CHESTERFIELD 3 CITY 0

THAT loud thud you heard about 4.20 on Saturday afternoon was City landing firmly back on planet Earth.

Chesterfield dished out a proper dose of reality for anyone kidded by the way the Bantams had dismantled Sunderland a few days earlier.

Pre-season has never been about results. It’s fine-tuning, easing bodies back into the routine of playing again week in, week out and putting that training-ground slog into practice.

And maybe a slap in the face like this one will prove timely as we tick down the minutes impatiently to the big one against Doncaster next weekend.

West End actors swear by a dodgy final dress rehearsal after all; a few fluffed lines or missed cues sharpens the reactions for when they step on stage to a full audience.

Mark Hughes will be hoping for the same thing after a surprisingly off-colour performance from a team who had looked so clinical and threatening in beating York and the Black Cats the previous week.

Maybe, the toils of Tuesday on such a muggy night had taken their toll in producing such a leggy follow-up.

But for whatever reason, City looked a half yard off it throughout; second best in physical terms to Chesterfield, second best to react to the ball on too many occasions.

The game itself felt as close to the real thing as you could get with an occasionally spikey, feisty feel to the contest.

But off the pitch, the afternoon was overshadowed by the unsavoury incident with a Chesterfield supporter, for want of a better word, and City’s subs warming up.

The exact exchange remains allegations until the FA launch the inquiry that the Bantams will push for.

But it appears that the man concerned initially complained about the three players “blocking his view” as they stretched near the corner flag and then things quickly descended – with City angrily flagging up the racism involved against Lee Angol and Yann Songo’o.

It was a horrible episode, made even more unpleasant and shocking because it seemed to come out of something so trivial, and a reminder that an age-old disease still festers in some corners.

Chesterfield boss Paul Cook was as animated as Mark Hughes in getting the game stopped while this was going on and the fans around the alleged “culprit” were just as keen to see justice done.

They shoulder no blame over what threatened to spoil a match when the Spireites demonstrated they will be a force to be reckoned with in the bear-pit of the National League. They looked streets ahead of York, certainly.

The tone was set early when Matty Platt tried unsuccessfully to shepherd a ball out for a goal kick – only to find himself man-handled out of possession by Akwasi Asante and forced to scramble it away for a home throw-in.

Platt had his hands full with the muscle of Asante and partner Joe Quigley – the first time the centre half has looked in any real discomfort since his arrival from Barrow. Again, that examination might prove handy ahead of Donny’s Valley Parade visit.

Romoney Crichlow was the pick of a defence stretched by Chesterfield’s attacking intent, appearing composed on the ball while those around him were being pulled about.

But there were too many off their game.

Passes ran short or slightly off course in a harassed midfield where even Richie Smallwood struggled to find time and space.

The frontline were starved of opportunities. Vadaine Oliver, at least, got an hour under his belt but got frustrated with the lack of service while Kian Harratt did not suit the wider role that he was given.

Harratt did have the ball in the net with a tidy finish after Oliver flicked on Smallwood’s long pass but the flag was up for offside – one of three efforts ruled out by assistants in the first half.

Quigley and Armando Dobra were similarly thwarted but both occasions served as warnings about Chesterfield’s threat. That was not heeded after the break.

The Spireites struck three minutes into the second half as left back Branden Horton’s deep cross was nodded in by Quigley at the far post.

Horton, encouraged to galivant forward, then hit the woodwork before coming up with another assist for Quigley as City failed to react in time.

And the woozy visitors quickly took a further hit as Jeff King dinked the ball into the box where Liam Mandeville had all the room he needed to hammer Chesterfield’s third into the roof of the net.

Plenty of food for thought for Hughes in the coming days. But deep down, he may feel that has done him a favour in keeping feet grounded amid the swirling expectation for what is to come.

CHESTERFIELD: Covolan, Horton (Clements 61min), Grimes (J Cook 71min), Mandeville (Whelan 64min), Williams (Maguire 71min), Dobra (Cooper 61min), Asante (Trialist 71min), King (Sheklford 61min), Oldaker (Trialist 64min), Quigley (Gyasi 61min), Banks (Miller 64min).

CITY: Lewis, Halliday (Threlkeld 72min), Platt, Crichlow (Songo’o 77min), Foulds (Ridehalgh 61min), East (Sutton 72min), Smallwood, Osadebe (Chapman 61min), Walker (Young 72min), Harratt (Angol 61min), Oliver (A Cook 61min).