FOOTBALL Live

Tuesday December 15, 2009 Finished St. Andrews

2 - 1

Birmingham City

  • Jerome 12’, 48’

Blackburn Rovers

  • Nelsen 69’

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  1. Birmingham into top six with win

    Birmingham into top six with win

    Cameron Jerome struck twice to send Birmingham into the top six of the Premier League as they edged out Blackburn 2-1 at St Andrews. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Birmingham City
    • Blackburn Rovers
    • 90'+4 And that's the final whistle!! Birmingham have hung on to register a fifth stright win!! Their best in the top flight since 1973 and the Blues go sixth - above Liverpool and Manchester City!!
    • 90'+3 SO CLOSE CITY!! Robinson is still running back after coming up for the corner. Jerome's in space! He finds Larsson!! Robinson has made his ground and pulls off a great stop with his legs!! It's swinging end-to-end in a frantic finish!!
    • 90'+2 Corner for Rovers. In at the near post!! Kalinic!! It hits Larsson in the face!! He knew nothing about it but he's saved City!!
    • 90'+1 There's no way through Chimbonda and if Rovers level, the Ecuadorian will be kicking himself!!
    • 90' There'll be four minutes of added time as Benitez tries to take on Chimbonda.
    • 89' And again Benitez comes forward. This time he's crowded out but Rovers are rocking!
    • 88' Benitez with another break!! He finds Jerome in space! Jerome shoots!! Robinson saves!! It's come back to Jerome who rolls the ball across the box!! Benitez must score!! NO!! He's hit the bar from a matter of yards!! How did he miss?!
    • 86' Headed clear and City break!! Fahey with a storming run and Givet's challenge is far from convincing as Fahey goes down. No penalty!
    • 86' Larsson is penalised for handball. Soft decision there, but Rovers have a free kick midway in the City half!
    • 85' We're in the last five minutes. City still lead 2-1.
    • 84' Barry Ferguson tries to bulldoze his way into the Rovers box. He goes down! Play on says the ref.
    • 84' Samba gives away another free kick. Birmingham aren't too happy about it! Looked like the ref could have played advantage!
    • 83' Sub for City. James McFadden trots off to be replaced by Keith Fahey.
    • 82' McCarthy knocks it forward. Johnson hooks the ball away on the deck as Kalinic waits to pounce!
    • 81' Pedersen launches it. Easily dealt with by Ferguson and Samba concedes a free kick.
    • 80' Samba with another winning header. Finds Chimbonda..in comes Carr and that's a Rovers throw.
    • 79' Oooh! Kalinic narrowly offside. That was close!
    • 78' McFadden and Barry Ferguson link up. Bowyer almost picks it up..Benitez with a little flick!! Jerome with the turn! That's wide! Good move by Birmingham and they've settled down after that Rovers goal.
    • 77' Chimbonda again at the far post! Can't make the contact he wants and Joe Hart will take the goal kick.
    • 76' McCarthy with a snapshot out of nothing and the sub has won a corner!
    • 75' There's fifteen minutes remaining at St Andrews as Samba wins another header. Bowyer can't keep the ball in play.
    • 73' Nervous times for the Blues as McCarthy comes forward. Anxious howls from the City faithful.
    • 72' Blackburn have turned things around from losing positions this season. Is this going to be another?
    • 70' And instant sub by Rovers. Roberts is off and on comes Benni McCarthy.
    • 70' GOAL ROVERS!! Pedersen swings in the free kick! Chimbonda is unmarked at the back post!! Hart pulls off a superb fingertip save, but the ball falls nicely to Nelsen who has an easy finish from a matter of yards!! 2-1!
    • 69' Joe Hart with a hasty ball and Rovers have won another free kick midway in the City half!
    • 68' And Blackburn win a corner...simple claim by Hart.
    • 67' Carr gives away the throw, deep in the City half. Andrews triws to flick it on and it's hoofed clear, but McFadden concedes a free kick.
    • 66' Jerome now trying to get round the back of the Rovers defence. The way's blocked this time.
    • 64' And now N'Zonzi has jumped into the back of a Birmingham man. He needs to be careful with a booking already!
    • 63' A shot of Alex McLeish there. He looks reasonably calm and why wouldn't he? His team lead 2-0.
    • 62' And now City win a free kick in a dnagerous area. In by Larsson, headed away.
    • 61' Samba brings it out of defence for Rovers. That's an awful pass and the ball goes out for a throw, accompanied by derisive City cheers.
    • 60' Liam Ridgewell is in the wars tonight. Kalinic catches him late, but no card as Ridgewell picks himself up.
    • 59' Jerome picks it up, he's checked by Ryan Nelsen and the New Zealander is in the book!
    • 58' City will be sixth if the score stays like this. N'Zonzi has other ideas as he goes for goal and blasts the ball into Ridgewell's face.
