MANCHESTER City suffered FA Cup humiliation as Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest dumped the Blues out at Eastlands.

New signing Wayne Bridge was paraded on the pitch before kick-off but that deal failed to inspire Mark Hughes' men who were comprehensively beaten.

Nathan Tyson, Robert Earnshaw and Joe Garner scored for Forest to settle the third round tie.

It is City's second such embarrassment of the season after their Carling Cup exit at the hands of League One Brighton back in September.

Forest, whose new boss Billy Davies was watching on from the stands, might have been ahead before the breakthrough eventually came but headers from Lewis McGurk, Matt Thornhill and Ian Breckin all flew narrowly wide.

In fairness, after a sluggish start, City had their chances as well with Paul Smith making a couple of superb saves to deny Felipe Caicedo and Daniel Sturridge, paired together in attack as Robinho was rested.

The hosts’ cause was not helped by the loss of Shaun Wright-Phillips to a hamstring injury after just 18 minutes.

While there was no flow to disrupt as such, it robbed Hughes’ side of their major attacking threat - a mantle Elano never looked like inheriting.

Still, with the clock ticking down towards half-time there was little sign of the drama to come as a long ball was lofted into the City box.

Volley

Micah Richards got his head to it but only saw the ball drop perfectly for Tyson, who let fly with a dipping first-time volley that gave Joe Hart no chance as it whistled into the City net.

The hosts were still clearing their heads when Forest doubled their lead.

In a season dogged by inconsistency, Pablo Zabaleta has been one of the Blues’ more effective performers.

But the Argentina star was robbed far too easily by Chris Cohen close to the touchline, setting the Forest man haring into the box where he found Thornhill with a precise cross.

The midfielder’s shot was hopelessly off target but Earnshaw steered it into the corner.

Not for the first time this season, Hughes was left to raise the flagging morale of players capable of far better than they had delivered.

Caicedo twice forced Smith into fine saves, without which a recovery may have been on the cards.

But without Wright-Phillips, there was no spark from the hosts.

Sturridge tried manfully to prompt a comeback, as he did at Ewood Park.

But a teenager cannot be expected to carry such a heavy burden and he rushed his best opportunity - a lofted shot as Smith advanced, and dropped it onto the roof of the net.

Jo has failed to impress anyone since his £18million arrival from CSKA Moscow in the summer but he would probably have pulled a goal back if Wes Morgan had not made a brave block 20 minutes from the end.

But Morgan did his stuff and, not long afterwards, substitute Dietmar Hamann failed to spot Garner lurking with intent as he tried to find Richard Dunne with a throw-in and the young midfielder gleefully drove home.

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