Birmingham City 1 - 1 Fulham

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Saturday Dec 29 2007 03:00

New manager Roy Hodgson was given a massive boost after watching Fulham battle for a valuable away point at Birmingham.

The newly-installed Cottagers boss, who will officially start work on Monday, must have been impressed with the performance of his team after their 5-1 defeat at Tottenham on Boxing Day.

Fulham displayed a great deal of spirit and it was their impressive start which enabled them to emerge with a point.

The veteran manager must have been encouraged when he saw Carlos Bocanegra open the scoring after only eight minutes.

It was the kind of start Fulham needed in their current plight and hardly the situation in which Birmingham wanted to find themselves.

Birmingham were looking to push themselves further out of the relegation area but had to be thankful for a face-saving second half equaliser from Seb Larsson for their point.

Larson, in particular, enjoyed mixed fortunes as he was the Birmingham player who could be faulted for not clearing a Simon Davies left-wing corner which enabled Bocanegra to head home from close range.

Playing against a strong wind proved problematical for Birmingham and they struggled to make any real impact in the first half.Damien Johnson and Fabrice Muamba were often playing second fiddle to the likes of Danny Murphy and Hameur Bouazza.

It was the introduction of Medhi Nafti for Johnson at the start of the second half which lifted Birmingham.

They suddenly became more dangerous, but they still foundered against Fulham's outstanding central defender Dejan Stefanovic.

But Birmingham eventually raised the spirits of their fans when they finally broke through Fulham's rearguard.

Muamba produced a through ball for Larsson to score only his second league goal of the season.

It was a speculative shot which took a wicked deflection off Elliot Omozusi on its way past Antti Niemi.

However, the Finland international goalkeeper saved Fulham from defeat with an outstanding double save.Gary McSheffrey fired in a rocket free-kick which Niemi punched clear but only to Franck Queudrue.

The former Fulham defender hit a powerful right footed shot only to see Niemi make an acrobatic save.

