ROCHDALE 0 CITY 0

THE Rochdale stewards marshalling the packed away stand had absolutely no cause for alarm.

With the game just over an hour old, the army of travelling fans had launched their cheeky challenge.

“If City score, we’re on the pitch” they sang with gusto – and a large dose of sarcasm.

Only 10 minutes before, Jamie Walker has mustered his side’s first effort on target with a shot from outside the box that ran straight through to Joel Coleman.

There had been little hint of even the slightest discomfort to the Rochdale keeper’s afternoon up to then.

In fact, Walker’s shoot-on-sight policy was about the only thing to keep Coleman occupied as the on-loan Scot decided to take it in his own hands to at least have a pop when the opportunity was there.

But realistically, there was no chance of the invasion that had been advertised so noisily. City’s shapeless performance made sure of that.

The biggest cheer of the afternoon came from the attendance being announced – particularly when the figure was broken down into home and away on the scoreboard.

City’s magnificent backing numbered 2,563 – 185 more than the locals.

But, as any seasoned Bantams watcher will testify, size doesn’t matter when it comes to the actual game itself.

Rochdale away is the closest City fans get to a proper derby at this lowly level. It has almost become a badge of honour to out-number their hosts.

That side of the ground swathed in claret and amber has witnessed many highs and lows in recent encounters.

There was the sight of Stuart McCall’s promotion hopes fading away in 2009 as Rochdale landed the first blow in the flurry that would floor his first managerial reign.

Then six years later, the return of Kyel Reid prompting a resurgence for Phil Parkinson that would leave to the play-offs.

And the falsest dawn of them all, in December 2018, when a 4-0 romp represented the high point of David Hopkin’s doomed rein.

Saturday had none of that drama, nothing to excite, no goal-mouth drama to get pulses racing.

Instead, there was just a cold, hard slap of reality the moment that Lee Angol grabbed the back of his left leg and dropped to the floor in the Rochdale penalty area.

Seconds earlier, he had bustled his way through on the end of a long ball, building the anticipation of finally providing something to shout about.

But that was cruelly cut short as his hamstring horrors struck again – and this was not even the side which has given him such a problem over the previous year.

Now you wonder if Angol will be seen again in a City shirt with Derek Adams gloomily forecasting that the striker’s season was over. That’s how suddenly fortunes can change.

Of course, it points the finger at the call to recruit a player with such an unfortunate history in the first place; however talented he might be for this level.

And it blasts a big hole in City’s hopes of clambering back up the table.

The last week of the transfer window has become critical to those ambitions.

Another striker is already on the list for Derek Adams, who has been knocked back with a couple of targets. Now he must land one capable of carrying the load with Andy Cook.

To think, in an ideal world Cole Stockton would have followed Adams from Morecambe in the summer.

The Shrimps striker, who Adams fought hard to bring with him, scored his 20th goal in 31 appearances at the weekend as he continues to take League One by storm.

In comparison, City served up a toothless effort that lacked the edge to suggest they are capable of mounting the sort of run needed to follow the likes of Mansfield, who have surged from second bottom into a play-off spot on the back of winning 10 out of 11.

Too often, they found themselves crowded out in Rochdale’s boxed midfield; lacking the width and adventure to stretch the play.

Even when Adams switched to 4-4-2 after the break, there was no more service for Cook and Angol before his injury. It made for another hard watch for the majority in the stands.

Adams had made three changes from the Salford comeback win, including a debut for Matty Daly in midfield.

Charles Vernam could feel a little hard done by to make way for the Huddersfield youngster after looking much more like his old self the week before.

Daly, keen to pick up from his form earlier in the campaign at Hartlepool, struggled to get involved. He cut a fringe figure in a midfield that never really got on top of their opponents and was subbed early in the second half for the arrival of Cook.

Daly had played in a 2-1 win over Rochdale a month earlier but did not see enough of the ball to make much of an impression second time around.

It was a tough start in claret and amber but he will have better days, hopefully in the rush of fixtures that are now upon City.

Alongside him, Elliot Watt was having trouble with his passing radar and got caught on the ball by Liam Kelly to create the only proper chance of the first half.

The pass was fed to Conor Grant on the left side of the box and his cross-shot was palmed away by Sam Hornby.

With all the talk of a new goalkeeper coming in, Hornby chose a good time to present a solid claim to hang on to the shirt for now.

But Watt’s afternoon came to a premature and uncomfortable end when he damaged medial ligaments in a tackle.

Rochdale also lost two players to injury making the first 45 minutes a stop-start, bitty affair which never really flowed. Levi Sutton’s shanked shot into the crowd just before the break summed things up.

George Broadbent went much closer for the home side soon after the restart before City called for Cook.

But there was no repeat of the instant impact he had made against Gary Bowyer. Cook’s frustration at the lack of opportunities was indicated with an angry finger-wagging exchange with Rochdale centre half Paul Downing.

The sorry sight of strike partner Angol being helped around the edge of the pitch by physio Chris Royston further sucked the enthusiasm out of City’s day.

Walker reeled off a couple of defiant digs from distance but again it was Rochdale who offered the one genuinely threatening chance as Hornby did well again to tip over Alex Newby’s free-kick in stoppage time.

Those fans never did make it anywhere near the pitch. There had been nothing to get worked up about.