Surprise, surprise

While Rix was the Arsenal and England midfield star, the young apprentice had to be content with scrubbing and polishing duties as he dreamed of some of that success rubbing off some day.

Saturday was the day when the apprentice found the spell to dumb-found his former sorceror. Law's first win as a Bantam not only broke their losing hoodoo - it also pushed under-fire Rix on to the precipice at plunging Portsmouth.

Law fooled Rix with a traditional disappearing act. You see the team he puts out at Walsall? Hey presto, the line-up for his first home game is totally different.

Rix was totally bamboozled as his plans from the midweek spying mission to the Bescot Stadium vanished into thin air.

"We didn't know who they were going to play or how," he admitted later. Rix wasn't the only one as Law pulled several rabbits from the hat with his first Valley Parade team sheet.

Gareth Grant was given such a hard time as a sub against Walsall, chairman Geoffrey Richmond came out and publicly condemned the away fans. And here was the young striker in for his first league start in over three years.

In midfield, Claus Jorgensen got his home debut after seven months of waiting. And at the back Wayne Jacobs had to put the champagne on hold for his 500th appearance as Law instead prefered the youthful Lewis Emanuel.

It was such a reshuffle that Law even had the players in early on Saturday morning to talk them through the change of tactics. No wonder Rix didn't know which way to turn or mark. But the key to victory was the switch in formation with three men up front. That pushed Lee Sharpe more into the middle of midfield and he responded with a vintage performance.

Rix possibly played a part in his own downfall there because he had played Sharpe in a central position during a two-month loan spell at Fratton Park at the end of last season.

Sharpe showed on Saturday how he revels being busy at the centre of things and outshone Croatian genius Robert Prosinecki - diligently marshalled everywhere by Gary Locke.

There will never be any question marks over Sharpe's ability. He has natural skills that many players can only marvel at.

Bantams fans, though, have rarely seen the best of him. But perhaps that is about to change as Law offers the carrot of a regular run in the team before Sharpe's contract runs out in the summer.

Law said: "Everyone knows the ability Lee has got and what he's achieved. You don't play for Man United and England if you're a mug and he has done it at the highest level.

"It's still there for him, he's shown that. He can dictate games and he made it tick on Saturday, not only when he had got the ball but when he hadn't - he won no end of tackles and got himself in good defensive positions.

"Lee's set his standards. Now he's got to perform like that week in, week out, home and away."

Even in his darkest moments - and there have been a few of those with his chequered injury record - Sharpe has always stayed positive and supremely confident.

He showed that inner-belief in abundance with the arrogant way he tucked away the decisive penalty, pictured.

It was the tensest moment of a madcap afternoon. City, having clawed their way back from leaking a goal in two minutes, were awarded a spot-kick to take the lead.

The build-up to the penalty only added to the drama as ref Paul Taylor strangely waved off the home shouts after Sharpe's heels were clipped by Shaun Derry. Taylor then changed his mind after speaking to linesman Carl Bassindale as the red mist descended on the Pompey defenders.

It was an explosive scenario for Sharpe, who last scored nearly three years earlier, to takehis first spot-kick in City colours.

But he treated it as a Sunday morning kick-about, shuffling up to the ball and then pausing before floating it airily into the corner of the net. Dave Beasant, already committed at the foot of the post, could only watch it sail gently by.

Law wondered later whether the stop-start run-up was still allowed but Sharpe had no doubts about a trick he perfected on the training ground.

Sharpe said: "It's a touch of the di Canio's but it's something I practice in training. The keepers always go the wrong way so I just thought I'd try it again.

"I don't know whether the rest of the boys were expecting it but I bet the manager wasn't. Still it was nice to get a goal again and very important that we won which was much-needed.

"I thought the team were a little bit more organised and we knew who we were picking up and looking after. It worked well.

"I thoroughly enjoyed it and prefer being in the middle of the park. It allows me to get on the ball and get involved a lot more."

Once in front there was little doubt City would go on to their first victory of 2002 and only league double so far against a desperately ordinary side now only a point above them and sinking like a stone.

The win will work wonders for team confidence particularly as the goals came from such unlikely sources, Grant equalising the early effort by Linvoy Primus and Gunnar Halle, skipper in Stuart McCall's absence, following up Sharpe's penalty by rounding off a triumphant day with a booming header.

Law said: "The important thing was that we stopped the run of defeats and got something from the game.

"I've shown my intentions by putting in the likes of Lewis, Claus and Granty. As I said to them beforehand, you are in there now so take your opportunity and they did that.

"You need the younger ones in there to give you that energy and it worked well."

The only downside for Law was the early yellow card for Gary Locke which means the Scot is banned from the games with Preston and Grimsby.

But his crunching tackle on Prosinecki after barely 40 seconds showed City were not going to be pushed around.

Law added: "It set the pattern for the game. We've got to play every game like that and got to make this a place where people don't want to come.

"It's a fantastic stadium and beforehand teams may have thought there was easy pickings here. That has got to change."