    • 56' The ball's back with Hart. He clears and Pascal Chimbonda picks it up. Tries to get the ball down the City left, but that's away again.
    • 55' Throw for Rovers. Hoilett with the ball in. Swept up by Birmingham and that's a free kick against Rovers.
    • 54' Jerome is sniffing for a hat-trick here!! He runs from the centre circle with only one thing on his mind. Worth a pop, but that's been chipped well over the bar!
    • 53' And there's a sub for Rovers. The ineffectual Diouf is off and on comes David Hoilett.
    • 50' Rovers are stunned here as Samba makes an inch-perfect tackle in the box!! If he got that wrong, that was a spot-kick!!
    • 48' And Jerome is in the box for jumping into the Birmingham crowd to celebrate! Lee Bowyer pleads his case but nothing doing!
    • 48' GOAL CITY!! Carr claims the ball...finds Larsson. Carr again who cuts into the Rovers box, cuts it back to Jerome who blasts it past Robinson!! 2-0 Birmingham!
    • 47' Ridgewell with a City throw.
    • 47' Rovers on the attack. Good defending by Scott Dann who steers the ball back to Hart.
    • 47' And now it's Robinson's turn to thump the ball clear! We're waiting for the other 20 players to join in here!
    • 46' Passed straight back to Hart who blasts it away.
    • 46' And we're underway again in the bitter cold at St Andrews!
    • 45'+2 And City barely get the ball on the pitch as the ref blows the half time whistle. Birmingham lead Blackburn 1-0!
    • 45'+2 Just seconds away from half time and City have a throw deep in the Rovers half.
    • 45'+1 And Ridgewell again gets clattered! And Steven N'Zonzi is yellow carded for that challenge!
    • 45' There'll be two minutes of added time in the first half.
    • 45' Ridgewell with a good defensive header under pressure. He felt that one!
    • 44' Long throw by Rovers. Samba wins the header and it's out for a corner by Johnson!
    • 43' This time Kalinic does win the free kick. There's a crowd of players on the edge of the box. Pedersen takes it and it's headed away. Not the best delivery by the Norwegian!
    • 40' Safely out by Blackburn. Kalinic tries to get on the end of a bouncing ball in the box. He goes down! Too easily says the ref.
    • 39' Pedersen is robbed now. Benitez picks it up. He has Bowyer in support..he decides to go it alone! Good run...can't get his shot away and that's cleared for a corner to City!
    • 38' McFadden now for Birmingham. He's double-teamed by the Rovers defence and that's launched forward. All the way to Hart who thumps it away and Benitez is offside.
    • 36' Keith Andrews is caught in possession. The ref's given a foul against Carr! The Rovers man got lucky there! Carr looked to set to power towards goal!
    • 35' We've seen a little more belief from Rovers in these last few minutes. City are being pushed back.
    • 34' Kalinic now...Samba...to Diouf. In comes the cross and that's mopped up by Ridgewell before Roger Johnson finally bangs it clear!
    • 34' Pedersen's done well so far. but we've barely seen Diouf tonight! Now he has it - to a chorus of boos.
    • 33' Good punch by Hart - especially as he had the looming Christopher Samba to contend with!
    • 31' Pedersen looking for the ball in. There's no one there in space in the box. He gets a second chance and Roberts has won a corner for Rovers.
    • 30' Too intricate there by City. Benitez tries to play a one-two with McFadden, only to find his teammate wasn't expecting it! He could have taken the ball on himself there!
    • 29' Still Birmingham come forward. Rovers just can't hang on to the ball. This can't be doing Sam Allardyce any good!
    • 27' McFadden now for Birmingham. It's a great run!! Poor final ball! He didn't need to do that and Rovers have it. Looks like the Scot just ran out of steam.
    • 25' That one's cleared and Rovers have possession.
    • 24' Another great run by City. Jerome races onto the ball, tries to get the ball in, but it's out for a corner.
    • 23' N'Zonzi!! Poor punch by Joe Hart..the ball falls to N'Zonzi who smacks it ghoalwards but Carr is there to make the block as Hart desperately scrambles across!
    • 23' And that's the end for Emerton. Keith Andrews is on for the luckless Australian!
    • 22' So close for City!! A gGreat move by Birmingham ends with Benitez stabbing the ball home. But he's just offside when Carr releases the ball!
    • 20' Now it's Hart's turn to clear his lines. Benitez collects it, runs at the visitors' defence and he falls under the challenge of Brett Emerton on the edge of the box!! No foul says the ref!! That must have been close!
    • 19' A bit of respite for Blackburn. They have a free kick midway in their own half. Robinson blasts it into the City area.
    • 18' Liam Ridgewell launches the ball in. Again it's cleared by the Rovers backline but boss Alex McLeish will be concerned that the ball is just coming straight back at them at the moment!
