EXETER 0 CITY 0

MATT Taylor’s honey-coated words did not fool anyone of a City persuasion.

“They are one of the best teams without a shadow of a doubt,” gushed the Exeter boss. “You can almost guarantee they will get promotion this season.”

Lovely plaudits to hear, of course, but opposite number Derek Adams and his new skipper Niall Canavan are long enough in the tooth to recognise kidology. Mind games exist at all levels.

History suggests you should never read too deeply into opening day.

City’s last two promotions began with defeat in the first game; the dismal relegation of 2018-19 with the falsest of dawns of an away win at Shrewsbury under Michael Collins.

For the third successive year, the first shots fired of a new campaign were scoreless ones. The two previous stalemates hardly mapped out journeys to remember.

But there was enough encouragement to take away from the longest trip on the schedule.

Taylor, for all his flowery praise of the club where he had played too briefly because of injury, was right to point out that this was two fancied teams matching each other.

Both sides will have been relatively happy to emerge unscathed from the first serious test.

Adams could point to a list of juicy “nearly” moments when City seemed to do everything right but score.

Cameron Dawson pulled off a double, possibly treble, wonder save to keep out Callum Cooke and Lee Angol.

Andy Cook saw a header hooked away from in front of the line with Levi Sutton just enable to provide a killer full stop from close range.

Angol rustled the side-netting with an effort that brought almost half of City’s vociferous support to their feet in premature celebration.

But equally there was that miss near the end from Nigel Atangana – the Exeter midfielder “doing a Gervinho” and getting his feet caught up beneath him when the merest nudge would have broken Bantam hearts.

All in all, then, a fair enough outcome and maybe an indication – however premature just 90 minutes into another marathon – that both teams are right to harbour ambitions of staying the distance.

There was that mutual respect evident between two serious competitors from the moment that City’s first coach of travelling supporters were greeted with vouchers to purchase a free cuppa.

A small token, maybe, but proof of how grateful clubs are to see the turnstiles clicking once more.

City’s substantial backing will provide a financial shot-in-the-arm to opponents up and down the country and Exeter eagerly welcomed the 685 who undertook a trek made even more arduous by the bumper-to-bumper holiday traffic clogging up the M5.

Some missed a good chunk of the first half as a result; their more bleary-eyed colleagues in the stand had set off at the crack of dawn to ensure they did not miss a moment after 500-plus days of nothing.

There were close shaves to ooh and aah but no actual goals to celebrate. The constant buzz, though, of having an actual, real live audience again provided the theatre that had been so badly missing for the previous year and a bit.

“Everywhere we go” had never sounded a more fitting anthem as West Yorkshire men and women cleared throats that had been restricted to just shouting at the TV or laptop.

How they enjoyed dishing out pelters to Exeter striker Sam Nombe when he made a meal of getting caught by Richard O’Donnell as he rushed into the City keeper in pursuit of a long ball over the top.

How great it was to hear that pantomime reaction to an opposing player rather than the sterile nothingness of football played out in library conditions.

Every challenge, every pass just seemed to matter that bit more.

Of course, it would have felt flat had City headed home with nothing.

They had chucked it away on the previous visit in February, twice leading before Exeter came on strong to inflict the first defeat of the Mark Trueman and Conor Sellars regime.

Trueman was back on the sidelines as Adams’ trusty lieutenant to witness a far sturdier performance.

Watching back that last game was apparently one of the reasons that the new boss had opted with O’Donnell’s experience over Sam Hornby in the biggest selection call for his first competitive line-up.

Having spent the bulk of the first half with little to do, the former club captain made some important interventions when they mattered from Jack Sparkes and one-time Bantam Timothee Dieng.

He also got away with one when Sparkes’ scuffed corner bounced its way through a sea of legs before Atangana got his shoelaces in a knot to miss from inches out. It would have been an unjust punishment.

The Grecians had generally been kept at arm's length by a back four well marshalled by proud new team leader Canavan.

Adams had sent out City in a diamond formation with Angol and Cook up top and they immediately took the game to their hosts.

Elliot Watt played in Angol behind the Exeter back three but Cook was caught on his heels as much as the defence as he failed to react in time to his partner’s fizzing cross.

Cook thought he had opened his account with a looping header that Pierce Sweeney thwarted in front of the line before Dawson guaranteed his man-of-the-match status on his debut.

The on-loan Sheffield Wednesday keeper has been dismissed as “biscuit hands” by some of the crueller Owls observers – and the level of abuse forced him to duck off social media.

But he did not crumble when presented with Callum Cooke’s goal-bound effort – nor Angol’s follow-up from near point-blank range.

Oscar Threlkeld’s calf problem forced a tactical jiggle at half-time. Levi Sutton dropped to right back where he continued his enthusiastic display but moving Cooke to a deeper midfield role lost some of that attacking thrust.

City were still able to get down the sides of the Exeter rearguard with Liam Ridehalgh a willing overlapping option. Charles Vernam also saw plenty of the ball with his introduction alongside the energetic Alex Gilliead.

Vernam led the counter charge that opened the way invitingly for Angol but a heavy first touch forced him too wide to whip a shot across Dawson.

Exeter’s late rally caused a few butterflies with the Atangana air-shot a reminder of football’s precarious nature before an opening point was secured.

Adams smiled at what Taylor had to say afterwards.

“That’s nice of him,” he said. “I wish it was the end of the season and that was the case.”

There will be a load of bumps in the road between now and then. But as lengthy test drives go, the Bantam bandwagon looked a smooth and reliable runner.