Lacklustre Hammers held by Blues

Lee Bowyer saw red for West Ham as they could only manage a 1-1 draw with struggling Birmingham.

A game of few chances finishes all square at Upton Park

Lee Bowyer saw red for West Ham as they could only manage a 1-1 draw with struggling Birmingham. West Ham controlled much of the opening exchanges and it came as no surprise when they took the lead inside seven minutes. George McCartney's long throw from the left was flicked on by Carlton Cole and Freddie Ljungberg ghosted in at the back post to bundle the ball home from close range. Birmingham were level though just nine minutes later when Lucas Neill's clumsy challenge on James McFadden resulted in referee Mark Clattenburg pointing to the spot. McFadden picked himself up to confidently dispatch the penalty himself, placing his kick to perfection past the despairing dive of Hammers keeper Robert Green who had gone the right way. The second-half produced few clear cut chances for either side as the game drifted towards a draw. McFadden should have done better when allowed to shoot from the edge of the box midway through the second period, while Dean Ashton wasted a number of opportunities for the Hammers. With time almost up Lee Bowyer was then dismissed for West Ham following a wild lunge on Damien Johnson. The midfielder made no contact with the Blues' captain, but he went in with his studs showing and virtually ended any hopes the Hammers had of grabbing a winner.

Bright start

It was a bright start by the hosts, with Ashton looking lively and keen to impress watching England manager Fabio Capello, and West Ham took the lead in the seventh minute. From a long throw in, Cole headed the ball across goal towards the right-hand post, where Ljungberg arrived to stab home from close range. The Hammers were in full flow now, and a well-worked move found Bowyer with the space to shoot from the edge of the area, but his low effort was just wide. Birmingham were forced to quickly regroup, or face being over-run.

Life-line

The Blues were handed a life-line after 16 minutes when referee Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot following a needless foul by Hammers captain Neill on McFadden. The Scot got up to take the penalty himself, and made no mistake from 12 yards, beating Robert Green with a low strike into the left corner. West Ham, who have beaten both Manchester United and Liverpool at Upton Park, were soon back on the offensive. However, despite plenty of positive build-up, Curbishley's men were unable to find a decisive pass in the final third, much to the frustration of the home faithful.

Well saved

As the half-hour mark approached, Matthew Etherington got away down the left, and cut the ball back towards the penalty spot. However, Bowyer had to stretch and his shot lacked pace, as Taylor got down to make the save. At the other end, Forssell headed straight at Green when he was picked out in the middle by McFadden. West Ham then worked the ball along the line, through Ashton and out to Etherington on the left. His strike was well saved at the near post by Maik Taylor.

Subdued

Mullins flashed in a low drive after the ball dropped to him 20 yards out, but it was straight at the busy Blues keeper. When West Ham did make some progress in the second half, the choice of final delivery was poor. The atmosphere, unsurprisingly, inside Upton Park became somewhat subdued. Birmingham, who had not won in seven straight games, continued to frustrate the home side without creating too much themselves. However, on 56 minutes, a low drive from Gary McSheffrey almost sneaked into the bottom right corner, but was deflected behind.

Dismissed

West Ham continued to have the better of possession, but were unable to create a decent opening around the Birmingham penalty area. Etherington sent over a free-kick from the left, which Matthew Upson headed down, but the England defender was denied by a good reaction save from Taylor. At the other end, Forssell flashed a low effort across goal, before he was replaced by Cameron Jerome for the final 14 minutes. West Ham were reduced to 10 men when Bowyer was dismissed late on for a rash challenge on Johnson.

West Ham United	Team Statistics	Birmingham City
1	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	1
8	Shots on Target	4
7	Shots off Target	2
2	Blocked Shots	3
7	Corners	4
13	Fouls	22
2	Offsides	1
0	Yellow Cards	5
1	Red Cards	0
79.6	Passing Success	58.8
25	Tackles	21
80	Tackles Success	71.4
65.8	Possession	34.2
55.2	Territorial Advantage	44.8