Blues were sensationally knocked out of the FA Cup after losing 2-1 to League One side Huddersfield at The Galpharm Stadium.
 
Alex McLeish's side were goal down early on through Luke Beckett before Garry O'Connor levelled midway through the half.

But a late goal by Chris Brandon sealed the victory for the Terriers against a below-par Blues side.

McLeish made two changes to the line-up - one tactical and one forced through injury.

Cameron Jerome was dropped to the bench with Garry O'Connor given a rare start up front alongside Mikael Forssell.

Also missing was Damien Johnson who suffered a fractured skull against Fulham and in came Daniel De Ridder.

The visitors got off to a disastrous start by conceding a goal after just four minutes.

Poor defending by Radhi Jaidi saw the big centre half slipover and almost bring down Danny Schofield for what would have most likely been a penalty.

But Schofield shrugged off the challenge before seeing his shot parried by keeper Maik Taylor in to the path of Luke Beckett who had the simple task of tapping it home from close range.

Blues were struggling to cope with the tempo of Huddersfield's play and they were arguably second best in the early encounters.

In the 11th minute goal scorer Beckett was on the attack again and Liam Ridgewell had to be on hand to concede a corner from a dangerous cross.

A minute later Mikael Forssell was forced out away from the goal but he still managed to get in a shot from a narrow angle.

The ball rebounded back to the Finn who was eventually tackled, winning Blues their first corner.

The Blues management were getting agitated on the touchline as their team struggled to get a grip on the game and this was further emphasised by more sloppy defending.

Danger man Schofield sprang the offside trap and raced into the box but thankfully Radhi Jaidi was there to block his cross for a corner.

The Terriers continued to press and Jaidi once again allowed Schofield to race clear, but this time Ridgewell was there to cover the danger and concede another corner.

Blues were back on level terms in the 19th minute through Garry O'Connor.

The goal was well created by Fabrice Muamba.

The midfielder put in a superb tackle before collecting the ball and going on a 35 yard run, riding a couple of challenges and hitting a shot at Glennon.

The Huddersfield keeper was only able to push his shot back out to O'Connor who made no mistake in firing home the equaliser.

Midway through the half Blues had the ball in the back of the net through De Ridder but a somewhat bemused McLeish questioned the 4th official after it was ruled out for offside.

The first booking of the game went to Chris Brandon on the half hour mark for a nasty tackle on Muamba as the young midfielder tried to break forward.

Franck Queudrue quickly followed him into the book for a foul on Malvin Kamara.

The Frenchman was struggling with Kamara's pace and deservedly cautioned for bringing him down.

Huddersfield also had the ball in the back of the net following Brandon's header, but the referee had already blown the whistle.
 
With the half drawing to a close Forssell sent De Ridder through but the Dutchman failed to reciprocate and instead hit a poor shot wide of the goal with McSheffrey also waiting in the centre.

The final action of note in the first 45 minutes saw Seb Larsson lucky to escape a booking after fouling Berrett.

Half time: Huddersfield 1 Blues 1

Huddersfield made one change for the start of the second half with Joe Skarz replacing Robbie Williams.

Blues had a great chance to take the lead just 30 seconds after the re-start through O'Connor but his attempt to double his tally was stopped by keeper Glennon with De Ridder disappointed he chose to shoot instead of pass.

A couple of minutes later McSheffrey was guilty of a woeful shot from 20 yards that sailed well wide of the mark.

Then in the 58th minute O'Connor went close again hitting a great shot on goal that keeper Glennon parried down with Forssell a fraction too late to get to the rebound.

On the hour mark McSheffrey went on a mazy run into the box but with a sea of red shirts to aim for he failed to look up and hit a terrible shot wide of the near post.

Cameron Jerome was thrown in the action in the 62nd minute replacing Mikael Forssell.

Not surprisingly he was booed by the home crowd after expressing his willingness to dump the club out of the Cup who released him as a youngster.

The game was getting tense now with little in the way of clear-cut chances.

The referee was the busiest man on the pitch with a glut of bookings as a bit of needle between the sides crept into the game

Firstly Joe Skarz was booked for a late challenge on De Ridder quickly followed by Liam Ridgewell.

Less than a minute later James Berrett was booked for felling McSheffrey on the edge of the box.

Mr Tanner's pen was getting hotter with Radhi Jaidi next in the book for another poor tackle in the middle of the park.

Huddersfield tried to shake things up replacing Marvin Kamara with Phil Jevons in the 79th minute.

Then just as it was looking as if the tie was going to end up as a replay Huddersfield grabbed the lead.

Once again it was woeful defending that would have had former Scottish international defender McLeish tearing his hair out.

Beckett provided the cross to the far post where the unmarked Chris Brandon made no mistake with his volley.

Five minutes from time De Ridder tried his luck with a free kick from 20 yards that cleared the wall but was easily saved.

Blues continued to press forward and a superb corner by McSheffrey was met by Jaidi but his header flew a yard over the bar with time running out.

With just 30 seconds remaining McSheffrey had a golden chance to equalise but once again the keeper was there to save and send his side into the 4th round.

This defeat now leaves Blues with the vital mission of staying in the Premier League but after today's poor showing Alex McLeish knows he must strengthen his squad during the January transfer window if that aim is to be achieved.

Full time: Huddersfield 2 Blues 1

Blues: Maik Taylor, Stephen Kelly, Franck Queudrue, Liam Ridgewell, Radhi Jaidi, Seb Larsson, Daniel De Ridder, Fabrice Muamba, Gary McSheffrey, Garry O'Connor, Mikael Forssell (62, Cameron Jerome)
Subs not used: Colin Doyle, Mat Sadler, Stuart Parnaby, Jordon Mutch

Goals: Garry O'Connor (19)

Bookings: Franck Queudrue (33), Liam Ridgewell (75), Radhi Jaidi (77)

Huddersfield: Matthew Glennon, Andy Holdsworth, Michael Collins, David Mirfin, Chris Brandon, Robbie Williams (45, Joe Skarz), Danny Schofield, Frank Sinclair, Malvin Kamara (79, Phil Jevons), Luke Beckett, James Berrett,
Subs not used: Alex Smithies, Matthew Young, Shane Killock

Goals: Luke Beckett (4), Chris Brandon (81)

Bookings: Chris Brandon (30), Joe Skarz (72), James Berrett (76)

Attendance: 13,410

Blues fans 2,300