City-Birmingham Live Blog and Match Thread!

By: Thad | November 1st, 2009

We’ll be live-blogging the action today as Manchester City travel to Birmingham intent
on snapping a three-match run of draws. City need to pick up three points today to re-charge the momentum
on the club’s challenge for a top four spot.

City and Birmingham were promoted to the Premier League the same year, 2002, but after several seasons of punching above their weight Birmingham suffered relegation first in 2006 and again in 2008. But the club bounced back last season by earning automatic promotion and are regarded by most as good candidates to stay up this time around. One twist in today’s match is the goalkeeping situation: Birmingham’s No. 1 is Joe Hart, who formerly held that position at City but is now on loan. He won’t be able to play today.

Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor miss this one today for City. Coming into the side will be Vincent Kompany and Roque Santa Cruz. Shaun Wright-Phillips, who didn’t start last week against Fulham, is back in the eleven with Petrov returning to the bench; similarly Pablo Zabaleta is replacing Micah Richards at right back. Otherwise it’s Bridge, Lescott, Given, De Jong, Barry, Tevez and Bellamy. No explanation yet as to Toure and Adebayor’s absence (they aren’t on the bench either) but presumably each has an injury.

1st minute. Birmingham kick off and City put on immediate pressure with Bellamy recovering an early giveaway. City set up shop but a slip by RSC leads to a handball

2nd minute. Stephen Carr had a chance to cross there but no one was in the box for the home side. Tevez is fouled on an elbow to the head.

3rd minute. City are wearing away black by the way, Birmingham of course in Blue. Chucho Benitez plays a cross in then Given easily takes. RSC slipped again on that pass. Will City resort to more long ball with the big man up front?

5th minute. Kompany had a great tackle there–he looks sharp early on his first league start of the year.

6th minute. Tevez rapidly closed down Maik Taylor and forced him to clear it out of bounds, but nothing results from the ensuing possession. Joe Hart shown in a box wearing a suit. I wonder who is rooting for?

7th minute. Barry Ferguson took the ball off an unawares Barry there and had a chance to shoot, he fired dangerously but just wide to the left of Given’s post.

8th minute. Back to Hart, if City do qualify for Champions League football he could find himself back at City to help Given out next season. If not perhaps his move to Birmingham will become permanent.

9th minute. That was close from Birmingham! Chucho struck a shot from 20 yards straight on that looked goal-bound but ended up hitting the post! Replay shows it deflected off Kompany, and that Given got an important touch to it as well.

11th minute. This early pressure has fired up the home crowd and their team certainly look up for this.

12th minute. Another close shave as City sloppily gave it away at the back, Given had to come out and make a fine save in a one-on-one situation. Kompany was at fault there, it was Chucho who had the chance but Given got out there very quickly.

13th minute. First half-chance for City but RSC misses well wide on that header off SWP’s cross. City do not look settled in midfield. Barry and De Jong need to establish some control.

14th minute. That’s much better from City–Tevez found Bellamy in the box and his shot was deflected behind. Corner kick but Taylor claims it.

15th minute. Not much danger of this finishing nil-nil on current tempo. City had a break there and Tevez managed to get a shot off on the right from a tight angle, but Taylor caught it easily.

16th minute. Now it’s Given’s turn to hoof it in the crowd under pressure after that backpass, but Birmingham don’t make anything of the throw-in.

18th minute. Bridge had a cross there but didn’t find any one. Lescott did well to win the ball down the left as Birmingham tried to counter.

19th minute. Good spell for City here ends with a rasping shot from SWP that Taylor could only parry sloppily. Zabaleta had kept the play going with a cross right on the endline. The shot was at Taylor but low, unfortunately Birmingham were closest to that rebound and got it away.

20th minute. Corner kick for City now with Bellamy to take. Taylor just managed to get that away, SWP almost got there for a follow-up shot but Birmingham got there first.

22nd minute Martin Petrov doesn’t look impressed on the bench, commentators say he has a knock but he is available. Great chance there for Bellamy but Johnson got over to deflect it behind. Space is opening up now for City who have settled into this.

23rd minute. Nothing came of that corner, but City win the ball back in short order.

24th minute. De Jong just played a terrible cross field ball that sailed out of bounds. Long ball looking for Chucho finds the striker offside.

25th minute. Now RSC is called for offside.

27th minute. McFadden tried for one of his trademark long drives and forced Given to make a good save. Corner for Birmingham, it’s cleared and falls kindly for Bellamy, he takes on Ferguson and Ferguson is harshly issued a yellow for obstruction.

29th minute. Free kick from 35 yards out, Lescott got his noggin to it but he can’t make it 3 in 3–instead it sails over the bar.

