New Year and maybe, just maybe, some genuine signs of encouragement on the road.

If Shrewsbury Town are to emerge from the log jam of teams currently battling for automatic promotion, their away form simply must improve on the dismal return of 2008.

And their opening salvo of 2009 brought exactly that. 

Town’s goalless draw at Valley Parade – a stadium which continues to take away the breath in comparison to many other League Two stop-off points – can be regarded as a job well done in its own right. 

But only when it is paired up with the other meeting between the sides – a 2-0 Shrewsbury triumph at the Prostar Stadium in October – do the full merits become clear. 

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A tally of four points compared to Bradford’s one is a healthy return from a head-to-head against a chief promotion rival. 

And if Shrewsbury can repeat that feat against several of the cluster of teams still battling for those top three spots over the second half of the season, they will be laying strong foundations for promotion. 

This stalemate may still have left Shrewsbury searching for their second away triumph of the season. 

But on the day a clerical error saw a blast from 2008 – Guy Madjo – appear on the official team sheet, there were indications of brighter times on the road for Town. 

Aided by a switch in formation to 4-5-1, Town became an altogether tougher nut to crack. 

Resilient and resolute, the visitors were also to have their moments on the break where a little more composure and quality could have yielded even greater rewards. 

Captain Ben Davies was to be the highest profile casualty of the shuffling by boss Paul Simpson. 

Davies was the epicentre of Town’s attacking exploits before a hernia operation forced him onto the sidelines in mid-November, but has struggled to re-discover that exceptional form since his return. 

Unused sub here, one suspects Davies will use this setback as inspiration to fight his way back into starting X1 before long. 

But those given the nod ahead of him could reflect on an impressive Town midfield display, with two youngsters producing mature performances. 

The most advanced midfielder of the five, Steve Leslie again caught the eye with frequent support to Grant Holt, as well as producing some classy touches on the ball. 

And newcomer Joss Labadie can be happy with his Football League debut, effectively breaking up play and largely using the ball intelligently only 48 hours after his loan move from West Brom. 

Mention too, should be reserved for Town’s full-backs as Shane Cansdell-Sherriff and – in particular – Darren Moss did a sterling job in nullifying the considerable and pacy threat of Omar Daley and Steve Jones. 

Town’s two main scares were to arrive in the opening stages. 

First Barry Conlon controlled the ball and then, in one movement, turned and volleyed goalwards, only to see the ball rebound off the post. 

Moments later Michael Boulding had the chance to break the deadlock, only to fire straight at Luke Daniels from 15 yards after Town had been opened up by a fluent passing move. 

But, those two moments apart, this was a afternoon when Daniels was rarely extended, despite Bradford enjoying the majority of the possession. 

At the other end, Shrewsbury’s threat increased as the game progressed and Steve Leslie saw a shot deflected just wide while Grant Holt’s 15-yard effort was saved by the legs of Bradford keeper Rhys Evans. 

Both sides had shouts for a penalty waved away, Boulding going down under a challenge from Chris Humphrey and Holt doing likewise after being caught in a sandwich between Matthew Clarke and former Town loanee Graham Lee. 

A blot on the copybook came in injury time when Holt earned his 10th booking of the season – and a two game ban – for a lunge on Clarke.

But, that apart, it was an afternoon of promise on the road for Shrewsbury Town.

By James Garrison