Zesh Rehman has had to put up with his Valley Parade critics this season.
There was even a smattering of boos again when his name was read out in the pre-game line-up.
But the skipper has fronted up to the flak and got his reward last night with a goal to set City on the way to their first win in seven games.
It was all cheers and no jeers as he broke the deadlock against high-flying Morecambe, with Adam Bolder putting the seal on a hungry display with an ice-cool finish in added time.
City deserved their success and once again Jon McLaughlin played a major part with vital saves at vital times, proving his Burton heroics were no fluke.
James O'Brien was rewarded for his bright weekend outing off the bench with a first start for Peter Taylor.
It was also a big night for Leon Osborne, the replacement for Luke Oliver following his Wycombe recall.
The 20-year-old winger was making only his fourth start and first in the league since November 2008. It was also the first time he had begun a league game at Valley Parade.
Taylor went for a three-man frontline with Osborne on the left flank, Gavin Grant the right and Gareth Evans down the middle.
He hoped the extra pace up top would compensate for the lack of height - City were a good few inches smaller than their Morecambe counterparts.
The cutting blustery wind made it feel more like January than mid-April and the fans needed warming up after recent results.
They could have been celebrating inside four minutes as Osborne cut back from the left byline but Evans could not bring the ball under control from close in.
Osborne was a busy figure early on and cut past right back Andy Parrish before losing possession as he tried to feed Grant on the edge of the Morecambe box.
Evans then attacked on the same flank but chose to shoot from a narrow angle rather than look for Grant or Bolder in the middle.
City were chasing and harrying keenly, although O'Brien's exuberance got too much for referee Chris Sarginson as he caught Craig Stanley and was shown the night's first and only yellow card.
Grant burst into life with a promising run and then his low cross aimed at Osborne was well cut out by the stretching Parrish. The resulting corner dropped to Lee Bullock but the midfielder's first-time effort flew off course.
For a side on such a good run, Morecambe had shown nothing in the opening 25 minutes but they had the chance to threaten when Steve Williams was penalised for climbing on Paul Mullin.
Mark Duffy's well-struck 25-yard free-kick clipped off the City wall but McLaughlin read it and made a good save to his left. It was the first shot on target at either end.
Shrimps boss Sammy McIlroy did not look too impressed with his team's performance, particularly when they nearly played themselves into trouble by dallying on the ball inside their own half.
The pitch again did not help with any attempts at flowing football but City were trying to have a go. Evans showed good strength to chase down a hoisted through ball from O'Brien and Grant continued to offer more than he had done in any of his previous outings with a willingness to take defenders on.
Mullin had the ball in the City net five minutes before half-time but the offside flag had been up sharply before he connected with Duffy's cross.
The former City loan striker had another legitimate pop from Morecambe's next attack but screwed the ball across goal.
It had taken a while but the Shrimps were beginning to come into the game and Duffy got away with a blatant handball to send Parrish scurrying on an overlap.
Taylor was unhappy as Hackney writhed on the floor after a clash with Bolder. The referee spoke to the City midfielder but took no action.
City had been the better side in the opening half - and much livelier than their lacklustre effort at the Pirelli Stadium three days earlier. But goalmouth incident remained at an absolute premium as the half-time whistle brought a welcome respite from the cold.
Duffy looked Morecambe's most likely spark and began the second half by nut-megging O'Brien to launch a counter which was let down by Hackney's poor control.
Robbie Threlfall gave Barry Roche his first save from a free-kick and O'Brien quickly followed with a dipper which the keeper again gathered easily.
The bobbly surface remained unpredictable and Roche did not thank David Artell for the heavily-struck backpass which he could only slice into touch.
Taylor's big gripe was Morecambe's willingness to go to ground and he was leaping on the sidelines with frustration after Phil Jevons took a tumble.
Morecambe's 19-goal top scorer had been an anonymous figure, though he finally got a half chance on the hour with a header from an acute angle which he steered over.
McLaughlin protected his clean sheet with his second good save to deny Stanley. Duffy slipped the ball into the midfielder's path as he drove into the box but the City keeper was equal to his shot, tipping the ball over with a one-handed block.
He then topped that by diving low to his left to claw away Mullin's header which looked bound for the bottom corner. The chants of "City's number one" from the TL Dallas Stand behind him were well earned.
McLaughlin's efforts proved even more significant as City grabbed a 69th-minute lead. Bolder was upended near the corner flag, Threlfall's free-kick was nodded across the six-yard box by Williams and there was Rehman to joyfully sweep in his second goal of the season.
Taylor handed a senior debut to Luke Dean with 13 minutes left, leading the applause for O'Brien as he came off after an enthusiastic performance.
Dean and Grant combined well in the Morecambe box to keep the ball alive, the chance eventually falling for Bolder, who could not hit the target.
As time ticked away, Stanley let fly from 30 yards but McLaughlin was right behind it. Bolder responded with a ferocious drive which Roche batted away.
The midfielder saved his best until last, sealing City's win with a quality finish after Evans led a four-man break from halfway. He slipped the ball inside to Bolder, who calmly side-stepped Artell and committed Roche before slotting into the empty net.
| BRADFORD CITY | MORECAMBE |
| 13 Jon McLaughlin | 1 Barry Roche |
| 5 Zesh Rehman | 4 David Artell |
| 8 Lee Bullock | 6 Craig Stanley |
| 9 Gareth Evans | 7 Simon Hackney |
| 12 Steve Williams | 10 Phil Jevons |
| 16 Jonathan Bateson | 16 Stewart Drummond |
| 19 James O'Brien | 18 Mark Duffy |
| 20 Leon Osborne | 19 Laurence Wilson |
| 28 Robbie Threlfall | 21 Paul Mullin |
| 31 Gavin Grant | 22 Andy Parrish |
| 33 Adam Bolder | 28 Will Haining |
| Substitutes: | Substitutes: |
| 40 Matt Glennon | 12 Scott Davies |
| 3 Luke O'Brien | 2 Darren Moss |
| 15 Ryan Kendall | 5 Jim Bentley |
| 21 Luke Sharry | 8 Garry Hunter |
| 23 Luke Dean for 19 (77) | 11 Neil Wainwright for 7 (76) |
| 24 Louis Horne | 14 Emmanuel Panther |
| 34 Phil Cutler | 15 Fraser McLachlan |
| MATCH OFFICIALS: | |
| Referee: | C D Sarginson |
| Assistant Referee: | D S Bond |
| Assistant Referee: | S J Cook |
| Fourth Official: | R J Wigglesworth |
| GOALSCORERS: | |
| BRADFORD CITY | MORECAMBE |
| Rehman (69) | |
| Bolder (90) | |
| DISCIPLINARY: | |
| BRADFORD CITY | MORECAMBE |
| J O'Brien (16) | |