30th minute. Lescott was on the scoresheet last week against Fulham and again vs. Scunthorpe in midweek. City come again and come very close! Tevez played through SWP terrifically, he pulled it back, it hit a defender and then RSC had it as hit feet 4 yards out, but Taylor was on top of him and got it behind. City don’t get anything from the resultant corner.

32nd minute. City come again and Tevez tries an ambitious shot from just inside the box, but it files over. Not a bad effort. Tevez is acting as the de facto playmaker today.

33rd minute. Lescott decides to hoof it up the line out of bounds instead of trying a back pass. City win it back though and pass it at the back a bit.

34th minute. Good through ball right down the middle but Larsson can quite get to it, if he had–and the replay shows he should have–he would have had a glorious chance.

35th minute. Barry was too casual there and knocked it out of bounds under no pressure, but City get it back. Here’s a foul on McFadden who clearly caught Bellamy, about 40 yards from goal.

37th minute. Bellamy hit that on the ground and not all that hard, not sure if he meant it but it could have been dangerous. No one gets to it though and it’s a goal kick.

39th minute. City have had the better of the play overall but Birmingham are very much in this and very capable of scoring. City don’t want to go behind today. SWP earned a free kick there.

40th minute. Zabaleta looked for RSC on not one but two consecutive crosses but could not connect. De Jong commits a foul there, and handballs to boot, De Jong is going to get a talking to but not a card, somewhat luckily.

43rd minute. Dangerous sequence there! Birmingham had it in the box, City couldn’t clear it, and it fell to Bowyer who had a shot, Given dove to his right to stop that, then pounced on the short rebound before an attacker could get to it. That’s why Joe Hart is on loan, folks.

45th minute. City get a free kick on the right and there’s a yellow card for Dann. Tevez got brought down. Barry’s free kick was just awful and goes behind. He looks a little rattled returning to Birmingham for some reason.

47th minute. Former City manager Stuart Pearce is in the stands alongside Fabio Capello. Birmingham have a throw but nothing comes of it. Halftime is here and the home team is being applauded by the support. City have not been bad but a little rough on the edges. I think bringing on Superman (Ireland) might be a wise move for birthday boy Mark Hughes.

Halftime match stats show City had 56% of possession and outshot Birmingham 7-5, but 4 of the home team’s shot were on target compared to just 2 for City. Tevez completed 21 of 22 passes in the first half. My inclination might be to take RSC off and put Ireland on, and have Tevez operated in the middle. But we will see.

46th minute. RSC hasn’t in fairness done a lot wrong, but he hasn’t looked too threatening either. In any case, he’s still on the pitch as the 2nd half kicks off. RSC and Tevez get it going and after an exchange of aimless long balls, Given will have a goal kick.

47th minute. Given a bit slow coming for that ball, communication between him and Lescott not the best–it was an awkward bouncing long ball into the box. Given claimed it in the end. City have it down the right but Zabaleta loses control trying to set up space for himself on the touchline.

48th minute. Zabaleta crossed it in but on the ground which doesn’t make a lot of sense as RSC was the target.

49th minute. SWP has been really good today and again made a clever run in that set up space for Zabaleta to cross–but again it’s not a great one. Now Tevez has a chance to fire after Bridge made a nice run to set him up that goes well over.

51st minute. Someone is chanting “there’s only one Joe Hart” but I’m not sure whose fans it is.

52nd minute. Free kick for Birmingham claimed by Given and City break, Zabaleta again has a chance to cross but he can’t get it over the defenders’ head. I might have been wrong about the nil-nil comment earlier–this is in danger of devolving into a stalemate.

53rd minute. McFadden found Chucho there but he was a half yard offside. City try to work it up the left this time but it goes behind. Okay I’ll make it official–bring on Stevie Ireland! Please!

55th minute. Bridge stupidly gets a yellow card, he had a neat juggling run up the left, but gave it one extra unnecessary kick…

56th minute. And now a penalty is awarded to Birmingham! That’s on De Jong. It was a ball bouncing in the box and for some reason he but his arm in the air and it hit the ball. Didn’t look deliberate, but it’s given. McFadden will take…

57th minute. SAVED!!!!!!! Great job by Given going to his left, it wasn’t the hardest hit strike but he had to get down quickly to knock it away. It was cleared behind and City then won a free kick off the resulting corner–someone, I think McFadden get a yellow for a foul on that play. Huge let off for City!

59th minute. Brief penalty shout for City as Zabaleta went down in the box–there may have been contact with McFadden but nothing is given. Ireland is preparing to come on.

60th minute. City with an excellent move there as SWP gets to the endline, he cuts it back but Birmingham knock it behind. De Jong is off Ireland is on. The corner took a bounce and found its way to Lescott, who weakly volleyed with his foot into Taylor’s hands.

