot.

O’Connor had been surprisingly overlooked for the captain’s armband with Josh Wright sidelined by a hamstring injury. Instead it was Eoin Doyle that led out the team for Hopkin’s first home bow as boss.

Hopkin had already appeared beforehand to take the cheers of the crowd and wave to the fans. A nice gesture which instantly got them onside for this new chapter that he has called it.

He also got a card for the occasion – a yellow one for encroaching on the pitch after City were denied what looked a sure penalty.

Abbott also took one, hardly an unfamiliar feeling for him at Valley Parade, for berating the fourth official as referee Jeremy Simpson won few supporters in claret and amber.

Eight names went in his book in a feisty but never naughty game – two of them for blatant Charlton dives in the box. Commendably Addicks boss Lee Bowyer refused to defend either guilty player for their histrionics.

The home fans, lifted by Hopkin’s impromptu introduction, were in good voice throughout – another factor that will be needed through the potentially tricky months to come.

They almost had a goal to cheer from City’s first attack.

Sean Scannell, making a welcome return on the right flank, was straight into it as he drove past left back Lewis Page.

His cross was flicked towards the near post by Doyle – only for it to bounce to safety off Charlton keeper Jed Steer’s face.

That, as it turned out, would be as close as City got to scoring. For all the frantic second-half push towards the Kop, it was also their only effort on target.

Charlton then popped the balloon by converting their first foray into enemy territory.

Cullen, who else, supplied the defence-splitting pass and youngster Karlan Grant cut inside O’Connor and fired home before Ryan McGowan could close him down.

Grant and Lyle Taylor proved a handful all game and Grant should have celebrated his imminent 21st birthday with a second when he scooped over the bar from his partner’s flick-on.

The second half saw long spells of City pressing – camped in the Charlton half without finding the guile or the cutting edge to open them up.

With Scannell on one side and Connor Wood catching the eye on the other, the enthusiasm never wavered.

But Charlton’s centre halves Jason Pearce and Patrick Bauer took no messing as they dealt with everything tossed their way.

And Pearce also got away with one for the wrestle on McGowan at a City corner that went unpunished – much to the incredulity of Hopkin and all those behind that goal.

For all the time the ball spent in the Charlton box, and the scrambles, that was the only seemingly clear-cut route to an equaliser.

Inevitably as City committed more and more men forward, the gaps appeared on the counter and Charlton made sure with a thumping second.

Taylor’s rocket from the corner of the box was unstoppable but again he had been guided on to his favoured right foot by the defending. Individual errors featured in Hopkin’s mantra for the second week running.

That was the cue for some to make an early exit but most remained and the response at the final whistle was heartening in defeat.

No points, no goals but flickers of City coming to life. At least it looks like a team and a leader primed for the battle ahead.

CITY: O’Donnell 6, Scannell 6 (Gibson 83min), McGowan 5, O’Connor 5, Knight-Percival 6, Wood 7, J O’Brien 8 (Isherwood 88min), L O’Brien 7, Ball 6 (Bruenker 74min), Payne 6, Doyle 6. Subs not used: Miller, Seedorf, Goldthorp, Sykes-Kenworthy.

CHARLTON: Steer 6, Solly 6, Bauer 7, Pearce 7, Page 6, Cullen 8, Reeves 7 (Lapslie 65min, 6), Ward 6 (Vetokele 75min), Aribo 7, Taylor 7, Grant 7 (Sarr 90min). Subs: Dijksteel, Marshall, Morgan, Phillips.