Birmingham City 1, Manchester United 1: Colin Tattum's big match verdict and player ratings
FOR the first time since the last day of the 2007-08 season when they were relegated, Blues had to deal with that horrible, stark reality of being anchored in the bottom three – but not for long.
Postponements over Christmas and results elsewhere conspired against them before kick-off to put Alex McLeish’s side in the drop zone.
Fulham won away for the first time in 16 months, at Stoke City, while Wigan Athletic lifted themselves upwards by defeating Wolves.
But Blues put in a gutsy show against a Manchester United side with a cause of their own at the other end of the Premier League table – to reclaim top spot – to resolve the situation immediately last night.
Lee Bowyer swooped to score a dramatic 89th-minute equaliser; in typical Blues fashion they had got off the canvas yet again.
A victory was always going to be a tall order considering that they have not beaten United for 32 years, let alone claimed no more than three draws in their 12 Premier League meetings, scoring four times in the process.
Dimitar Berbatov’s 58th-minute goal threatened to unhinge Blues, just as it appeared the contest was meandering towards deadlock.
But, with a last hurrah of effort, Roger Johnson crossed the ball into the thick of things in the United area where substitutes Kevin Phillips and Nikola Zigic made a nuisance of themselves.
Phillips nudged Rio Ferdinand off balance, Zigic clambered into the mix and got the ball knocked down to Bowyer, who slid it in from a matter of yards.
United complained that there were various infringements but the goal, however chaotic, stood.
Blues didn’t perform badly at all against United and, as a rule of thumb, they are always difficult customers for the biggest of big guns on their own patch. And so it proved last night.
McLeish hinted that he would try something different tactically to try and stifle United and give his team a chance.
Craig Gardner and Jean Beausejour both returned to a starting line-up that was designed to ensure a fair share of midfield control against a United side who hit their best form in the first half against Sunderland at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
‘Awesome’ was how McLeish described them in that spell, but United found Blues a much different, trickier proposition.
