Birmingham 1 Bolton 2: The system works, insists McLeish after fans turn

27 September 2009 23:09
Seoul man: Bolton's Lee celebrates with Taylor[LNB]Alex McLeish asked his own crowd to trust him after they subjected the Scot to one of the most unusual chants ever heard inside a football stadium. [LNB]Ten minutes into the second half, an increasingly frustrated home support struck up a chorus of 'Four-four-two' hoping that Birmingham's manager would ditch his tactic of using Christian Benitez as a lone striker.[LNB] It left no-one in any doubt as to the feelings of a bumper turn-out who wanted more by way of attacking intent against a Bolton side carrying out their game-plan effectively.[LNB] Tamir Cohen's 10th-minute goal from the Barclays Premier League's most fashionable weapon - the long throw-in - had enabled Gary Megson's side to wait patiently and exploit any chances to counter-attack as the hosts pushed.[LNB] Despite seeing three decent chances in the first half go begging, the punters were clearly unhappy. They will claim a moral victory as the course of the game changed when McLeish sent on Garry O'Connor and Kevin Phillips. [LNB]The latter should have earned a point with a superbly taken equaliser six minutes from time, only to see Kevin Davies charge straight at the home defence and win the free-kick that led to South Korea winger Chung-Yong Lee's winner seconds later. [LNB]'It's part of the game now,' said McLeish, who looked understandably angry at the final outcome. 'When a lot of people are chanting, you think maybe they have a point, but I think it's a bit harsh.[LNB] 'We have been playing well in that system. We wanted to get control and have something to hang on to and maybe go for a goal. But we have shot ourselves in the foot with that set-piece.[LNB] Good Korea move: Lee slots home the winner four minutes from time[LNB] 'It was great to see the stadium full. But they have got to give us patience and trust us. I believe we are a better side than we were last year and a better one too than went down. But talk is cheap.' [LNB]McLeish admitted to being a moaner during his Aberdeen days under Sir Alex Ferguson and said he was an interested bystander as his players carried out a loud post-mortem in the dressing room. [LNB]'A few of them let rip,' he added. 'The ones with the voices and I quite enjoyed that. It saved me losing my voice. They got stuck into each other because they switched off.'[LNB] It was the third time this season that Birmingham have seen a point slip through their grasp in the final 10 minutes, a statistic that already appears costly, even at such an early stage in this campaign. [LNB]MATCH STATSBIRMINGHAM CITY (4-5-1): Hart 6; Carr 7, Johnson 6, Dann 6, Vignal 6 (Phillips 76min); Larsson 5, Ferguson 6, Tainio 6, (O'Connor 61, 6) Bowyer 6, Fahey 6; Benitez 6. Booked: Carr, Johnson.[LNB] BOLTON WANDERERS (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen 7; Ricketts 7, Cahill 8, Knight 7, Samuel 6; Taylor 6, Muamba 6, Cohen 7, Gardner 5 (McCann 70, 5); Davies 9, Klasnic 4 (Lee 54, 8). Booked: Samuel.[LNB] Man of the match: Kevin Davies. [LNB]Referee: Steve Bennett.[LNB]However, McLeish's dark mood was not shared by Bolton manager Megson, who was getting stick from his own supporters last weekend during the 1-1 draw with Stoke. He and the travelling fans were much happier this week though, and Megson may have pulled off a steal in match-winner Lee, who was signed from FC Seoul in August. [LNB]The South Korean's quick feet will certainly add to Megson's side's variation in attack and the calm manner in which he took the goal after Matt Taylor's free-kick clattered into the upright, raised a few eyebrows as to the quality of the finish. [LNB]Question of tactics: Blues boss Alex McLeish[LNB]I remembered watching an international match and stored his name away for later,' said Megson. 'He's a lovely lad. He was upset at giving the ball away that led to their equaliser and he came into the dressing room and, excuse my accent, said, 'Fank you, Taylor'. I think he mixes up the first names and surnames.' [LNB]England manager Fabio Capello was at St Andrew's and the accepted wisdom is that Bolton centre half Gary Cahill is the player under the microscope, but skipper Davies remains as indispensable to Megson as Wayne Rooney does to Ferguson at Manchester United. [LNB]The Bolton captain flicked on the ball for the opening goal and was responsible for winning the free-kick from which Lee scored. With Emile Heskey struggling to make Aston Villa's side and Peter Crouch not certain of a start for Spurs, Davies is the one target man who is fit and playing regularly. [LNB]'It was good to see Mr Capello here,' said Megson after the game. 'There were matches involving bigger clubs than ourselves and Birmingham today and it's great that he chose to ignore them and come here.'[LNB] Bolton so much better than 'Mickey Mouse' Birmingham, claims MuambaSpurs must spend a whopping £20m to bring Bolton defender Gary Cahill to White Hart LaneBIRMINGHAM CITY FC

Source: Daily_Mail