Angry fans turn on City

Bradford City's black October continued with a 4-0 thrashing at St Andrew's this afternoon.

The Bantams crashed to their sixth defeat in the last seven games - and fourth in 11 days - as Marcelo claimed a hat-trick for managerless Birmingham.

Danny Sonner also netted as Brum scored four times in a nightmare spell either side of the half-time break.

City began life without Benito Carbone this afternoon as they looked to arrest a run of five defeats in their last six matches.

Jim Jefferies made one change from the side that played so well - but still lost - at Crystal Palace on Tuesday. Gareth Whalley, who looked lively as a second-half substitute that night, came in for the start in place of Gunnar Halle.

Back-up goalkeeper Aidan Davison recovered from his bout of flu to be on the bench with Carbone's place among the substitutes taken by Gareth Grant.

It was Birmingham's first home game since Trevor Francis left on Monday and ended a run of five successive matches on the road.

City again fielded three centre-halves as they looked for their first league clean sheet since August 18.

Michael Johnson needed early treatment after being caught in a clash with Ashley Ward. Then Gareth Whalley took a robust challenge from Martin O'Connor but the City free-kick came to nothing.

Gary Locke conceded a fifth-minute corner which was cleared by Stuart McCall but Birmingham forced another when Marcelo's 20-yarder took a slight deflection off Robert Molenaar. Again City coped with it comfortably.

City had an escape after 13 minutes when Jerry Gill arrowed a cross to the far post where Paul Furlong got above Robert Molenaar but missed the header completely. Martin Grainger whipped it back in but Marcelo's follow-up header looped well over.

Locke, operating in the right wing-back role, tried his luck from 25 yards but the ball sailed wide.

Passes were going astray from both sides but City had a sniff in the 18th minute when Locke found Ward with his back to goal. Darren Purse blocked his shot on the turn at the expense of a corner.

Birmingham survived it - only to gift City a chance as Purse and goalkeeper Nico Vaesen hesitated dealing with a Ward knockdown and Blake nipped in for a touch which Vaesen smothered.

Ward's battle with Purse was hotting up and the City striker went in the book for clattering his marker after 21 minutes.

Blake, relishing his chance in the absence of Carbone, moved forward confidently to strike a shot from 20 yards that Vaesen watched closely past his left post.

Birmingham's third corner was blocked by Ward as far as the taker Grainger whose dinked cross back into the box was well taken by Gary Walsh.

Jess carved open the home defence and took a return pass from Blake as he burst into the box. But two defenders closed down the danger with ref Eddie Wolstenholme ignoring optimistic shouts for hand ball. Birmingham broke quickly for Stan Lazaridis to skid a drive narrowly wide from 20 yards.

Myers cleared acrobatically from Grainger's cross, returning the ball to the Birmingham full back whose second effort beat everybody including the unmarked Gill.

Johnson caught Ward to give City another chance to get men forward but Andy Tod had no direction on his header as he met Whalley's free-kick.

But it was Birmingham who grabbed the lead after 36 minutes.

The move was prompted by Gill whose strong run took him past Eoin Jess and Myers where Danny Sonner took over and swept the ball out to Lazaridis. MARCELO headed his cross downward towards the far post where Walsh seemed to have it covered. But the ball squirmed loose and over the line as he frantically tried to claw it clear.

Immediately David Wetherall was booked for a foul on Gill although the City defender angrily claimed he had been elbowed.

But City's problems were far from over as Birmingham went 2-0 up in the 39th minute. Grainger was the provider as he picked out SONNER's run into the box and the ex-Ipswich midfielder drove the ball across Walsh.

City needed to hit back quickly and Jess and Whalley exchanged passes to tee up McCall who blazed into the crowd.

Grainger continued to cause City uncertainty with his left-wing crosses and Tod was caught in two minds when Walsh stayed on his line as another ball swung in dangerously.

Grainger shot wildly wide before Blake beavered a small opening for Jess who miscued from the edge of the Birmingham box.

The away fans were fuming as they chanted "You don't know what you're doing" but worse was to come right on half-time.

A Birmingham corner was ferried back to Laziridis whose low pass was swept home from six yards by MARCELO to complete a dreadful ten minutes for the Bantams.

Halle replaced Molenaar for the start of the second half as City set out on mission impossible, trying to retrieve three goals.

Yet within two minutes of the restart Birmingham had reinforced their domination as Marcelo completed his hat-trick.

Tresor Luntala's deep cross from the left was turned back into the area by Grainger where MARCELO planted a header past Walsh.

The away fans behind Vaesen's goal were stunned into silence at the way City had been swept away by four goals either side of the break.

Ward tried to restore some pride when he flicked down a Blake pass for the on-rushing Jess by the penalty spot. But Johnson performed an agile clearance to force the ball off the Scot's boot.

Nothing was going right for the visitors who wasted a rare corner. And then Blake, having taken up a good position beyond the far post, tried to take on one man too many and wasted an opening.

With Birmingham sitting back, City now had far more of the ball and Blake was bundled over in an inviting position just outside the home penalty area. But Locke's free-kick cannoned back off the wall.

At least Blake was still looking for that elusive goal and he took a pass from the busy Myers to cut onto his right foot and drag another effort a couple of yards off target.

With City stretched again, Birmingham had three players queueing up for a cross in the 68th minute. Furlong was one of them and he worked the ball back to Luntala whose curler struck Halle and just cleared the crossbar.

With the job done long ago, Birmingham gave captain O'Connor a breather replacing him with Woodhouse after 71 minutes.

But Walsh pulled off a wonderful save to deny Furlong a fifth after Lazaridis had engineered a four-man break with a sweeping crossfield pass.