Live Commentary

  • 90
    The final whistle goes and Fulham have failed to claim a victory away from Craven Cottage in 2007.
  • 90
    Kuqi flicks the ball on and sends in Simon Davies who gets a shot off but the effort is weak and flies wide.
  • 90
    The fourth official indicates that there will be a minimum of three minutes added on at the end of the game.
  • 90
    Queudrue loops in a cross from deep but Stefanovic is there for the West Londoners and heads clear.
  • 88
    McSheffrey gets away with a warning after lashing out on Omozusi who nipped in and stole the ball off the Birmingham man.
  • 87
    Simon Davies and Smertin link up well together, stringing a number of passes between themselves but the ball into the box is wayward and Taylor can come out and collect the ball.
  • 85
    The corner is curled in from the right but the ball is pretty awful and easily cleared.
  • 84
    Birmingham earn a corner late on and what a turn around this has been since half time the home side are right on top here.
  • 82
    Simon Davies is brought down by Ridgewell who picks up a yellow card and it's raining bookings at the minute at St Andrews.
  • 81
    Garry O'Connor comes onto the field to replace Forssell as Birmingham use up all their substitutes.
  • 80
    Bouazza is red carded for a late tackle on Queudrue but in truth the foul was not that cynical.
  • 78
    Muamba is the target of a pass from Bouazza but Kelly gets his foot in the way of the ball.
  • 76
    Another substitution as Healy comes off for Shefki Kuqi.
  • 74
    Larsson comes off for Daniel De Ridder presumably after exhausting himself after all his running today.
  • 74
    Murphy makes way for Alexei Smertin to have a run out.
  • 72
    Bouazza makes a bit of space for a shot and sends in a driven shot which is saved by a fyling Taylor.
  • 70
    McSheffrey's shot from the free kick is goal bound before Niemi claws the ball away and pulls off another save from Queudrue as the Frenchman got free of his marker.
  • 69
    Konchesky brings down McSheffrey who was making strides down the flanks and Mark Clattenburg hands out another card.
  • 66
    The free kick is eventually taken by McSheffrey but his delivery is awful.
  • 64
    Bouazza is booked for his trip on McSheffrey.
  • 64
    Bouazza trips Stephen Kelly out wide but as the crowd grow in frustration Mr. Clattenburg runs over to hand out a card.
  • 62
    Simon Davies gets another chance to send in a teamate but his second cross is sent behind the goal.
  • 61
    Simon Davies gets forward and into space, the midfielder looking for the run of his namesake Steven but the cross is poor.
  • 59
    That goal has certainly brought the home side to life and their support begin to make some noise as McSheffrey fires in a rising shot which flies over the bar.
  • 57
    Simon Davies makes a great interception as Birmingham seemed to have broken through on goal and sends in Queudrue who is offside.
  • 56
    LARSSON is free in the box and picked out with a great pass, his shot deflects off the outstretched leg of Omozusi and into the back of the net.
  • 54
    Birmingham appear to have receiived the kick up the rear they needed at the break and look the brighter in the early stages in this half.
  • 52
    Konchesky gets under the ball but his touch is poor and inadvertently tees up Cameron Jerome who sprints through on goal and flashes in a shot at goal but Niemi does well to get down and turn it behind for a corner.
  • 49
    Fulham simply knocking the ball around at the start of this second half as they ease into gear.
  • 46
    Larsson puts pressure on Bocanegra early on but the Blues must continue to do this throughout the half if they are to get anything out of the game.
  • 45
    Mehdi Nafti comes on to replace Johnson but it does not appear to be through injury at the break.
  • 45
    Birmingham get the second half under way after receiving the signal from Mark Clattenburg.
  • 45
    The whistle goes for half time and Fulham run into the dressing room deserved leaders here at St Andrews.
  • 45
    Birmingham look as though they know they will be getting an earful from their manager at half time and they are breaking forward frequently at last late on.
  • 45
    There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
  • 45
    McSheffrey drifts in a corner from the left which is headed clear by Steven Davies.
  • 45
    Forssell has his back to goal and somehow finds room for a shot which is saved and caught by Niemi.
  • 45
    Bocanegra heads the ball forward looking for the run of Dempsey but the striker runs into Ridgewell and the defender draws a foul.
  • 44
    Forssell runs straight into Stefanovic cleverly and wins a free-kick for the Blues.
  • 44
    Dempsey weaves his way into the box after great footwork and strength and makes room for the shot but his effort is weak and easy for Taylor to deal with.
  • 42
    Konchesky lofts in a ball with his left foot but Liam Ridgewell sends the ball back to his goalkeeper with a cool defensive header.
  • 41
    Fulham are playing brilliantly today but Birmingham have shown signs that they are beginning to get back into this match late on in the first half.
  • 38
    Forssell swings the ball from the right but Simon Davies gets up well to clear with his head.
  • 37
    The game has died down at the minute at Damien Johnson lies on the floor clutching his head as the wind swirls around St Andrews.
  • 34
    Simon Davies bends in a corner into the centre but a Birmingham man gets a touch to send the ball out for a throw-in.
  • 32
    Bouazza whips in a ball from the touchline but Jaidi is there once more to clear his lines.
  • 29
    Paul Konchesky crosses in from deep but Radhi Jaidi is there for Birmingham to send the ball out of danger.
  • 27
    Dempsey thinks he has broken the offside trap and looks to chip Taylor but the linesman has raised his flag and the American is furious.
  • 24
    McSheffrey swings in a ball into the centre of the box which is cleared by the head of Murphy for Fulham.
  • 22
    Clint Dempsey attempts to send in a pile-driver into the back of the Birmingham net but Muamba is back for the home side to make the block.
  • 20
    Fabrice Muamba receives the ball from McSheffrey who did well to make space for the cross and fires in a first time shot from six yards out but Antti Niemi is in the right place at the right time and pulls off a reaction stop.
  • 17
    Sebastian Larsson sends in a cross which is cleared by Dejan Stefanovic over the half-way line.
  • 15
    Mikael Forssell brings down Elliot Omozusi as the Finnish striker tries to win possession for the hosts and the referee blows up.
  • 13
    Former Fulham man Franck Queudrue breaks free from the wing and sends in a shot which flies over the bar once more but it looks brighter for Birmingham.
  • 10
    Healy gets free of the defence once more as Fulham look to increase their lead and drills in a ball which is saved and held onto by Taylor.
  • 8
    Carlos BOCANEGRA gets on the end of a corner to flick the ball into the back of the net and give new Fulham boss Roy Hodgson the first goal under his reign.
  • 7
    Gary McSheffrey finds a bit of room just on the edge of the box and sends a ballooning shot high and wide over the goal.
  • 4
    Hameur Bouazza races down the flank before drifting in a cross which is headed out only as far as Danny Murphy who tries a fierce volley but his effort is seen wide by Taylor.
  • 2
    David Healy breaks forward and tries to curl the ball past Maik Taylor in the Birmingham goal.
  • 0
    Fulham XI: Niemi, Omozusi, Stefanovic, Bocanegra, Konchesky, Davies, Murphy, Davis, Bouazza, Dempsey, Healy
  • 0
    Birmingham XI: Taylor, Kelly, Jaidi, Ridgewell, Queudrue, McSheffrey, Muamba, Johnson, Larsson, Forssell, Jerome
  • 0
    The visitors get the game under way and immediately look to attack.

Statistics

Birmingham City
Shots on target 6
Shots off target 9
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 13
Offsides 2
Corners 8

Fulham
Shots on target 7
Shots off target 3
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 14
Offsides 2
Corners 6

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