Burnley grab unwanted record

Burnley suffered a record-breaking 17th Premier League away defeat as they went down 2-1 at Birmingham.

Blues too good for Clarets

Already relegated Burnley suffered a record-breaking 17th Premier League away defeat as they went down 2-1 at Birmingham. The game was all but over by half-time as Birmingham, who have almost certainly guaranteed ninth place in the Premier League, enjoyed a two-goal lead at the break. The Blues went ahead on the half-hour as Brian Jensen was helpless to prevent a Lee Bowyer cross from cannoning into the net. Then Christian Benitez, on likely to be his last ever game at St Andrews, scored his first goal in front of the Birmingham fans as he scored just before the break. Burnley grabbed a late consolation when Stephen Thompson scored, but they could not find an equaliser and became the first ever side to lose 17 away games in a Premier League season. Birmingham comfortably held on for the win to sign off their home campaign with three deserved points.

Early chance

Birmingham came close to taking the lead within the first 60 seconds. Cameron Jerome did well to create space for himself before sending over an inviting cross for Bowyer but, from six yards out, he headed wide. The home side looked the more threatening and Benitez was put clear by Jerome after good play by Gregory Vignal. But he hesitated over his shot and fit-again Burnley skipper Steven Caldwell was able to put in a saving tackle at the expense of a corner. Blues continued to look dangerous but it needed an own goal from Jensen to give them the lead after 30 minutes. Bowyer glanced a header across goal from Sebastian Larsson's cross which Jerome got on the end of in the six-yard box, but it needed a deflection off Jensen to ensure it crossed the line. Four minutes before half-time Benitez scored his first goal at St Andrews to double Birmingham's lead. Caldwell brought down Jerome to the right of the box and a deep McFadden free-kick was headed back across goal by Johnson before Benitez applied the finishing touch at close range.

Offensive

Burnley began the second half on the offensive and top scorer Steven Fletcher was only just too high with a powerful 25-yard drive. Birmingham keeper Joe Hart then needed two attempts to keep out a fierce drive from Fletcher. Danny Fox became the first player to be booked after 50 minutes for a late challenge on Bowyer, who needed extensive treatment but was able to continue. Blues looked lethargic but it needed a good tackle by Leon Cort to halt Jerome inside the box after he had been sent clear by McFadden. The home side came to life and Benitez was only inches wide with a skidding low shot. Benitez's cross then picked out the run of Larsson who volleyed just wide when completely unmarked. Stuart Parnaby became the first Birmingham player to be booked for a foul on Cork and Vignal followed him into the notebook for a late tackle on Tyrone Mears. It then needed a block from Cort to deny Benitez his second goal of the game. Parnaby was injured in a tackle by Fox and replaced by Keith Fahey with 11 minutes remaining. Substitute Thompson then pulled a goal back with three minutes left, clipping the ball past Hart into the corner of the net.

Birmingham City	Team Statistics	Burnley
2	Goals	1
2	1st Half Goals	0
2	Shots on Target	4
9	Shots off Target	5
3	Blocked Shots	4
6	Corners	8
12	Fouls	12
5	Offsides	0
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
74.7	Passing Success	75.2
20	Tackles	15
80	Tackles Success	86.7
54.4	Possession	45.6
42.1	Territorial Advantage	57.9