Birmingham were brought back to earth from their Carling Cup success with a 3-1 defeat to West Brom in Saturday's Midlands derby.
Blues' drop fears worsen after Albion cut cup celebrations short
Birmingham were brought back to earth from their Carling Cup success with a 3-1 defeat at home to West Brom in Saturday's Midlands derby.
Alex McLeish's men entered the lunchtime kick-off fresh from their surprise cup triumph over Arsenal at Wembley last weekend, but failed to carry that form back into the Premier League against fellow relegation candidates Albion.
A forgettable first half preceded a dramatic second, with Jean Beausejour cancelling out a 48th-minute Youssouf Mulumbu opener before James Morrison and Paul Scharner sealed the win for the visitors.
Peter Odemwingie made an instant impact for the Baggies after coming off the bench for the second half, slipping through the Birmingham defence to set up Mulumbu perfectly in front of goal and allow the Congolese midfielder to break the deadlock.
But the home side produced the perfect response less than a minute later, with Lee Bowyer's solid cross from the right picking out Beausejour. The Chilean winger, in plenty of space in the box, slotted the ball home easily to level the scores.
It fell to Morrison to restore Albion's lead and the midfielder made no mistake in the 58th minute, unleashing a stunning finish straight down the middle that beat Blues goalkeeper Ben Foster and landed decisively in the back of the net.
Scharner then finished the home side off with an unlikely header from a tight angle which bamboozled Foster and somehow bounced into the net.
The win, Roy Hodgson's first in charge, sees Albion leapfrog the Blues in the table to leave them balanced precariously on the edge of the drop zone, while giving their own hopes for top-flight survival a much-needed boost.
Threatened
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish will be hoping his side recover quickly from this setback otherwise their top flight status could be seriously threatened.
McLeish made five changes - three enforced through injury - after the Wembley triumph.
There was a carnival atmosphere amongst the Blues fans after the defeat of Arsenal.
But Albion were the first to settle and Chris Brunt had the first attempt on target, although his header from Jerome Thomas' centre did not extend Foster.
A mistake by Roger Johnson let in Thomas for another run at goal but his shot was blocked.
Blues started to get a foothold in the game and an error by Scharner almost proved costly for Albion as his misdirected pass was seized on by Cameron Jerome. The striker's low shot beat the dive of Scott Carson but flew just past the far post.
Thomas and Brunt had an angry exchange after the former waited to long before playing in a team-mate.
Jerome missed a golden chance to put Birmingham ahead after 36 minutes.
Beausejour got the better of Abdoulaye Meite before floating over an inviting cross which picked out the returning Jerome - but from 10 yards out he glanced his header past the post.
Hodgson brought on Odemwingie for the second half and he made an instant impact in setting up the opening goal for Mulumbu in the 47th minute. The substitute's pass was perfectly timed for Mulumbu to flick the ball wide of Foster and into the net.
Birmingham responded immediately and equalised within a minute through Beausejour, who nipped in between two defenders to steer home a cross from Bowyer.
Bowyer was booked for a challenge on Mulumbu and Liam Ridgewell and Scharner joined him in the referee's notebook after they wrestled each other to the ground on the edge of the Birmingham box.
A superb strike from Morrison restored Albion's lead in the 58th minute. Reid made good ground before finding Morrison, who cut inside Curtis Davies and volleyed left-footed past Foster.
Odemwingie missed a great chance to double the visitors' advantage after 67 minutes. Brunt's shot hit the post and fell to Odemwingie unmarked 10 yards out - but he fired over the bar.
Failed
With 18 minutes remaining Scharner made it 3-1. Blues failed to pick up Brunt from a short Morrison corner and his centre was headed over the line by Scharner from an acute angle at the far post.
City were at sixes and sevens and Foster was able to get back just in time after Scharner had spotted him off his line.
Odemwingie could have made it 4-1 after peeling away from Johnson to meet a cross from Brunt - but he headed back across goal.
Keith Fahey was booked in the closing seconds for a challenge on Reid - and by then the game was beyond the home side.
| Birmingham City |
Team Statistics |
West Bromwich Albion |
| 1 |
Goals |
3 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 7 |
Corners |
3 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
9 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 77.7 |
Passing Success |
76.5 |
| 23 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 69.6 |
Tackles Success |
71.4 |
| 50.4 |
Possession |
49.6 |
| 47.5 |
Territorial Advantage |
52.5 |
|
