Blues: Maik Taylor, Martin Taylor, Upson, Cunningham, Grainger, Johnson, Hughes, Clemence, Lazaridis, Forssell (John 83), Morrison (Tebily 84). Subs not used: Bennett, Cisse, Carter. Leeds: Robinson, Kelly, Caldwell, Matteo, Domi, Pennant, McPhail, Seth Johnson, Milner (Simon Johnson 78), Viduka, Smith. Subs not used: Carson, Harte, Radebe, Keegan. Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire) 
Hughes 12,67, Forssell 69,80 pen Viduka 3 Match Report 
The final score did perhaps flatter Blues slightly, but there can be no doubt that they deserved their victory after coming back from a goal down.
When you ship five goals in one game, you expect changes in the next. Steve Bruce, however, has never been one for convention, and opted for the same eleven that started at Middlesbrough a week prior - keeping faith with the attackers who had performed so well and the defenders who had been so off the boil on that day.
Blues have a worrying habit of only starting to play when the opposition score first. Unfortunately for Blues, Leicester waited until the second half to open the scoring a fortnight ago. Leeds made the mistake of scoring within 3 minutes. Mark Viduka - who had already forced Maik Taylor into a good save - netted after yet more sloppy Blues defending. Matthew Upson's positioning was questionable, and Jermaine Pennant's through ball exposed the space whilst Viduka's finishing exploited it.
Viduka missed a glorious chance not long after, when somehow knocking the impressive James Milner's low ball wide from about 4 yards out. The error was proven to be even more costly as Blues went to the other end and equalised after 12 minutes. Clinton Morrison did well in the wide right position, and his low ball was given the deftest of touches at the near post by Stan Lazaridis, helping it on its way to Bryan Hughes. Hughes was left with an empty net as he stood inside the six yard area, and if you had to back one Blues player at the club other than a certain Finn up front to finish such chances, it would have to be Hughes. He duly obliged.
Blues now took control of the game, and had a decent penalty claim turned down by referee Mark Halsey when Gary Kelly appeared to prevent the progress of a Lazaridis cross with his hand. Mikael Forssell had one shot saved by Paul Robinson and the subseqent follow-up shot by the same player was cleared off the line by Didier Domi. Martin Grainger showed his quality from set pieces with a free-kick that thundered off Robinson's bar, and Martin Taylor's effort from the rebound was straight at Robinson. Blues pressured, but were unable to make a further breakthrough before the interval.
After the break it was Leeds who came out looking sharper. Milner terrorised Martin Taylor on one occasion, and then saw his shot saved by Maik Taylor. The newly-signed Blues 'keeper then made a dreadful hash of a Kenny Cunningham backpass. The ball was bobbling, but Taylor had time to control the ball, as everyone in St Andrews could see what would happen. Taylor didn't control it, swung a right boot at it, missed and the ball rolled just wide of the post.
On 66 minutes Blues took the lead through Hughes' second of the game. Clinton Morrison could learn a lot from watching this goal again on video. Lazaridis took a ball in the area with his back to goal, and held off his man well without tumbling to the floor looking for a free-kick. He also showed great alertness to lay off the ball to Hughes who had made a good run into the area. Hughes also showed Morrison a thing or two, as it was a chance any Premiership attacker should score, but Hughes made it look easy.
Three minutes later and it was 3-1 thanks to Forssell. The Leeds backline were static as the ball was cleared by the Blues defence. Morrison was certainly in an offside position, but was simply retreating back into his own half, and sensibly made no attempt to go for the ball. This meant that Forssell could race through and finish coolly when one-on-one with Robinson.
Leeds searched in vain for a response but were unable to find one - Viduka striking several shots straight at Maik Taylor in a good personal display - and Blues finished them off in the 82nd minute amid a little controversy. Dominic Matteo was adjudged to have pushed Morrison in the box, and everyone in the ground seemed happy for Hughes to pick the ball up to take the penalty to cap off a Premiership hat-trick. However, on Steve Bruce's instructions, a reluctant Forssell had to take the ball off Hughes and dispatched the spot-kick comfortably.
Hughes acted tremendously in all of it, as anyone would have understood his frustration. However, after initially walking away from the penalty area, he returned to the edge of the box as Forssell took the penalty, and was the first to congratulate the Finn on scoring. Forssell clearly understood Hughes' frustrations as another player who craves goals, and was obliging with a sympathetic arm round the shoulder and word in the ear. Bruce's decision was understandable though. This was a key moment in a Premiership football match, and emotion shouldn't override that. Had Hughes missed the penalty and Leeds broken and scored, you'd have been looking at 3-2 with about ten minutes to play. If Bruce felt Forssell was the man to take it, then fair enough - he was proven right after all. Had it been 4-1 prior to the penatly, there's no doubt Hughes would have been stepping up.
And that's how it finished, with Bruce making it up to Hughes by letting him have the last ten minutes or so up front with Stern John. Blues did deserve their victory in the end, but have to start starting games at the start... if you know what I mean. Too often they are slow out of the traps, and too often they find themselves behind as a result. If they could play as if they were 1-0 down from the kick-off, they'd earn far more points than they do.
Attendance: 29,069.