Premier League: Stoke v Birmingham full time report
Stoke 3 Birmingham 2
Dean Whitehead scrambled home a late winner as Stoke edged out Birmingham on an entertaining night at the Britannia Stadium.
Midfielder Whitehead was on hand to turn in Rory Delap’s cutback just five minutes from time, profiting from slack Birmingham defending from both Scott Dann and Barry Ferguson.
Earlier, the hosts had raced into a two-goal lead, with Robert Huth firing in shortly before half time, and forward Ricardo Fuller scoring a superb solo goal.
Birmingham roared back though, and scored twice in two minutes through substitute Keith Fahey and forward Cameron Jerome, before Whitehead struck a priceless winner, ending Stoke’s run of four defeats in a row.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis had made headlines in the build-up to this match by publicly questioning Premier League referees following a number of high profile decisions that he felt had gone against his team, but it was his men on the pitch who did most of the talking in the first half.
Sebastian Larsson drove over for Blues early on, but it was Stoke making all of the early running, with two crosses aimed at giant forward Kenwyne Jones – who nodded both wide.
Birmingham ‘keeper Ben Foster had to be alert to dash out and block Danny Higginbotham – Stoke fans appealed for a penalty but referee Mark Clattenburg correctly ruled it out – before Fuller saw his rebound blocked by the visiting defence.
Stoke were well on top, and the lively Jones soon made Foster tip over his header from a Jermaine Pennant cross, but just as it looked as though Pulis’ side were to have to head into half time without the goal they deserved, their captain struck.
Matthew Etherington’s cross found Fuller, whose goalbound shot was deflected into the path of Huth on the penalty spot, from where the German – sporting a charity ‘Movember’ moustache – fired home underneath the body of Foster.
There was still time in the half for Huth to see his header deflected off target by – of all people – Fuller, before Foster saved well from Delap just before the break.
Huth was everywhere, and headed a Pennant free kick wide at the start of the second half, before, on the hour mark, Blues boss Alex McLeish attempted to find a hitherto anonymous attacking threat by bringing on Fahey for Jean Beausejour – the disappointing Chilean winger who had had a first Premier League start to forget.
The move appeared to inspire the visitors, and Stoke ‘keeper Asmir Begovic was soon required to push a fierce Roger Johnson header over the crossbar, before the Bosnian was again required to punch away Stephen Carr’s looping cross under pressure from the giant Nikola Zigic, and then comfortably field a Craig Gardner free kick.
Birmingham were enjoying their best spell of the match, and somehow failed to score when Jerome broke free down the left, and saw his cutback turned against his own post by Higginbotham, before both Gardner and Carr saw efforts blocked on the line in the ensuing scramble. They were about to pay for not taking their chances.
There appeared to be little on when Fuller chased a ball down the right side, but after cutting inside and evading two challenges, the forward lashed home his 100th goal in British football from the corner of the box to double Stoke’s lead. Game over? No-one told Birmingham that.
Back came the visitors, and poor Stoke defending – particularly from Higginbotham – led to the ball falling to substitute Fahey on the edge of the box, before the Irishman took a touch and firing a fierce shot into the bottom corner, and better news was soon to follow.
Larsson had been one of Birmingham’s best players on the night, and it was he who created the equaliser, as his pinpoint cross from the right found Jerome, who got above Higginbotham to head home Blues’ second goal in as many minutes.
McLeish’s men were chasing a winner now, and Gardner’s strike was tipped over by Begovic, but the visitors – so much on top – shot themselves in the foot with five minutes to go.
Stoke had barely been in it since Fuller’s goal, but poor Birmingham defending allowed Delap in down the left, and the Irishman’s pull back somehow went through both Dann and Ferguson, allowing an alert Whitehead to beat Foster to ball and to turn home from inside the six yard box. It was his first goal for Stoke, and how important it turned out to be on a topsy-turvy night in the Potteries.
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