Hereford 2, City 0

That dandy highwayman Adam Ant was strutting his stuff at number one the last time City emerged victorious from Edgar Street.

The world is a very different stage since September 1981, although you could argue that Hereford’s humble abode has not changed that much.

And while the names may vary, the visiting Bantams once again failed to stand and deliver on the Welsh border.

Only three of the side that had gleaned a draw there in April – the point that rubber-stamped league survival for Peter Jackson – returned on Saturday.

One of those, Michael Flynn, would play a significant part in the outcome with his late sending off for two yellow cards.

It was a chastening result for Phil Parkinson and a team that we believed were starting to gel after all the early-season transformation.

The final scoreline was hardly an endorsement for joint-chairman Mark Lawn, who had caused a pre-match stir with his comments on the radio that the squad Parkinson had picked up from Jackson was the “worst” in the division.

Shirt numbers are always the indicator of how much a team has been ripped up since the first ball was kicked. City’s line-up contained six in the 30s.

Ritchie Jones and loanee Liam Moore were the only summer recruits still standing. Mark Stewart was back on the bench; Chris Mitchell and Jack Compton didn’t even make the trip; deposed captain Guy Branston has left the building, for three months at least.

Flynn, Luke Oliver and Robbie Threlfall were the sole survivors from last term. It underlined the whirlwind of change that has blown through Valley Parade since Aldershot burst the bubble of optimism in the opening week of August.

There is no doubt the quality is there. The fans witnessed that in the backs-to-the-wall triumphs over Huddersfield and Torquay that had fuelled hopes of a charge up the table.

But still City remain mired at the wrong end. While nobody should get too wrapped up in league positions in mid-October, the fact that only goal difference currently keeps them above the relegation line does not convince anyone that a corner has been turned yet.

This should have been a goalless draw. City lacked the sharpness of touch and mind that had marked their admirable ten-man defiance the week before but still had enough to see through a bitty afternoon with some reward.

Hereford possessed a dangerous long throw-in but that was about it. Centre forward Nathan Elder was an awkward presence but Oliver and debutant Marcel Seip dealt with most of the aerial bombs floated in their direction.

City tried to play on a sticky surface and the neat build-ups in the first half suggested something better. But that hope never materialised, other than a bad miss from Craig Fagan.

Ultimately Flynn’s dismissal opened the door for the home side. A thunderous free-kick from Steve Leslie immediately after Flynn’s fatal foul on Harry Pell was backed up by a late tap-in from on-loan Blackpool winger Tom Barkhuizen taking advantage of a lack of numbers at the back.

But Parkinson may also wonder whether his team went for it enough.

Having seen Fagan’s magnificent one-man show up front against Torquay, his boss stuck with it again. Second striker Stewart was jettisoned for Jamie Devitt to play in the hole between Fagan and the midfield four.

For the first 45 minutes, it looked an effective ploy as Devitt found gaps to exploit and made clever triangles with Kyel Reid down the left flank.

The Hull youngster also delivered the pass of the game with a clever reverse flick to send Fagan in on goal. He looked offside, and might have thought so himself, but keeper Dave Cornell’s quick presence seemed to put him off and the shot narrowly cleared the bar.

That was as good as it got for City as an attacking force.

Reid, typically, was the main source of threat and whipped in enough crosses for one to be taken. But he saw less of the ball after the break as City did not enjoy the same amount of possession.

Devitt spent most of his afternoon down the middle where he found himself squeezed out by Hereford’s centre halves, led by the imposing Andy Todd.

His dad Colin had been at Valley Parade the week before as a guest of Julian Rhodes. When asked about his son’s situation, the one-time Bantams boss said he was training with Port Vale to keep fit but nothing more.

A few days on, Todd junior had joined Hereford on non-contract terms and was bringing a Premier League head to their defensive ranks.

What Todd lacked in pace, he made up for in his reading of the game and he did not miss a ball. Some gratitude for City looking after his dad!

Parkinson had again started Ritchie Jones wide to accommodate Adam Reed. As at Burton, Jones looked out of sorts and unsure whether to stick or twist, drift inside or stay on the flanks.

Reed, just back from injury, was leggy from the start and made it to just over the hour mark. More heads were scratched as left-footed Luke O’Brien assumed the right-hand role while Jones returned to his more natural middle.

O’Brien, to be fair, looked bright and enthusiastic on his ‘wrong’ side but it added to the feeling that City were settling for stalemate.

Hereford did not indicate they could push for anything more. Despite lots of huff and puff, their only danger came from left back Joe Heath, who had rattled Matt Duke’s bar with a 30-yard screamer.

Jones escaped when a ball appeared to hit his hand in the box, before Flynn clattered Leslie to pick up his first booking. It was also his fifth in total, so the skipper was facing a one-match ban even before what followed.

Leslie’s cracking free-kick was tipped over the bar by Duke. That was obviously the winger’s sighter.

Seven minutes later he was lining up to do the same from even further out after Flynn paid the price for nudging the back of Pell.

The lanky midfielder had deliberately cut into his path as Flynn desperately back-pedalled to head off his surging run. But the contact was there and the result was always going to be another yellow.

City had survived around 70 minutes with a man less than Torquay. This time, they failed to last 30 seconds.

Leslie took aim again and rocketed his free-kick over the wall and past the despairing outstretched arms of the keeper.

Michael Bryan, the forgotten man, was thrown on for his first taste under Parkinson as City gambled for an equaliser.

But with only three at the back now, gaps were there for Hereford to exploit. They did just that two minutes from time as Barkhuizen worked a one-two with Yoann Arquin to make doubly sure City would leave Hereford with that familiar empty feeling.

Attendance: 2,462