Source: Telegraph
Birmingham City 1 Fulham 0: match report
Finally, a result. His strikers might have, once again, left the heavy lifting to the midfield, who, once again, had to be relied upon to provide the goal, but after their previous two games, unfortunate draws against Manchester City and Liverpool, Alex McLeish has three points to savour, thanks to a Lee Bowyer goal that was every bit in contrast to the dreary conditions in which this match was played, the gritty football that came both before and after, and indeed the type of player that scored it.[LNB]This was the sort of dirty, sodden affair that one suspects McLeish secretly loves unlike Roy Hodgson who, sensibly some would say, stayed under shelter, the Birmingham City manager stood resolute in the driving rain, occasionally squelching about in a muddy technical area to fire off screamed instructions, and he was certainly grinning when Fulham captain Aaron Hughes, blood pouring down over his brow from a gash on his head, ran off past him for a slap of Vaseline.[LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League actionTelegraph player raterPremier League tablePremier League fixturesSport on televisionAnd why not? There were promising signs for him to enjoy as early as the 14th minute, when Benitez fed James McFadden, and the Scotsman's cross from the left sideline sailed over Brede Hangeland. Cameron Jerome had jumped too high to use his head, however, and his chested effort lacked pace, giving Mark Schwarzer time to respond. Even so, Fulham's slow-witted defence had exposed a weakness, and Birmingham were about to exploit it.[LNB]Two minutes had passed before Benitez again found McFadden on the left. Rather than making a bee-line for corner flag, this time the winger turned back inside and before Simon Davis could compute what was afoot, the midfielder had dinked the ball over a flat-footed defence. Bowyer's perfectly timed, curving run dissected the centre-backs and brought him level with the ball just in time to chip an on-rushing Schwarzer. [LNB]Given the two teams and the conditions in which they were playing, chances were always going to come at a sedate rate, so the sight of Bobby Zamora frittering away a good opening in the seventh minute, when the striker spurned the easy ball to Clint Dempsey and tried to curl the ball around Birmingham goalkeeper Joe Hart, having done the hard work by turning Scott Dann, would have been all the more frustrating for Fulham fans.[LNB]They remained in good voice throughout though, and fairly squawked when Hart had to tip over the bar, Dempsey heading a Stephen Kelly cross rather too close for Birmingham's comfort. Fulham's threat increased, but Birmingham refused to tire. This was one win they would not be denied. [LNB]