    • 17' City again on the attack. That pass almost finds Lee Bowyer, but there's just a little too much pace on the ball. It's safe in Robinson's arms.
    • 15' Chance out of nothing for Rovers! The ball somehow finds it way to Jason Roberts in space on the edge of the box between the City defence. He turns, strikes it! But that's well off-target!
    • 15' This one's more conventional. Swung into the box and Samba is there to head clear!
    • 14' It's another short one and Rovers haven't wised up to this tactic yet. And City have a third corner!!
    • 13' And City are applying the pressure. They've won another corner!
    • 12' GOAL CITY!! McFadden takes it short to Larsson. The Swede swings it in, Benitez heads it goalwards and Cameron Jerome flicks it home from a matter of yards!! 1-0 Birmingham!
    • 11' But that's stright back at Rovers and they've conceded a corner! The first of the match. James Mcfadden with it.
    • 11' Carr now storming down the right, but Samba clears his lines.
    • 10' Morten Gamst Pedersen tries to get his cross in. It's blocked and City come away.
    • 9' Lots of gloves out there, but typically, the battling Bowyer is playing gloveless in a short-sleeved shirt.
    • 8' Good start by both teams. It's an open match so far and pretty even.
    • 7' Good ball down the line by Larsson. Cameron Jerome thinks he's offside. He pauses, then makes the run and just fails to find Lee Bowyer with the pass!
    • 6' Rovers try their luck with another throw...Samba is penalised for pushing. Free kick City - taken by Joe Hart.
    • 5' Won back by City. Steven N'Zonzi sets up Kalinic for a half chance and he's hit that one high and wide! Bright start by the Croatian though!
    • 5' It's gone all the way through to Robinson, but the England hopeful has shanked that one out for a City throw.
    • 4' Huge kick. There's a bit of head tennis on the edge of the City box before Carr hoofs it clear.
    • 3' And that's another foul. This time it's for Rovers and it'll be Paul Robinson who'll launch it forward.
    • 2' The giant Christopher Samba tries to clear Rovers' lines but Sebastan Larsson almost weaves through.
    • 2' Good run by Nikola Kalinic, but poor final ball. Stephen Carr clears easily.
    • 1' Early foul on Christian Benitez. High foot by Gael Givet with seven seconds gone!!
    • 1' And it's Blackburn who get us away!!
    • - And here come the teams! City in their traditional blue and white and Rovers in their change strip of white top and red shorts.
    • - After his recent heart scare, Big Sam won't be on the bench tonight on doctor's orders, but you can bet his team will be giving everything for him tonight as he watches from the stands. We wish him well.
    • - It should be an interesting match! Although currently twelfth in the Premier League, Blackburn will pull to within two points of their hosts if they win at St Andrews tonight.
    • - So, Jason Roberts and Nikola Kalinic came into the side for Franco Di Santo and Benni McCarthy, while El-Hadji Diouf and Morten Gamst Pedersen are in for the injured David Hoilett and Vince Grella.
    • - And the referee tonight is Mike Jones from Cheshire.
    • - Meanwhile, Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce makes four changes from the side which drew 0-0 at Hull. Rovers line up as: Robinson, Chimbonda, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Diouf, Emerton, Nzonzi, Pedersen, Roberts, Kalinic. Subs: Brown, Salgado, Jacobsen, McCarthy, Andrews, Hoilett, Di Santo.
    • - And the teams are in. As expected, McLeish has named an unchanged side from the team that beat West Ham 1-0 at the weekend. The City XI is: Hart, Carr, Roger Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden, Jerome, Benitez. Subs: Maik Taylor, Vignal, Fahey, McSheffrey, O'Shea, Carsley, Phillips.
    • - Alex McLeish is certainly still pinching himself! "After 16 games, to think we would be on level of points with LIverpool is stuff that dreams are made of," said the Blues' boss.
    • - And the home team in this fixture has come out on top in the last five Premier League matches. If City continue that run, they'll go sixth in the table - level on points with Tottenham and leapfrogging both Manchester City and Liverpool!
    • - The signs aren't good for Rovers though. They've failed to win in the city of Birmingham in their last eight visits, since coming away from Aston Villa with a 2-0 win in March 2004.
    • - Birmingham are going for a club record five Premier League victories tonight. If they pull it off, it'll be the first time they've won five games in a row in the top division since April 1973!
    • - Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of tonight's Premier League match between Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers at St Andrews.

