Just give us a goal!

The scoreline failed to do justice to a highly spirited display from Law's youthful side, which was only lacking a clinical finish or two to claim a share of the spoils against a side littered with players of Premiership experience.

In the end, a solitary first-half strike from Jermain Defoe ensured that the Hammers bounced back from their 1-0 defeat to Rotherham on Saturday, which had been the prelude to the sacking of manager Glenn Roeder the following day.

And City faced a Hammers side now galvanised by the caretaker appointment of Trevor Brooking, who inspired West Ham to two wins and a draw in their final three games of last season.

While City spoiled Cardiff's big occasion at Ninian Park recently, here was a similar scenario with City again billed as underdogs, although sadly on this occasion there was to be no bursting of any bubbles.

Law made just one change from the side which lost at home to Gillingham, with Jason Gavin coming into the side at the expense of Lewis Emanuel. The young Dubliner took his place alongside David Wetherall at the heart of the City defence, with Paul Heckingbottom pushed into midfield duty alongside the blossoming Simon Francis.

Brooking played an adventurous three-pronged attack, which included Defoe, David Connolly and Neil Mellor, on-loan from Liverpool. Weatherall said: "We weren't particularly surprised they played the three but we stood up well and in the end we were very disappointed not to come away with a point."

City certainly started brightly and after four minutes, Andy Gray collected possession on the edge of the area and skilfully turned inside Ian Pearce before planting a right-footed effort towards the bottom corner but England keeper David James saved.

Then Tomas Repka was booked for a crude challenge from behind on Dean Windass, which forced the City ace out of the game after barely ten minutes had passed. The tackle incurred the wrath of Law, who quite rightly believed that the card should have been a straight red, given the directives that referees now have about the tackle from behind being outlawed.

It left the City boss to angrily seethe: "It was a diabolical tackle and he's caught him right in the middle of the calf, and it was that bad that he had to come off."

Michael Standing came on in midfield and Gray was pushed upfront alongside Branch, although the problem of not having a recognised targetman remained.

And the menace of Defoe began to loom large, aided and abetted as he was so well by Connolly, Mellor and the fluid midfield quartet of Michael Carrick, Rob Lee, Matthew Etherington and Kevin Horlock.

Defoe underlined why Sir Alex Ferguson harbours ambitions to bring him to Old Trafford as he underlined his quality with a fine individual goal in the 32nd minute.

Cutting in from the left at pace, Defoe brushed aside City's defence before thumping a low, right-footed shot inside the far corner from the edge of the box.

The goal was a true gem but City's defence afforded him the space to punish them - a fact acknowledged by Law, who said: "Defoe's goal - as good as it was - I was disappointed with our defending. We showed him across the pitch and let him get the shot in."

Defoe almost added a second two minutes later with a quick left-foot shot on the turn, and only Mark Paston's sharp reflexes denied him again shortly afterwards.

And a major turning point came just before half-time when full back Gareth Edds blazed wide for the Bantams with the goal at his mercy.

Law admitted: "I think the big turning point of the game was when Gareth Edds went through one-on-one with the goalkeeper and put it wide. If he scores that then it's a different game and I would like to have seen the reaction of the crowd and the attitude of their players then."

Having said that, the Carrick-propelled Hammers went down the other end and Connolly went close to doubling the lead when he rattled the crossbar from 12 yards in first-half stoppage time.

So while City's chances were largely limited, at the other end it was often desperate, last-ditch defending from City's excellent back four and in-form keeper Paston that prevented the Hammers from putting the game out of reach.

The second half saw City play with more composure and Gray's nimble ball skills, aligned to his admirable work-rate, soon became the focal point of City's game-plan. Although Carrick's intricate probings were still pulling the strings for the Hammers, chances came and went begging for City. Nine minutes after the restart Branch latched on to a lovely lofted ball from Edds and bore down on James, but scuffed his shot weakly wide - and that would prove to be City's best chance of the second period.

Further efforts from Gray, such as a dipping 25-yarder, were repelled by the England No 1 but confidence and possession began to increase within the City ranks.

Just after the hour, there was almost an embarrassing moment for James who, on receiving a back-pass from Christian Dailly, was unaware of Branch closing in on his blind-side.

The England keeper took a touch before hurriedly scuffing the ball straight to Standing, who shot goalwards but the Hammers keeper redeemed himself by tipping the resulting shot over the bar.

With 20 minutes remaining, Rob Wolleaston replaced Branch, who succumbed to a hamstring injury, and from then on, City were unable to exert any more goal-scoring threats on the Hammers and were thankful that Defoe only scuffed his shot to prevent a second in the dying minutes.