FOOTBALL Live

Monday March 17, 2008 Finished St Andrews

Logo 1 - Logo 1

Birmingham City

  • McFadden 33’

Newcastle United

  • Owen 56’
  1. Owen strike rescues Toon

    Owen strike rescues Toon

    Birmingham and Newcastle shared a point after fighting for a 1-1 draw at St Andrews in their important encounter at the foot of the Premier League table, Michael Owen striking from close range in front of England manager Fabio Capello to equalise. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Birmingham City
    • Newcastle United
    • - Birmingham are now two points ahead of the relegation zone, while Newcastle are four points clear. Reading are between the two while Sunderland are now below Brum. Bolton have a game in hand on the lot of them though.
    • 90+3' The final whistle brings down the curtain on this match. It improved after the break.
    • 90+3' A couple of late balls thrown forward by Brum, but they cannot score a late goal. Newcastle, for once, keep someone at bay late on.
    • 90+2' As we enter the second of three minutes added on, Zarate wins space and shoot wide. We look destined for a draw.
    • 90' Into injury-time and as Owen finds no one at the far side of the area with a curled cross, it doesn't look as though that chance I was on about earlier will come.
    • 87' Parnaby booked for catching Enrique.
    • 87' Brum change: Mauro Zarate on for McFadden, who leaves to an ovation after his first-half goal.
    • 86' Brum goalie Taylor flaps at a cross, allowing opposite defender Taylor a header - he should do better than the effort that drops wide of the far post.
    • 85' Yellow card for Stephen Kelly after a very late challenge on N'Zogbia.
    • 82' We have arrived at an impasse in events... someone will have a key chance before the end - but who will it be for and will they take it?
    • 80' Newcastle change: Martins comes off - and is not too happy about it - to be replaced by Charles N'Zogbia.
    • 78' Muamba volleys to the far post, where Harper stretches out to claim the ball.
    • 77' A tense time in the match now. Jerome is yet to contribute but brings physicality up front for Birmingham, while Newcastle's front three are finally firing.
    • 74' Free-kick to the home team after Viduka kicks the Birmingham captain in the face. He will be relieved that his strange faux pas did not lead to a goal, but less so at the stud marks on his cheeks. He runs to get on with the game though - hard man.
    • 73' Ridgewell catches the ball for no apparent reason to give Newcastle a free-kick. Geremi cannot deliver it once again...
    • 72' Brum change: Cameron Jerome on for Forssell in attack.
    • 71' They do though and again it does not get past the near post. The ball comes back to him and he delivers to the back stick, just too high for an unmarked Faye.
    • 69' Another corner as Owen shoots from 18 yards. They have to do something with one of these... Geremi's ball in is rubbish again!! They shouldn't let him take another one.
    • 66' Martins sneaks a low effort through the legs of Ridgewell and Taylor's arm snakes out at the last moment to tip wide. This has been a good match in the second period!!
    • 66' Enrique cracks a shot at goal from the left, it has some fire on it... Taylor stops it but it stings his palms and United have a corner.
    • 66' Martins finds Owen, who cuts in and bangs a shot, blocked... no cigar again for Newcastle.
    • 65' Taylor booked for a bad tackle on McFadden as he turned.
    • 64' Parnaby throws himself into a diving header, the ball a foot over the top. Spectacular and unfortunate for the Blues.
    • 62' Newcastle break quickly with Viduka bearing down the middle, Owen to his left and Martins to his right... he must pass to Owen... he opts for Martins and it is slightly overhit!!! He looked a touch rusty there as Brum clear their lines.
    • 58' Newcastle have deserved this - they have had most of the ball after the break and looked to create at speed.
    • 56' Martins shot low towards the near post and Taylor was down to make the save before Owen got ahead of three defenders to poke in and set those suffering fans celebrating.
    • 56' OWEN STICKS THE BALL HOME TO EQUALISE FOR NEWCASTLE!!!
    • 55' McSheffrey into the box as Beye arrives... he hits the deck, but there was no contact.
    • 52' Signs that Newcastle are going to fight for the points here as they attack the goal where their fans are situated.
    • 50' Murphy handballed as the original ball arrived in the box - it should also have been a penalty for the away team.
    • 50' GREAT CHANCE FOR OWEN... SUPERB BLOCK BY TAYLOR!!! He was slipped in and tried to lift it past him with the outside of his foot - and the 'keeper was out to block brilliantly and deflect the ball for a corner.
    • 49' Owen with a run down the right to win a corner... both that one and another after it are wasted.
    • 48' Barton fights his way through to the box but his pass to the left is awful! How often are Newcastle going to fail due to shocking passing like that?
    • 47' Immediate chance for City, Faye passing straight to Ridgewell, who fed Forssell - great block by Harper!!!
    • 46' The second half begins, Birmingham kicking to our left now.
    • - Brum change: Larsson forced off by that knock, with Stuart Parnaby coming on.
    • 45+3' ... and Webb blows for half-time. Alex McLeish will be happy with the scoreline, while Keegan must be feeling it again out there - a big half to come for his side.
