CITY 4 WALSALL 0

THE fan loitering outside the Valley Parade press room was not sure whether to laugh or cry.

In his pocket was a scrunched-up betting slip: Filipe Morais first goal, City to win 3-0 at 175/1.

A cool £800 in winnings for a fiver’s outlay – that was until James Hanson went and spoiled it by rounding off his first hat-trick as a professional.

You win some, you lose some; but it was impossible for any home supporter to feel down on a day when everything claret and amber was just about perfect.

The biggest gamble of the day had paid off handsomely – Phil Parkinson’s decision to swap his strike-force for an untried double act of Hanson and Morais.

Parkinson is occasionally labelled too conservative in his approach by critics but this was a big call at a critical moment – and City hit the jackpot.

“It was a bold move but the gaffer does things for a reason,” said Hanson afterwards. “He’s got that knack.

“Everyone out the side can feel a bit unfortunate like Nathan (Clarke), Procs (Jamie Proctor) and Billy (Clarke). But the lads who came in knew they had to make a point and we did.”

Hanson had emerged from the lift clutching a signed balloon, given him by a little girl in the Hendrie Suite. The first ball as a City player would come soon enough.

He had presented Parkinson with the most compelling case for a recall.

A hungry Hanson is a dangerous beast – and after nine games sat on the sidelines he was ravenous.

Parkinson had detected that in training; it was just finding the opportune moment to hurl him back into the fray.

“Cometh the man, cometh the hour” smiled the Bantams boss after Hanson had ripped the division’s tightest travelling defence to shreds.

Before Saturday, Walsall had conceded only 19 times in 21 away games – City put four past them in 19 minutes.

It wasn’t all about Hanson, however dominant his performance; the sight of Morais tearing towards the City dug-out grin locked from one ear to the other was the abiding image.

The Portuguese was seeking out physio Matt Barrass and the medical team; those who had worked with him day after day for eight long and painful months.

His goal was that light at the end of the tunnel and he wanted to milk the moment with the staff who had delivered his comeback.

Leaner, meaner and motivated enough to burst, Morais had proved the perfect foil for the big man.

It was not completely alien for the winger to play down the middle. He started off as a striker as a youngster and did the job for half a season with previous club Stevenage.

Parkinson had wanted something different. Billy Clarke, he felt, needed withdrawing from the firing line after another missed chance at Coventry.

Morais could play that slightly deeper role and with added pace.

Hanson’s recall was more predictable given the recent concerns at the amount of set-pieces and crosses going unrewarded in the box.

With him and Rory McArdle restored to the side, City had their two strongest headers back in force.

McArdle might have made it a clean sweep for Parkinson’s changes with a goal himself but Neil Etheridge pulled off a stunning save.

The Walsall keeper was by far their busiest player and had earlier delivered another fantastic block from point-blank range to thwart Lee Evans.

When that didn’t go in, you just began to wonder if it was going to be another tale of small margins and missed opportunities.

But City, roared on by the largest home crowd of the season so far, kept on plugging away. They had no intention of letting the Saddlers off the hook.

The afternoon had begun encouragingly with news of Barnsley only drawing with Sheffield United, missing the chance to usurp the Bantams in fifth spot before kick-off.

And as they battered away at Walsall, regular score updates filtered through from Gillingham that Shrewsbury were doing them a massive favour.

Who would have thought that a team so insipid against City the week before would dig out three goals in deepest Kent? But this time of the year does funny things.

But as Parkinson had stressed beforehand, this was all about getting your own house in order first before worrying about others.

City finally made the breakthrough just before the hour in scrambled fashion.

Tony McMahon’s cross was nodded across goal by McArdle, Reece Burke’s shot was blocked in the melee and looped up to Hanson and his header was flicked in by Morais.

It wouldn’t win much for style points but the goal was worth its weight in gold. Valley Parade erupted and Morais threatened to run across the whole of West Yorkshire in wild celebration.

City’s second goal had another touch of the pinball about it before it was calmly dispatched by Hanson.

He latched on to Burke’s long pass and piled his way through defender Paul Downing, getting the bouncing ball under enough control in the box to slide past Etheridge.

Meanwhile, Walsall playmaker Romaine Sawyers remained a peripheral figure. There were few glimpses of the talent that earned him second place in the League One player of the year awards last week.

Instead it was left to Huddersfield loanee Jordi Hiwula to offer the only visiting threat.

Having smacked the crossbar in the first half, he tried another defiant effort at 2-0 down with a long-range half volley that Ben Williams alertly turned over.

A 20th league clean sheet for the City keeper was a strong response to his costly mistake at Shrewsbury the week before.

Parkinson said: “I did think the criticism he got after the Shrewsbury game was over the top.

“But I just felt that save was huge and why he’s been such a great keeper for us.”

Any hint of a Walsall fightback faded away on the keeper’s finger tips – the game was done and dusted and the matchball secured as Hanson’s personal property with two more goals in the space of a minute.

Nobody picked up Hanson from McMahon’s corner as he guided number three past the rooted Etheridge.

Then Hanson flicked into the path of Morais who shaped to shoot in the box, checked, swivelled and stood up a perfect ball to the back post for his strike partner to convert.

Valley Parade was in party mood and City had sent a promotion rival – and potential play-off opponent – packing in the most emphatic manner imaginable.

Who would have predicted that?

REFEREE: Darren Drysdale (Lincolnshire)

BOOKINGS: Burke, Proctor (City); Taylor (Walsall)

ATTENDANCE: 19,336

Shots on target: City 12, Walsall 3

Shots off target: City 3, Walsall 4

Corners: City 11, Walsall 2

Fouls committed: City 8, Walsall 13