Source: Telegraph
Everton 1 Birmingham City 2: match report
Having showed the craft that they are rarely given credit for, Birmingham City had to show their renowned grit and defensive power to hold off Everton's onslaught. [LNB]Christian Benítez and Barry Ferguson gave the visitors a comfortable half-time lead but Leon Osman pulled one back just after the break to set up a tense second period. [LNB] Related ArticlesKris Boyd future unclearBirmingham close on Craig Gardner dealBirmingham target Kris BoydBusiness of football to be revealedBirmingham offer £14m for McGeadySport on televisionBut Birmingham held on to extend their unbeaten run to 16 games as Everton, who have signed Philippe Senderos on loan until the end of the season from Arsenal and had Mikel Arteta back after 11 months, failed to find a second goal. [LNB]The opener came thanks to a sweeping counter attack after just six minutes, as Leighton Baines' free kick was cleared and two passes and a few seconds later the ball was in the Everton net. [LNB]Ferguson switched the play to the right, rolling into the path of Kevin Fahey, whose clipped cross picked out Benítez for the Ecuador forward to finish from close range. [LNB]Despite going into the game on the back of a six-match unbeaten run, the anxiety grew within the hosts and they were unable to string passes together to break through Birmingham's stubborn formation. [LNB]Five minutes before the interval, Alex McLeish's team doubled their advantage with another breathtaking goal that again centred around Fahey. [LNB]The former St Patrick's player broke from midfield and, after beating a couple of Everton men, knocked the ball wide to the right to Sebastien Larsson, who drilled a low cross in the area. [LNB]Barry Ferguson ran over the ball and, after being picked out by former Everton forward James McFadden, he guided a shot around Tim Howard. [LNB]But Everton emerged after the break, with Osman replacing Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, with far more purpose and, after Benítez wasted a great chance to kill the game, the home team halved the deficit. [LNB]Baines was found on the left and beat the sliding challenge of Stephen Carr before pulling the ball back to Steven Pienaar, who squared for Osman to bend a shot into the corner from the edge of the area. [LNB]David Moyes even threw on Mikel Arteta for the Spaniard's first appearance since picking up a cruciate knee injury 11 months ago.[LNB]