    • 45+2' More pressure at the conclusion of the half, Newcastle chucking balls in. Birmingham defend them...
    • 45+1' Geremi now lifts an aerial ball towards the penalty area, this time more effective - as Taylor comes out Martins skips past him but Ridgewell is also there to smack it behind. Taylor wants handball against the striker...
    • 45' Three minutes added on as Geremi throws a bit of a paddy on the touchline. He was penalised for a foul.
    • 44' Butt wins the ball and sends it long for Martins to chase. It runs through to Maik Taylor. Enrique then does the same soon after. What do they do in training all day?
    • 43' Activity on the Blues' bench as Larsson limps about after returning to the pitch. Will they hold on until half-time and get him looked at a bit more?
    • 41' McFadden receives a long ball with his chest and looks to spin through the back-line and into the box... Faye blocks him out and down goes the striker. No penalty - but Faye knew exactly what he was doing there. A difficult one to call.
    • 40' Larsson is hurt and limps off after a lengthy treatment.
    • 37' Martins acts as the pivot to a superb run and one-two from Jose Enrique... there are a few moments of panic as Newcastle try to find a way through a brick wall. They come to an end with a wild swipe from Butt on Larsson. Somehow the ginger one does not collect a yellow card for that.
    • 36' Larsson barges Nicky Butt off the pitch and into the Magpies' dug-out, forcing KK to didge out of the way... no foul!! King Kev is not happy with Webb on that one.
    • 33' David Murphy crossed to the feet of his fellow Scotsman, who shrugged off Abdoulaye Faye with ease and finished past Harper. Terrible defending, yet a well-taken goal.
    • 33' MCFADDEN SCORES FOR BIRMINGHAM!!!
    • 33' Quality stuff from McFadden on the right, bringing joy to the home support... McSheffrey loses it soon after though.
    • 32' Martins lively again, passing to the feet of Aussie Viduka, who executes a neat flick to set up his Nigerian team-mate... just cut out.
    • 29' Martins fights his way back into the box though and seems set to force a corner before Jaidi belts clear from the by-line.
    • 28' United have a throw-in in a dangerous position... they lose it again soon enough through Viduka. They just don't look likely to build anything.
    • 26' Harper, who seems to be okay now, catches a cross to ease the pressure as Brum come back.
    • 24' Barton tries a backheel for Nicky Butt, who fails to read it but then gets there... as he goes down under a sandwich tackle Martins collects... advantage played and Owen blazes over the bar! The first shot on goal by the Toon.
    • 22' A decent move from Newcastle moves the ball out to Habib Beye. The full-back's cross almost reaches Mickey Owen on the far side of the box...
    • 20' Sebastian Larsson meets Geremi in a 50-50. The free-kick goes Birmingham's way and the yellow card is out for the Cameroonian.
    • 19' Martins goes down under a challenge but referee Howard Webb refuses to give a foul. He has suddenly popped up into the game.
    • 17' Joey Barton upset after a challenge featuring plenty of arms puts him over the by-line. Goal-kick.
    • 15' A Gary McSheffrey corner is met with a free header from Radhi Jaidi, wide of the mark again though as Birmingham still seek the opener. Newcastle's marking was lax there.
    • 14' Liam Ridgewell gets in amongst the visiting defence as the ball flies around in the air again. Eventually it drops for Forssell, whose low strike is half-a-yard wide of the upright. Close to the first goal for City.
    • 12' McFadden turns and volleys over the bar from the edge of the box. The territorial possession so far belongs to Birmingham.
    • 9' A nifty break on the left this time for the home side, Mikael Forssell feeding a low ball for McFadden to set up Fabrice Muamba. His curled effort is well over the top. Poor finish.
    • 8' Poor passing so far, with hopeful balls lifted towards strikers par for the course.
    • 6' After Viduka dinks a ball in that does not find anyone Brum break and James McFadden strikes at goal, blocked by Habib Beye. The ball dips just wide of the post with Harper struggling to get across.
    • 5' Steve Harper seems to be hobbling a bit after a clearance. Fraser Forster is the reserve goalie...
    • 4' Some half-hearted long ball nonsense to begin with as the teams test the water. Steven Taylor provided the most interesting moment so far by screaming his encouragement to the travelling fans behind the goal.
    • 2' Newcastle are 15th with 28 points, three more than Bolton in the highest relegation spot. Birmingham have 26 points and both sides have played the same number of games as the Trotters.
    • 1' Off we go then, Brum kicking from left to right in their weird blue shirts with huge white patch on the front. The Toon are in traditional black and white stripes.
    • - The teams are out and almost ready to start. This is a massive match in the battle to avoid relegation.
    • - Mark Viduka returns for the Magpies, joining both Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins in attack. There is no James Milner, Shay Given, Emre or Stephen Carr in Kevin Keegan's squad due to knocks.
    • - Birmingham defender Martin Taylor is again suspended for that tackle on Eduardo, while Cameron Jerome makes the bench after a toe problem.
    • - Welcome to our coverage of the Premier League match between Birmingham City and Newcastle United from St Andrews.

