Source: Daily_Mail
Birmingham 1 Portsmouth 0: Late McFadden penalty shatters Pompey
In the pink: James saves under pressure from Jerome[LNB]David James gaveaway a needlesspenaltyto hand Birminghamvictory in adramatic finish. [LNB]In the final minute, withPortsmouth hanging on for awell-deserved point, the Englandgoalkeeper bundled over SebLarsson and James McFaddensent him the wrong way from thepenalty spot. [LNB]Before kick off, the death earlierthis week of Jack Wiseman, aformer FA councillor and Birminghamboard member since 1956,was marked by a minute'sapplause.[LNB]Home manager Alex McLeishhad made one change to the teamdefeated at Old Trafford, draftingin Garry O'Connor up frontinstead of skipper Lee Carsley.[LNB]Portsmouth manager Paul Harthanded a debut to BelgianAnthony Vanden Borre in a fivemanmidfield, with FredericPiquionne asked to shoulder theburden in attack.Vanden Borre ballooned his firstmeaningful effort over thecrossbar after Marc Wilson dispossessedGregory Vignal on the lefttouchline and gave him a run atgoal. [LNB]With the five-man midfieldstifling McLeish's Barclays PremierLeague newcomers, anyinstances of excitement were overin a heartbeat as the home sidebattered away more in hope thanexpectation of forcing a goal. [LNB]It was honest display and, iftruth be told, the Scot's teamlooked neat and tidy enough. Butthey failed to really threatenwhere it matters.And although McLeish's workthis summer has certainlyimproved the quality on show, hewill view this as an opportunitymissed against the PremierLeague's crisis club. [LNB]The tempo increased after a dismalopening period in which therewas precious little for the two EnglandWorld Cup wannabe keepersat either end Joe Hart andJames to do. [LNB]And although James was forcedinto action, tipping over Larsson'swell-placed free-kick as the matchentered its final quarter, it was atthe opposite end where the best chance of the evening was squandered. [LNB] Disbelief: James protests after giving away the last-gasp spot-kick[LNB]Nico Kranjcar's shot from theright-hand edge of the area carriedlittle threat in itself but HaydenMullins had anticipated its pathand stole in behind the defence.[LNB]Unfortunately for the ex-WestHam midfielder, his sidefoot dribbledpast the post with Hart wellbeaten and it was doubtful at thatpoint whether the hosts boastedthe ability to have dragged themselvesback [LNB]Match factsBIRMINGHAM (4-4-2): Hart 6; Carr 6, Johnson 7, Queudrue 6, Vignal 6 (Parnaby 49min, 6); Larsson 6, Ferguson 8, Fahey 6, McFadden 6; O'Connor 5, Jerome 5 (Phillips 54, 7).[LNB]PORTSMOUTH (4-5-1): James 6; Wilson 6, Kaboul 7, Distin 7, Belhadj 6; Mokoena 7; Mullins 6, Vanden Borre 5 (Utaka 46, 6), Diop 5 (Basinas 42, 5), Kranjcar 6; Piquionne 6.[LNB]Booked: Basinas, Kaboul, Mullins, James.[LNB]Man of the match: Barry Ferguson.[LNB]Referee: Lee Probert. [LNB]As the half progressed, it wasclear both teams were strugglingto find any sort of rhythm. It wasevident also that McLeish hadasked his players to target Pompey'sNadir Belhadj. [LNB]The Tunisianwas left to fend for himself on acouple of occasions when deepcrosses were swung in hisdirection. It was from one of Vignal'scentres that Larsson managedto get under a header, sendingit harmlessly over the bar. [LNB]James, in his shocking pink outfit,would have been well- beaten hadthe Swede met the ball with moreconviction.Moments of genuine quality werefew and far between.[LNB] BarryFerguson, on his home debut,stood head and shoulders aboveeveryone else in a royal blue shirt,while for the visitors, their centraldefensive pairing snaffled everythingBirmingham could muster. [LNB]●Portsmouth are set tosign Cameroon midfielderModeste M'Bami on a two-yeardeal. He has been on trial there formost of the summer since leavingMarseille.Pompey boss Hart is also keenon Bolton's Gavin McCann andDanny Shittu.[LNB] Birmingham v Portsmouth: How the action unfoldedPortsmouth takeover takes a twist as chief exec Storrie starts buyout talks Birmingham boss McLeish confirms Michel will be his last summer signing BIRMINGHAM CITY FC
