ACCRINGTON 3 CITY 1

ACCRINGTON has proved to be a theatre of nightmares for City bosses in recent times.

Think Peter Taylor’s first game in charge in 2010 and a woeful performance that left him tempted to drive straight back to Essex.

Or the even more pitiful Easter Saturday efforts a year later under Peter Jackson which threatened the club’s very existence in the Football League.

Even last season, Stuart McCall was bundled out of the Carabao Cup in a seemingly never-ending penalty shoot-out.

David Hopkin’s post-match demeanour suggested a man who had reached the end of his tether.

As the band behind the stand mangled their way through “Smooth Operator”, Hopkin made it clear that he is prepared to get rough with his under-achieving team.

After weeks of protecting them in public, the kid gloves were tossed aside.

The paint was still peeling off the away dressing-room wall after the blast he delivered following the sort of insipid City performance that the locals in this part of East Lancashire have grown accustomed to.

Those at the other end weren’t prepared to put up with it.

Hopkin had got it in the neck as he walked off the pitch, finding himself angrily accosted by four fed-up fans.

The away end had already vented their feelings about chairman Edin Rahic – a loud chorus of “We want Edin out” that followed Accrington’s third goal being the first outward signal of the resentment against the owners.

The supporters were wet, angry and fed up; the hope built up by the previous week’s efforts against Sunderland washed away in the swirling rain.

Hopkin pointed his finger firmly at the senior members of the side, who have not lived up to the reputations they brought to Valley Parade.

There are established League One players in that team – but they certainly didn’t look it as City were too easily brushed aside by their workmanlike hosts.

John Coleman continues to work miracles with the smallest club in the division.

The long-serving Accrington boss must wish he could play City every week – he celebrated turning 55 by stretching his unbeaten run against them to 11 games.

Accrington are not to be under-estimated as they continue an impressive start to life in the third tier.

They may not have names that jump off the page but they are well-drilled, know their jobs and play effectively as a team. The advantage of a well-established leader in situ.

But Hopkin, having stressed the “massive” nature of the match all week in training, must have expected more resistance.

There was a spell around the time of Eoin Doyle’s goal when the Bantams did threaten a comeback. But there was not enough fight, not enough bite – nobody who could take things by the scruff of the neck and sort them out.

The fact that it was Lewis O’Brien, the youngest player in the team, who showed the most courage in possession was not lost on the head coach.

If only a few others around him had shared the 19-year-old’s confidence to get on the ball and have a go.

How City need his namesake Jim back quickly. The Scot says he is a fast healer – his presence in the middle of the park is sorely missed.

Hopkin is drawing up his targets for a January transfer window when he expects the board’s backing. The players he has in mind will be very much his own choice.

But that is still two-and-a-half months away. There are a dozen league games before the new year, which dawns with a Valley Parade rematch against Accrington.

Up to then, Hopkin must find a way to rejuvenate the current bunch to keep them competitive and avoid the lengthy relegation scrap that more and more fans seem already resigned to.

The upcoming home games with Rochdale and Coventry could well turn ugly if City are second best again.

With no Sean Scannell, Hopkin did not name a single winger in the squad that crossed the Pennines.

Joe Riley made his first start since the end of August in a more advanced role that looked more right midfield than wing-back.

And Kai Bruenker’s reward for getting off the mark at last was another start alongside the fit-again Doyle.

The German, though, made minimal impact apart from his final act before getting subbed - a promising chance which he fired straight at the keeper.

“The wind obviously never blows in Germany because he jumps two minutes too early” was the assessment of the Lancashire local radio at his ineffectiveness in the air.

For the first 38 minutes, the gusty wind looked the only winner of a drab contest with very little incident.

Sean McConville, often an eye-catcher against City, had a couple of decent attempts but there was nothing to seriously fluster the visitors.

Then a long punt upfield from Mark Hughes had Ryan McGowan back-pedalling. With Offrande Zanzale on his back, the defender looked to shepherd it back to Richard O’Donnell.

But he handled in the process, with City claiming that he had been pushed into the ball by the opponent.

After some delay, referee Kevin Johnson took the say-so of his assistant and gave the penalty. Hopkin was shown his second yellow card of the season for his complaints that the flag man could not have possibly seen it from where he was.

Billy Kee thumped home the spot-kick and City were in familiar territory.

Hopkin threw on George Miller soon after the break but he had been on less than two minutes when Nathaniel Knight-Percival was caught out as another long ball was flicked on.

Zanzala was goal-side of him and ran on confidently to beat O’Donnell.

City began to stir and pulled one back through Doyle’s volley to seal a move sparked by O’Brien.

But as they sought an equaliser, hope was extinguished when the striker lost possession to Michael Ihiekwe midway inside the Stanley half.

Accrington suddenly swept upfield and despite Dan Barlaser and Jordan Clark both being left on the floor by desperate lunges from McGowan and Kelvin Mellor, the ball still found its way to McConville to provide a sweet finish.

“Schoolboy stuff” cursed Hopkin, although probably not in such mild-mannered terms behind the bolted dressing-room door.

For many of those sodden fans behind the goal, this was painful déjà vu.

ACCRINGTON: Maxted 7, Johnson 6, Hughes 7, Ihiekwe 7, Anderton 6, Clark 7, Barlaser 7 (Brown 83min), Finley 6, McConville 8, Zanzala 7 (Hall 83min), Kee 6. Subs (not used): Richards-Everton, Brown, Sykes, Mingoia, Charman, Warner.

CITY: O’Donnell 7, Riley 5 (Miller 52min, 6), Mellor 5, McGowan 5, Knight-Percival 4, Wood 6, O’Connor 5, O’Brien 7, Payne 5, Bruenker 5 (Ball 58min, 5), Doyle 5 (Wright 73min). Subs (not used): Jones, Isherwood, Goldthorp, Sykes-Kenworthy.