Bradford drown in flood

Bradford's bid for European glory was washed away by a wave of second-half goals amid a torrential downpour at Valley Parade.

What started out as an adventure just over a month ago had become deadly serious, given the chance of playing in the UEFA Cup was within touching distance.

But Bradford were no match for St Petersburg in the second leg of their InterToto Cup semi-final, as the visitors counter-attacked with clinical efficiency to destroy the Bantams' dream.

It was exactly what Zenit deserved after a first leg in the Petrovski Stadium from which there should have been no way back for City.

After a quiet first half in which neither goalkeeper was truly tested, Zenit then made their pace, strength and fitness tell, and Bradford had no answer.

Dan Petrescu had been paraded to the City fans before kick-off, and it produced the loudest cheer of the night from the home faithful on a wet, woeful night.

The £1 million capture from Chelsea on Saturday, Hutchings' fourth of a busy summer in the transfer market, was given a rousing reception.

The Romanian international, however, was unable to make his debut as his move north had come after the tournament's deadline.

But even if the 94-time capped right wing-back had been on the field, it is unlikely he could have provided the spark for City to continue their remarkable run in Europe.

This was Bradford's sixth game in a competition which began 32 days ago, but having seen off Lithuanian minnows FK Atlantas and a poor Dutch side RKC Waalwijk, City finally met their match.

If Lee Mills had beaten Viachaslav Malafeev with a powerful downward header just after the restart then it might have been a different story.

But in a second successive game in which City suffered from paucity in front of goal, it proved their best opportunity on an otherwise miserable evening.

The breakthrough, and the vital away goal, came in the 68th minute when Aleksandre Spivak was allowed to run unchallenged from the halfway line.

His powerful burst ended with a 20-yard drive which goalkeeper Matt Clarke, who had already twice saved superbly from half-time substitution Yevgeniy Tarasov, could only parry.

The ball lobbed up perfectly into the path of Denis Ugarov, who nodded home from close range to give the small band of travelling fans cause to celebrate.

It was the beginning of the end for Bradford, who then fell further behind seven minutes later as the death knell for their European hopes sounded.

The goal came in controversial fashion as Ugarov slipped home a loose ball underneath the diving Clarke, with a linesman first flagging and then deciding to change his mind.

Despite City's fierce protests, the goal stood as Yugoslav referee Miroslav Radoman pointed to the centre circle, and the Russians could start to look forward to a final against Celta Vigo of Spain.

But they were not finished rubbing salt into Bradford's wounds as the final dagger came three minutes from time.

On the breakaway, Ugarov exploited the gaping holes in City's defence, setting up Tarasov to beat Clarke for a third time.

Despite the defeat, Richmond has already admitted he will enter his team for next year's Intertoto Cup given the chance.

Bradford: Clarke, Halle, Atherton, O'Brien, Nolan, Hopkin, McCall, Whalley (Lawrence 83), Blake (Beagrie 73), Windass, Mills. Subs Not Used: Sharpe, Walsh, Westwood, Rankin, Grant. Booked: Windass.

St Petersburg: Malafeev, Lepekhin (Vernidub 86), Zvetkov, Gorovoy, Katulsky, Osipov, Ugarov, Kobelev (Archavin 28), Nedorezov, Spivak, Popovich (Tarassov 45). Subs Not Used: Berezovsky, Borodine, Igonin, Gorchkov. Booked: Archavin, Nedorezov. Goals: Ugarov 68, Gorovoy 75, Tarassov 85.

Referee: M Radoman (Yugoslavia).