  • Team Stats

    Birmingham City Stats Newcastle United
    39% Possession 60%
    14 Shots 20
    4 Shots on target 5
    3 Saves 3
    3 Corners 8
    12 Fouls 8
    1 Offsides 0
    2 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    35 Tackles 23
    166 Accurate passes 332
    30 Bad passes 52

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Birmingham City
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Maik Taylor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0
      24 Radhi Jaidi 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 14 0 6
      14 David Murphy 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 18 9 1
      2 Stephen Kelly 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 17 0 2
      6 Liam Ridgewell 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 11 6 7
      22 Damien Johnson 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 17 5 4
      26 Fabrice Muamba 0 4 1 1 1 0 0 16 1 7
      7 Sebastian Larsson 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 16 1 2
      9 Mikael Forssell 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 10 3 0
      16 James McFadden 1 4 1 1 6 0 0 9 0 1
      11 Gary McSheffrey 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14 4 2
      13 Colin Doyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      12 Mehdi Nafti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      10 Cameron Jerome 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1
      21 Stuart Parnaby 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 2
      19 Mauro Zárate 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
    • Newcastle United
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      13 Steve Harper 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 0
      27 Steven Taylor 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 20 1 2
      3 José Enrique Sanchez Diaz 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 43 22 3
      21 Habib Beye 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 42 1 3
      25 Abdoulaye Faye 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 27 2 1
      22 Nicky Butt 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 48 5 6
      7 Joey Barton 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 36 6 7
      20 Geremi Nijtap 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 34 1 1
      9 Obafemi Martins 0 7 2 0 2 0 0 24 5 0
      36 Mark Viduka 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 20 5 0
      10 Michael Owen 1 6 2 0 1 0 0 30 3 0
      17 Alan Smith 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      14 Charles N'Zogbia 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0
      6 Claudio Caçapa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      39 Andy Carroll 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      34 Fraser Forster 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • - Birmingham are now two points ahead of the relegation zone, while Newcastle are four points clear. Reading are between the two while Sunderland are now below Brum. Bolton have a game in hand on the lot of them though.
    • 66' Martins sneaks a low effort through the legs of Ridgewell and Taylor's arm snakes out at the last moment to tip wide. This has been a good match in the second period!!
    • 62' Newcastle break quickly with Viduka bearing down the middle, Owen to his left and Martins to his right... he must pass to Owen... he opts for Martins and it is slightly overhit!!! He looked a touch rusty there as Brum clear their lines.
    • 56' OWEN STICKS THE BALL HOME TO EQUALISE FOR NEWCASTLE!!!
    • 50' Murphy handballed as the original ball arrived in the box - it should also have been a penalty for the away team.
    • 47' Immediate chance for City, Faye passing straight to Ridgewell, who fed Forssell - great block by Harper!!!
    • 41' McFadden receives a long ball with his chest and looks to spin through the back-line and into the box... Faye blocks him out and down goes the striker. No penalty - but Faye knew exactly what he was doing there. A difficult one to call.
    • 33' David Murphy crossed to the feet of his fellow Scotsman, who shrugged off Abdoulaye Faye with ease and finished past Harper. Terrible defending, yet a well-taken goal.
    • 33' MCFADDEN SCORES FOR BIRMINGHAM!!!
    • 14' Liam Ridgewell gets in amongst the visiting defence as the ball flies around in the air again. Eventually it drops for Forssell, whose low strike is half-a-yard wide of the upright. Close to the first goal for City.
    • 9' A nifty break on the left this time for the home side, Mikael Forssell feeding a low ball for McFadden to set up Fabrice Muamba. His curled effort is well over the top. Poor finish.
    • 6' After Viduka dinks a ball in that does not find anyone Brum break and James McFadden strikes at goal, blocked by Habib Beye. The ball dips just wide of the post with Harper struggling to get across.
    • - Welcome to our coverage of the Premier League match between Birmingham City and Newcastle United from St Andrews.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Birmingham City

    Manager: Alex McLeish

    Captain: Liam Ridgewell

    On the Field

    • Taylor
    • Kelly Yellow Card
    • Ridgewell
    • Jaidi
    • Murphy
    • Larsson
    • Muamba
    • Johnson
    • McSheffrey
    • Forssell Substitution Out (72′)
    • McFadden Goal Substitution Out (87′)

    Subs

    • Nafti
    • Parnaby Yellow Card
    • Doyle
    • Jerome Substitution In (72′)
    • Zarate Substitution In (87′)

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    • Taylor

  • Newcastle United

    Manager: Kevin Keegan

    Captain: Michael Owen

    On the Field

    • Harper
    • Beye
    • Taylor Yellow Card
    • Diagne-Faye
    • Enrique
    • Butt
    • Barton
    • Geremi Yellow Card
    • Martins Substitution Out (80′)
    • Viduka
    • Owen Goal

    Subs

    • Smith
    • Caçapa
    • N'Zogbia Substitution In (80′)
    • Carroll
    • Forster

    Injured

    • Emre
    • Given
    • Ramage
    • Carr
    • Milner

    Suspended

    None