  • Summary

    • 90'+3 SO CLOSE CITY!! Robinson is still running back after coming up for the corner. Jerome's in space! He finds Larsson!! Robinson has made his ground and pulls off a great stop with his legs!! It's swinging end-to-end in a frantic finish!!
    • 90'+2 Corner for Rovers. In at the near post!! Kalinic!! It hits Larsson in the face!! He knew nothing about it but he's saved City!!
    • 88' Benitez with another break!! He finds Jerome in space! Jerome shoots!! Robinson saves!! It's come back to Jerome who rolls the ball across the box!! Benitez must score!! NO!! He's hit the bar from a matter of yards!! How did he miss?!
    • 86' Headed clear and City break!! Fahey with a storming run and Givet's challenge is far from convincing as Fahey goes down. No penalty!
    • 82' McCarthy knocks it forward. Johnson hooks the ball away on the deck as Kalinic waits to pounce!
    • 78' McFadden and Barry Ferguson link up. Bowyer almost picks it up..Benitez with a little flick!! Jerome with the turn! That's wide! Good move by Birmingham and they've settled down after that Rovers goal.
    • 76' McCarthy with a snapshot out of nothing and the sub has won a corner!
    • 70' GOAL ROVERS!! Pedersen swings in the free kick! Chimbonda is unmarked at the back post!! Hart pulls off a superb fingertip save, but the ball falls nicely to Nelsen who has an easy finish from a matter of yards!! 2-1!
    • 48' GOAL CITY!! Carr claims the ball...finds Larsson. Carr again who cuts into the Rovers box, cuts it back to Jerome who blasts it past Robinson!! 2-0 Birmingham!
    • 24' Another great run by City. Jerome races onto the ball, tries to get the ball in, but it's out for a corner.
    • 23' N'Zonzi!! Poor punch by Joe Hart..the ball falls to N'Zonzi who smacks it ghoalwards but Carr is there to make the block as Hart desperately scrambles across!
    • 22' So close for City!! A gGreat move by Birmingham ends with Benitez stabbing the ball home. But he's just offside when Carr releases the ball!
    • 20' Now it's Hart's turn to clear his lines. Benitez collects it, runs at the visitors' defence and he falls under the challenge of Brett Emerton on the edge of the box!! No foul says the ref!! That must have been close!
    • 15' Chance out of nothing for Rovers! The ball somehow finds it way to Jason Roberts in space on the edge of the box between the City defence. He turns, strikes it! But that's well off-target!
    • 12' GOAL CITY!! McFadden takes it short to Larsson. The Swede swings it in, Benitez heads it goalwards and Cameron Jerome flicks it home from a matter of yards!! 1-0 Birmingham!
    • - Meanwhile, Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce makes four changes from the side which drew 0-0 at Hull. Rovers line up as: Robinson, Chimbonda, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Diouf, Emerton, Nzonzi, Pedersen, Roberts, Kalinic. Subs: Brown, Salgado, Jacobsen, McCarthy, Andrews, Hoilett, Di Santo.
    • - And the teams are in. As expected, McLeish has named an unchanged side from the team that beat West Ham 1-0 at the weekend. The City XI is: Hart, Carr, Roger Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden, Jerome, Benitez. Subs: Maik Taylor, Vignal, Fahey, McSheffrey, O'Shea, Carsley, Phillips.

Team lineup & ratings

  • Lineup

    Live Team Line-Up

    • Starting line-up

      • J. Hart
      • S. Carr
      • R. Johnson
      • S. Dann
      • L. Ridgewell
      • B. Ferguson Yellow Card
      • L. Bowyer
      • S. Larsson
      • J. McFadden Substitution Out (83′)
      • C. Jerome Goals×2 Yellow Card
      • C. Benítez

      Subs

      • K. Phillips
      • G. Vignal
      • L. Carsley
      • M. Taylor
      • G. McSheffrey
      • K. Fahey Substitution In83′
      • J. O'Shea

    • Starting line-up

      • P. Robinson
      • P. Chimbonda
      • C. Samba
      • R. Nelsen Goal Yellow Card
      • G. Givet
      • B. Emerton Substitution Out (23′)
      • S. N'Zonzi Yellow Card
      • E. Diouf Substitution Out (53′)
      • M. Gamst Pedersen
      • N. Kalinic
      • J. Roberts Substitution Out (70′)

      Subs

      • Míchel Salgado
      • B. McCarthy Substitution In70′
      • K. Andrews Substitution In23′
      • L. Jacobsen
      • J. Brown
      • D. Hoilett Substitution In53′
      • F. Di Santo

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      - -
      Defenders
      - -
      - -
      - -
      - -
      Midfielders
      Yellow Card - -
      - -
      - -
      Substitution Out83′ - -
      Strikers
      Goals ×2 Yellow Card - -
      - -
      Subs
      Substitution In83′ - -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      - -
      Defenders
      - -
      - -
      Goal Yellow Card - -
      - -
      Midfielders
      Substitution Out23′ - -
      Yellow Card - -
      Substitution Out53′ - -
      - -
      Strikers
      - -
      Substitution Out70′ - -
      Subs
      Substitution In70′ - -
      Substitution In23′ - -
      Substitution In53′ - -

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