February 2019: WALSALL 3 (Gordon 42,62; Edwards 47) CITY 2 (Doyle 12, O’Connor 53)

WALSALL away at the end of February – the Bantams have been here before.

It was two years ago, although it seems like a lifetime with the much-changed landscape during that time.

The Bescot was where David Hopkin was convinced that he had seen enough and decided to walk away.

Hopkin wore the haunted look of a man who had seen a ghost as he tried after the game to articulate his thoughts about a crazy defeat.

A loss against a team who hadn’t scored in their previous five games – and had centre forward Andy Cook sent off after just six minutes.

I wonder where he’s ended up …

Hopkin dropped his resignation bombshell first thing on the following Monday morning.

The players were as shocked as the fans by the Scot’s revelation – although it may be did not come as such a surprise for others within the club.

The Scot was reaching the end of his tether and had let it be known that losing at Walsall would probably prove the final straw for him.

But he could not possibly have imagined the manner in which City would throw it away.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Walsall striker Andy Cook is sent off by referee Brett HuxtableWalsall striker Andy Cook is sent off by referee Brett Huxtable

If anything summed up the self-inflicted nature of their relegation from League One, this was it.

Eoin Doyle, whose early goal appeared to set the Bantams merrily on their way, was mystified by the outcome.

“We absolutely controlled the whole thing and could have won five games with the chances we had,” he said later.

“It wasn’t as if we were missing the target, they were blocking things with their face – it was incredible.”

Hopkin totted up a dozen occasions when Walsall had put various body parts on the line to protect what they had got.

That desperate resistance went right to the end with Liam Kinsella denying another goal-bound effort from Doyle by taking it smack in the face.

It was the sort of no-holds-barred defence that Hopkin would have loved to have seen at the other end. But City had been in far more generous mood.

Opposite number Dean Keates was rumoured to be facing the sack had Walsall got beaten again. He bounced around afterwards with the grin of a cup-final winner as Hopkin stared blankly across the stage that would be his City swansong.

It had all begun so positively – everything falling into place for what should have been the most comfortable of much-needed victories.

Cook, now an on-loan Bantam, gave his future club a massive leg-up early on after appearing to plant an elbow on Nathaniel Knight-Percival.

With Walsall’s top scorer sent packing, the scene was set for City to fill their boots.

That looked exactly the case when Doyle converted Jack Payne’s cross. The “in-game” league table had them up to 18th spot and all looked very well.

But City eased off fatally – and handed Walsall’s 10 men an unexpected lifeline just before the break.

Nobody dealt with a Joe Edwards cross as it bobbled about and Knight-Percival slipped to allow Josh Gordon to lash home.

It was as if a switch had been flicked as the whole atmosphere changed.

Three minutes into the second half, future City winger Zeli Ismail’s cross was headed against the bar by Matt Jarvis. Again, no black shirts reacted as Edwards stooped to bury the follow-up past Richard O’Donnell.

City stirred enough to reply within six minutes through Anthony O’Connor, who converted the rebound after Liam Roberts parried from Lewis O’Brien.

The Huddersfield loanee then crashed a long-range effort against the post.

But City’s defensive frailties were exposed for a third time as Gordon was gifted a free header for his second goal.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Anthony O'Connor, who scored City's second goal, cannot believe they have lostAnthony O'Connor, who scored City's second goal, cannot believe they have lost

City tried everything to hit back in the final half hour but Walsall magnificently – if sometimes pretty fortunately – managed to ride the storm. Twenty-three efforts on goal brought no reward.

After 28 games in charge, Hopkin was done.

“I have given my all over the past six months,” he said. “I took on a tough job and have left no stone unturned in my efforts to help us climb the table.”

The drop was confirmed eight weeks later on Good Friday at Coventry after City’s ninth loss in 10 games.

WALSALL: Roberts, Devlin, Guthrie, Scarr, Leahy, Jarvis (Dobson 87), Edwards, Kinsella, Ismail (Osbourne 79), Gordon (Oteh 83), Cook.

CITY: O’Donnell, Caddis (Mellor 85), O’Connor, Knight-Percival, Chicksen, O’Brien (Miller 85), Payne, Butterfield, Ball, Clarke (Anderson 72), Doyle.