The pranksters who pinched the Saltergate goal nets must have known what was going to happen.

Fortunately they were discovered on Saturday morning, shoved in a black bin bag and left on the club doorstep after being gone for nearly two days.

Maybe the perpetrators had a pretty good idea what the game would be like and decided that goals wouldn't be needed.

Sadly, they almost got it spot on. Neither net would have been needed but for a comical case of "after you, Claude" between Lewis Emanuel and Donovan Ricketts in the game's final fling.

Paul Hall leathered a nothing pass forward which lively winger Adam Smith chased in hope rather than expectation as Emanuel, a couple of yards ahead of him, ushered it back to the goalkeeper.

But the ball was not quite quick enough and, as Smith closed in, full back and keeper waited for each other to make a decisive move.

It should have been a case of whack into row Z and ask questions later but Emanuel seemed to freeze, which allowed the Chesterfield man to nip in between the dallying pair and get a decisive touch.

His shot seemed to be in slow motion as it trickled past Ricketts and against the post before rolling ever so gently against the newly-returned net.

It was a shocking end to another afternoon that had passed the Bantams by.

Colin Todd had talked about the importance of avoiding too many draws - but he didn't mean this sort of result to happen.

City's play-off hopes last season were effectively killed off by a poor result at Chester-field. The fear now is that the same thing will happen this time around.

Instead of chipping away at the gap which exists to the top six, that distance seems further away than ever.

The Spireites were nothing particularly special but they now sit eight points clear of Todd's lot. Steve Claridge warned that the time for talking big was over and City had to deliver; this was not the way to begin.

Having helped rescue the point against Brentford, Claridge was handed his first start for two months and linked effectively with partner Dean Windass.

It has not always worked between the pair, who can be a bit too similar up front, but they seemed to hit it off from the start.

Unfortunately the early momentum from several promising breaks was lost at the feet of Bobby Petta. Once again operating on the right, he kept checking back inside to his left foot and killing the pace of the attack with it.

Windass, in fact, ended the afternoon playing in midfield himself. Maybe that's a pointer for the way ahead.

Let's not forget he began his professional career in a more withdrawn position and Paul Jewell picked him behind the front two during his first spell with the club.

Windass certainly has an eye for a pass and can add some much-needed creativity to the engine room which was sadly lacking on Saturday.

Tom Kearney tried hard but got nowhere and was totally overshadowed by Sammy Clingan pulling all the strings for Chesterfield.

Marc Bridge-Wilkinson had a frustrating match where not a lot came off, although he did force a spectacular save from Barry Roche with a free-kick that glanced off the top of the wall.

Todd employed Danny Cadamarteri on the left flank, with Ben Muirhead not even making a bench which featured four outfield players without a senior start between them. Rookie Joe Colbeck was the wing cover and got a late run-out.

Cadamarteri fizzled occasionally but he was getting the ball too deep to cause any serious damage - and a fifth yellow card, for a trip on defender Reuben Hazell, means his pace and power will be missing from next weekend's clash with high-flying Swansea.

City had the ball in the net after ten minutes. Windass pressured Roche into a scuffed clearance straight at Claridge, who advanced unchallenged towards the roaring travelling fans.

But instead of going for glory himself he opted to pass to his strike partner, who was in an offside position as he tapped into the net. Once again, Todd was cursing players making "wrong decisions" that are costing dear.

The first half was entertaining enough without ever being really riveting.

Smith looked a danger on Chesterfield's left but City's rebuilt backline was coping well and Darren Holloway, in particular, barely put a foot wrong at right back.

That should have provided the platform for somebody to score at the other end and David Wetherall was inches away from his fourth goal of the season with a flying header from Petta's cross.

But the best chance fell to the Dutchman five minutes before the break. Windass and Claridge produced some delicate interplay to open up the penalty area for Petta to attack Roche.

The winger, though, never looked convincing and his half-hearted nudge past the keeper was safely swept away from the beckoning goal by Derek Niven.

The City bench fumed as another goal chance went begging - and their frustration must have doubled when Spireites boss Roy McFarland escaped scot-free for a full-on blast right in the face of assistant referee Russell Green

This was after Colin Larkin's run clear of the defence was called back for a contentious offside ruling.

Official Graham Salisbury decided not to take any action. Compare that with Paul Armstrong ordering Todd to the stand at Southend and once again, where's the consistency?

The second half began in scrappy fashion, with too many passes from both sides going astray.

Wayne Allison, who had cleared the ground with one wayward effort, finally got his radar right with a goalbound nod which was athletically tipped over the bar by Ricketts.

Not to be outdone, Roche repeated the act in the Chesterfield goal to deny Bridge-Wilkinson a third free-kick goal in four games.

Kearney made way for Joe Brown and Windass dropped into midfield, with Petta and Cadamarteri swapping flanks to their natural sides.

Petta immediately produced his best cross of the game to win a corner and Stewart nearly converted it with a header that flew just off target.

Then some quick thinking from Windass sparked a City break from one end of the pitch to the other. His early free-kick got Cadamarteri going, he switched the play to Petta on the left and the visitors were roaring forward in numbers.

Bridge-Wilkinson hit the line and drilled a low pass across the goalmouth but it came in fractionally behind Claridge and Alan O'Hare hacked the ball away.

City then paid dearly at the other end as Smith broke the deadlock. Despite a late scramble, which saw Hazell clear off the line from a deflected cross by substitute Colbeck, the damage had been done.

Ricketts looked disconsolate at the final whistle, sinking to the turf and refusing to budge.

Stewart, who had defended stoutly as Mark Bower's understudy, buried his face in his shirt. But he went straight over to console his fellow Jamaican, who was then joined by Wetherall with a hug and some pick-me-up words.

But the giant keeper was still deeply hurt as he trudged reluctantly towards the dressing room. The effect this result has on City's hopes for the next few months could be just as wounding.

CHESTERFIELD			BRADFORD CITY
Barry Roche	17	1	Donovan Ricketts
Steve Blatherwick	5	5	David Wetherall
Derek Niven	6	22	Damion Stewart
Wayne Allison	9	8	Marc Bridge-Wilkinson
Colin Larkin	10	4	Tom Kearney
Paul Hall	11	10	Dean Windass
Shane Nicholson	14	24	Steve Claridge
Adam Smith	18	16	Lewis Emanuel
Reuben Hazell	19	17	Bobby Petta
Phil Picken	26	19	Danny Cadamarteri
Sammy Clingan	32	2	Darren Holloway
	subs	subs
Carl Muggleton	1	13	Russell Howarth
Alan O'Hare	3	33	Jake Wright
Gareth Davies	12	25	Craig Bentham
Caleb Folan	16	28	Joe Colbeck
Tcham N'Toya	22	27	Joe Brown

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee:	G Salisbury
Assistant Referee:	R C Green
Assistant Referee:	A E Rayner
4th Official:	R Fletcher

SUBSTITUTES
CHESTERFIELD	min		min	BRADFORD CITY
3 for 5	59		72	27 for 4
16 for 10	72		85	28 for 24

GOAL SCORERS
CHESTERFIELD	min		min	BRADFORD CITY
Smith	88

DISCIPLINARY
CHESTERFIELD	min		min	BRADFORD CITY
Blatherwick	49		28	Cadamarteri
Smith	90		90	Holloway