A bulging Valley Parade stood as one to salute their team after the most dramatic of victories.
This was the type of finale that attracted Taylor to the job. He dreamed of awakening the giant, as he had done with Hull.
Only the celebrations at the final whistle were as much an outpouring of relief as joy.
City had got the job done. Just. Against the bottom team. And nine men.
It was hardly the cause for street parties.
Gareth Evans’ stoppage-time intervention at least gave Taylor the winning send-off that he was after. And it also spared the club some awkward questions about sticking with the manager for the game, two days after he’d announced he was off.
Taylor’s 50th and final league appearance as City boss was arguably the most entertaining. The quality was questionable but there was no lack of incident and excitement.
Two red cards, a penalty miss and a last-gasp goal to secure a come-from-behind home victory – the first time City had overturned a half-time deficit into a win all season.
The crowd of 15,332 – lured in by the £1 admission offer – was the biggest since the emotional Boxing Day clash with Lincoln in 2007.
Those fans were shocked by the pre-match bombshell that Dean Richards had died.
Maybe it was fitting, in a way, that two of City’s goals should come from a centre half. But whileSteve Williamswas a hero at one end, his performance at the other left a bit to be desired.
Williams was a guilty party in both Stockport efforts – and the announcement that he had been named star performer by the sponsors drew a wry barb from his outgoing manager.
“If Steve Williams gets man of the match then there’s something wrong with this game,” smiled Taylor. “He’s got to go home and learn about the defending side of it.
“I’m delighted he got two goals but defensively he was awful. It was like me out there...”
One up through a Williams header on 14 minutes, nerves began to jangle once the defender gifted possession to Stockport skipper Paul Turnbull to drive in the equaliser.
Stockport’s defence lived up to its reputation as the worst in the country with a series of goalmouth scrambles but the ball wouldn’t go in.
James Hansontook the ball off his own captainMichael Flynnto take the penalty after Adam Griffin’s dismissal for handling on the line. But former Bantam Matt Glennon, one of the first players to be jettisoned in Taylor’s reign, read the spot-kick and comfortably pushed it away.
The fragile mood threatened to disintegrate further when Williams stepped up a fraction late to play offside, allowing Ryan Doble through on goal. Lenny Pidgeley should have gathered the ball as he slid towards the edge of the box but instead allowed it through him and presented the striker with an easy finish.
Taylor threw on Evans andJake Speightto add some bite before Stockport lost a second man after Doble stupidly smashed his elbow intoLuke Oliver’s face.
A rainbow appeared above Midland Road but still Stockport continued to hold out as Speight’s shot deflected against the inside of the post.
Stockport were hanging on grimly to the three-point lifeline that would have hauled the Bantams in deep with them.
As Flynn admitted: “When you do a training session with 11 against nine, you’ll be surprised how often you don’t score.”
City finally restored parity with 15 minutes left.Robbie Threlfall’s corner was nodded across goal byHansonand back again by David Syers and Williams delivered an emphatic final touch.
With the volume approaching fever pitch, City laid late seige on the Stockport goal. Chances came and went, shots were snatched in the rising panic.
Then, four minutes into the five of added time, a hopeful drive from Luke O’Brien cannoned back off a defender and sat up nicely for Evans to sweep home for one of those trademark long-range goals.
On the day he’d been named in the top five contenders for the Football League’s goal of 2010, Evans had come up with another of much greater significance.
The scorer whipped off his shirt in frenzied celebration as Kevin Ellison had done a fortnight earlier against Wycombe.
But there was an added poignancy with Evans, who dedicated the strike to his grandad currently recovering from a bad stroke.
“It was a bizarre afternoon,” said Evans after catching his breath. “With Peter Taylor telling us he was going on Thursday, it has been difficult and there’s a lot of uncertainty around the place.
“But you’ve got to approach every game the same. He’s gone about his job very professionally as he always does and he definitely leaves with our respect.
“There have been a lot of things in the press about certain individuals not performing this season. As a squad we’ve always believed we are good enough but we’ve got to bring some more consistency into our game.
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