61st minute. McFadden is off and doesn’t understand why, Fahey is on in his place. City fans will not mind Birmingham’s most likely match-winner leaving.

63rd minute. Good chance there from Jerome who got his head to that cross from 7 yards away, but he can’t quite put it on target. Birmingham break on the left and RSC gets a yellow, to his credit he was tracking back defensively there to cover on the break but he tugged the man down. Free kick for Birmingham.

64th minute. Petrov is ready to come on. City cleared both the free kick and the resultant corner. And Birmingham now get another corner…

65th minute. City get it away and Bellamy feverishly brings it up the pitch. Throw-in for City, and RSC is taken off for Petrov. Perhaps the yellow for the Paraguay man was the deciding factor there. Off the throw, Tevez creates room for himself and fires hard at goal, Taylor knocks it behind for a corner. Birmingham get the corner away.

69th minute. Birmingham had a throw in an attacking position but lose it over the line. It looks like Bellamy will play in the central striker role. Zabaleta there squirrels away a very dangerous cross into the six yard box–that looked like an own goal in the making.

70th minute. SWP had a chance to cross there and brought out his 9-iron, an oddly lofted ball that Taylor managed to get to first.

72nd minute. Kompany with a poor-give away in a midfield position there, Birmingham tried to break but that long ball took a big bounce off the turf and went all the way behind for a goal kick. Ireland has had no impact for City since coming on, one feels that much change if City is to get all the points today.

73rd minute. Barry with a cross there, he looked for SWP at the backpost but the little man was offside (he wouldn’t have won that anyway).

74th minute. Jerome mugged Barry there and had a run toward goal, but his pass was a bit sloppy and City were able to recover.

75th minute. Good, battling game from both teams today. How will it end? No idea at this point.

76th minute. City get a corner down the right, caused initially by Bellamy’s rapid close down on Taylor off a backpass. Not a great corner though and it’s headed away at the near post.

78th minute. Ireland still yet to see the ball. SWP has had it plenty there, he took it forward and played one of the day’s better crosses, but City can’t get a shot away off of that.

81st minute. SWP again got into a good position, he tried something different there, to chip it over Taylor’s head toward the back post, but the cross sails over the end line.

83rd minute. Chucho was clear for a moment there to shoot but Zabaleta got over to make a block. Corner for Birmingham, Petrov took it forward and it looks there may be a serious injury for Johnson for Birmingham–oh dear

84th minute. It was a bit of a scramble into the box with players from both teams. Still not clear what happened but this could be a broken leg-type injury–Johnson is still down and surrounded by medical staff. hopefully not.

86th minute. Phew! Johnson is able to get up–and may be able to keep playing. In the midst of all that there was a shout for a penalty for City as Tevez burst into the box, needless to say none was given. Play restarts.

88th minute. City playing with renewed urgency, they want the points no doubt. Another cross from SWP is cleared away. Kevin Phillips in for Cameron Jerome, hopefully he won’t have a chance to do a Michael Owen against us.

89th minute. Birmingham are offside and hey–Ireland just a touch, albeit a short one. Chucho has been given man of the match for the home team, on queue he gets his hed to that cross but Given saves the weak looping header easily. City bring it back and SWP wins another corner.

91st minute. Six minutes of injury time! City take that corner and Taylor did well to catch that a good 7 or 8 yards off his line.

92nd minute. The ball fell to Phillips’s feet, he struck it weakly and it may have hit Kompany’s hand as he fell, but he knew nothing about it. Kompany then kicked it off Phillips’s shin into Given’s waiting hands.

93rd minute. Petrov popped up on the right and had left footed strike from about 12 yards at a 45 degree angle. Unfortunately it bent the wrong way, away from the target. Both teams still battling for everything.

94th minute. Good tackle from Ireland who has seen more of the ball of late. Tevez on the left, he creates some space to shoot on his right but it balloons well over. SWP and Petrov have switched sides which might be a good idea. 90 seconds to go.

96th minute. Dean produces the yellow for Ferguson, and as that is his second, he’s off. He tried to block the throw in with his hand like a basketball player guarding an in-bounds passer! Birmingham want the final whistle now as we enter a 7th minute of injury time.

And there it is–nil-nil! Blame the blogger for saying this couldn’t possibly a 0-0. Four draws in a row for City who now have 19 points from their first 10 matches. That projects out to 72 points, which is very good but not quite Champions League form.

More optimistically, City have taken now 9 points from 6 away games and 10 points from 4 home games. If you project those averages out, City are on course to gain 76 points.

But all that’s a long way away. City didn’t do badly today and it’s not a bad point, but still disappointing that more clear chances were not created despite loads of pressure. Credit of course Shay Given for keeping City from falling behind with a great penalty save and a couple of other splendid interventions.

Next up for City is a home date with Burnley–that should be a fun match with a lot of good football.