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. 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. Deadlock breaker: Sebastien Bassong (centre) was first on the scene to score for Tottenham 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. 'No I don't know what he was moaning about,' said his manager, Harry Redknapp. Neither did anyone else. 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. Strop: William Gallas was roundly ridiculed for his on-pitch protest at St Andrew in 2008 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. 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. 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. Head boy: Craig Gardner grabbed a late equaliser for Birmingham 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. 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. 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. Hard grafter: Gardner (left) celebrates his timely intervention 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.' 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. 'I didn't see it,' said Redknapp in a Wengeresque French accent. 'I know I sound like another manager.' 'The referee couldn't have seen it, said McLeish as Hutton escaped punishment.  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