2011 Carling Cup final - Magnificent Martins ends Blues silverware drought

DROUGHT: Birmingham City celebrate their Carling Cup triumph

BIRMINGHAM CITY beat Arsenal fair and square last Sunday 2-1 to win the Carling Cup, and end a 48-year drought without silverware.  Substitute Obafemi Martins, on loan to the Blues from Russian side Rubin Kazan scored the winner in the 88^th minute, after a calamitous mix-up between Laurent Koscieny and Wojciech Szczesny in the Arsenal defence. 

     Traditionally, the Carling Cup final, the first major piece of silverware to be settled, has been a drab affair with both teams nervous to concede and too cautious to attack.  This wasn’t the case on a immaculate Wembley pitch surface, which make the pitch troubles during last year’s FA Cup semi-finals look like a storm in a teacup.  Most experts predicted a comfortable Arsenal win, but a bright start by Birmingham soon had many eating their words.  In fact, they should have had a penalty inside of four minutes.  Lee Bowyer was wrongly flagged offside, and was tripped in the penalty area by the nervous Szczesny.  Television replays soon confirmed that Bowyer was at least two yards onside and justice hadn’t been done.  Arsenal got a free-kick, when they should have been facing a penalty and Szczesny should have seen red.  Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott could only look on after their midweek injuries as the Gunners looked more like they were being gunned down rather than shooting their way passed the opposition.  However, Arsenal did create the first serious chance when Andrei Arshavin, preferred to Niklas Bendtner brokethrough, but his shot was blocked by Ben Foster’s legs.  

LANKY: Tall Zigic headed Birmingham into an unlikely lead

     Birmingham kept the pressure on though and the underdogs took the lead on the half hour.  Roger Johnson won the first header from Craig Gardner’s corner and lanky Serbian Nikola Zigic helped the ball on past the hapless Szczesny, whose positioning must be questioned.  So must Arsenal’s marking, as Zigic was left completely free in the six-yard box and despite Samir Nasri’s best efforts on the line, Alex McLeish’s side had a deserved lead.  It should have been 2-0, had Zigic converted a one-on-one against Szczesny and he was made to pay for missing such a glaring chance.

     Arsenal fought back and equalised seven minutes before half-time.  Jack Wiltshire’s smashing shot rattled the crossbar and as Birmingham failed to deal with the rebound, Arshavin found in-form Robin Van Persie.  The Dutchman produced a cracking shot on the volley with his back to goal.  Foster had no chance as the ball landed perfectly in the corner of the net to level the score.

     The second half wasn’t quite as action-packed but had its moments.  Jean Beausejour, a star of Chile’s World Cup heroics last summer, added some energy to Birmingham’s frontline and he pressured Johan Djourou into a rushed clearance.  Keith Fahey hit a shot that struck the post with the goalkeeper completely stranded.  Birmingham kept battling on, but it was Arsenal that looked the stronger side in the last 20 minutes.  Foster had to make smart saves to dent Nasri and Tomas Rosicky.  As the game entered its climax, extra-time beckoned, but there was going to be a sting in the tale.

     With two minutes left, Foster’s long kick was flicked on by the dangerous Zigic and led to a horrible mix-up between Koscieny and Szcenzy.  Whether it was a language barrier issue or a miscommunication, the result was the same.  Koscieny mis-kicked the ball bounced off the Pole and fell straight to substitute Martins.  The Nigerian had been presented with a gift and simply couldn’t miss.  As the Birmingham celebrations went into overdrive, Arsenal fans broke down in tears, realising that their long six-year wait for a trophy must go on a little further.

     So, Birmingham won against all the odds and it was left to Stephen Carr, who came out of retirement to skipper Birmingham in February 2009 to lift the trophy.  Their last trophy was the League Cup in 1963 against city rivals Aston Villa.  Alex McLeish hailed the success as his best triumph in management afterwards.  Talking to the BBC, he said; “This is the best ever in the world.  For a small club like Birmingham to put one over Arsenal is a titanic effort.”  Arsene Wenger was full of symphony for his players; “It’s a big disappointment.  The team had a great performance and gave everything.  In the end, a little misunderstanding has cost us.”

     Foster earnt the man of the match award; this is his third successive Carling Cup triumph, after being part of the Manchester United side that won in 2009 and 2010.  Birmingham owner Carson Yeung was 51 on the day of the final, so this is the perfect birthday present.  A place in the UEFA Europa League next season is Birmingham’s ultimate prize and for Martins, he has a £5million clause in his loan if Birmingham wants to use the option.  Surely, they’ll be fools not to exercise this option. 

    Birmingham may be the lowest goalscorers in the Premiership, but their attacking instincts at Wembley well and truly paid off.  This was the day when David beat Goliath, and it is always nice to see the underdog triumph, especially in a major final.