Things go from good to Brad for Bantams after teenage hot-shot is let loose

An 18-year-old had come off the bench and made a spectacular match-shifting impact. All the build-up to the game had turned out to be spot on.

Sadly for City, it was not Darren Stephenson who was dominating the conversation.

Stephenson had enjoyed his first half an hour of senior football, throwing himself about and refusing to flinch from a couple of hefty “welcome to the real world” digs from centre half Ian Sharps.

But it was the young striker that Shrewsbury let loose just after 4.30pm who was to turn matters on their head.

At the point of Tom Bradshaw’s arrival, City looked on course for a huge backs-to-the-wall victory. Without playing particularly well and fielding a mix-and-match backline, the Bantams had got their noses in front courtesy of a Tom Adeyemi blockbuster.

Within two minutes of Bradshaw joining the fray, that advantage had been wiped out by an instinctive shot on the turn that flashed past Jon McLaughlin at the near post. With one touch – his first on the pitch – the rookie had changed everything.

Two minutes from time, Bradshaw struck again after shooting into the turf and over the prone goalkeeper. And City had come up empty-handed.

The Wales under-19 international had delivered his own double blow for Welsh pride at the same time that his fellow countrymen were being comfortably brushed aside in Cardiff.

Not that substitution heroics are anything new for the 18-year-old, who was actually born in Shrewsbury but moved to Tywyn in Wales when he was only two months old.

Bradshaw’s entrance to league football last season was just as dramatic when he scored two in 14 minutes at Crewe while still a second-year scholar.

But Saturday was an ironic twist for Peter Jackson, who had been preaching the virtues of nurturing the City youth system as the lifeline of the club.

It was a particularly harsh outcome on McLaughlin after a string of crucial saves had laid the foundations for the home side.

On an afternoon of hard graft – if not always high performance – the City keeper had done more than anyone to hold Graham Turner’s promotion-chasers at bay.

But any feelings of personal pride were swallowed up by those of team frustration.

“You can’t win games as a goalkeeper,” McLaughlin admitted. “You’re there to try to keep your team in it and that’s what I tried to do.

“In the first half especially, we did a great job defensively making it difficult for them to play. It looked like we’d got our reward for that by scoring a good goal.

“Shrewsbury were starting to panic and play more long ball but unfortunately we switched off for a split second and let them back in.

“And once a good team like that smell blood then it gives them a huge lift.”

City’s sleepy moment came from a Shrewsbury throw-in in front of the dug-outs – the most innocuous of starting points.

David Raven’s throw was helped on by Matt Harrold and Lionel Ainsworth and suddenly Bradshaw was on it, ignoring the tricky angle and spinning and firing in one movement. The ball was in the back of the net before McLaughlin had a chance to react.

Worse was to follow with Bradshaw’s late second from a cross by fellow youth-team product Jon Taylor. Another example of striking home-grown gold.

But City were left nursing a huge sense of injustice over Shrewsbury’s winner.

Taylor was initially fouled in the build-up by David Syers but then went right through the makeshift right back to regain the loose ball before putting it on a plate for Bradshaw.

Referee Peter Quinn acknowledged the foul by the Shrewsbury winger but insisted on letting play continue – to the fury of the home side.

As McLaughlin articulately put it: “If one player knocks on in rugby and then another does the same, you don’t let him play on. You take it back for the first one.

“Just because their player’s been fouled doesn’t then give him the right to scythe down another player to get back his advantage.”

It was a bitter defeat to swallow, especially for Jackson. However close City had come, one point from two home games is hardly the strongest hand to present before your prospective employers.

Mark Lawn’s midweek dig at the level of performances in the last two games made it abundantly clear that Jacko is far from a shoo-in for the permanent job.

And the joint-chairman was doing the radio rounds before kick-off to talk about the six-man shortlist that has been drawn up to fight with the man currently in the seat.

Whether or not Bury’s Alan Knill, a name constantly linked with City, can be scratched from that after publicly expressing his interest in the Scunthorpe vacancy, Jackson still has his work cut out.

Yet until the last 13 minutes, it seemed that an unlikely bonus win was on the cards.

It was a different side from before. Jackson had shuffled his pack to accommodate the loss of Luke Oliver, Jon Worthington and Kevin Ellison.

Oliver’s absence was the biggest blow but he stuck with the same back four that had finished against Northampton. Syers remained a reluctant full back, Lewis Hunt an emergency central defender.

Hunt, in particular, rose to the challenge against the gangly menace of Matt Harrold. He has impressed every time after being moved across.

City were under the cosh but Shrewsbury found McLaughlin in unbeatable mood.

After an early escape when he spilled Mark Wright’s cross, the keeper denied him with a sensational reflex save when the winger was poised to tap home after McLaughlin had parried from Harrold.

Then Nicky Wroe was foiled by the Scot, a heavy touch as he burst clear on goal giving McLaughlin enough time to dive at his feet and block.

Further fine saves from David Davis and Wright again after the break had Shrewsbury clutching their heads in despair.

Ben Smith, at the other end, could not match McLaughlin’s heroics. And when he weakly punched away Luke O’Brien’s free-kick, Adeyemi chested down the loose ball before blasting it past him from 25 yards.

It appeared a job well done for City. But then that pesky Welsh lad showed up.