Source: Daily_Mail
Birmingham 1 Spurs 1: Craig Gardner sews seeds of recovery as Blues come from behind
It looked for a moment like a case of deja vu. William Gallas was denied the victory he felt his Tottenham team deserved at St Andrew's and was not necessarily prepared to take the draw like a true sportsman.[LNB]A couple of years ago Gallas threw his toys out of the pram and staged a sit-in on the pitch when captain of north London rivals Arsenal, and it took the intervention of manager Arsene Wenger to move him on.[LNB] [LNB] Deadlock breaker: Sebastien Bassong (centre) was first on the scene to score for Tottenham[LNB] [LNB]Yesterday Gallas, now Tottenham'scaptain, restricted his postmatch histrionics to unnecessaryremonstrations with referee Kevin Friend. Arms outstretched, he seemedto rail afresh against the injustice of football.[LNB]'No I don't know what he was moaning about,' said his manager, Harry Redknapp. Neither did anyone else. [LNB]Gallas had fought gamely to keep hisside ahead after Sebastien Bassong had given Spurs the lead in the 19thminute. Gareth Bale delivered what Birmingham manager Alex McLeishdescribed as a 'vicious inswinging' free-kick, Birmingham keeper BenFoster punched poorly, and Bassong got the better of Cameron Jerome toscore.[LNB] Strop: William Gallas was roundly ridiculed for his on-pitch protest at St Andrew in 2008[LNB] [LNB]All looked comfortable for Gallasand his side. But the temperamental Frenchman ran out of steam in thefinal 15 minutes, and Birmingham might even have taken all the points.[LNB]First Heurelho Gomes saved the dayat the feet of Liam Ridgewell, who inflicted a more painful blow on theBrazilian than he did on Tottenham as a whole. [LNB]Gomes writhed in agony as heclutched the most sensitive part of his body, though he eventuallymanaged a smile at the strange way in which he had prevented his hostsfrom levelling.[LNB] Head boy: Craig Gardner grabbed a late equaliser for Birmingham[LNB]But Gallas, who had been slightlyout of position at that moment, failed to rise to the occasion whenRoger Johnson launched a searching pass towards the right of the Spursarea. [LNB]At 6ft 8in, Nikola Zigic had notrouble accepting the invitation to head straight into the danger zone.Craig Gardner timed his run perfectly, Gallas and his fellow defenderswere flat-footed, and Birmingham had staged a late, unlikely comeback. [LNB]It was unlikely because Peter Crouchshould have had a first-half hat-trick and squandered each chance thatcame his way, while Birmingham looked a spent force after their midweekheroics against rivals Aston Villa.[LNB] Hard grafter: Gardner (left) celebrates his timely intervention [LNB]Redknapp said: 'I thought we'd winhere today, certainly at halftime.' McLeish added: 'We were insipid inthe first half, the Villa match had taken so much out of us, and I toldthem to bare their teeth.'[LNB]They did just that, thoughBirmingham substitute David Murphy bit too hard at the legs of AlanHutton, and the Spurs defender retaliated with a blatant butt into hisadversary's torso.[LNB]'I didn't see it,' said Redknapp in a Wengeresque French accent. 'I know I sound like another manager.' [LNB]'The referee couldn't have seen it, said McLeish as Hutton escaped punishment. [LNB] [LNB] Angry McLeish hits out at Birmingham fans who invaded pitch after Villa win How hot Spurs stay cool: Van der Vaart finds an ice and easy way to recoverBIRMINGHAM CITY FC
