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.  

FA Barclays Premiership Report (5th - 6th February)

THIS weekend’s Premiership action was quite possibly the best in its 19-year era.  A staggering 43 goals hit the back of the net, with some all-time classic matches amongst them.  Records were smashed, unbeaten runs ended and cracking comebacks all over the place, this was the perfect weekend.  With Match of the Day pulling in 5million viewers on Saturday night, you can see the appeal it would have had, even to the casual football acquaintance.

BLOCKED: Jamie Carragher frustrated Torres all day on his debut

The big build-up was for the match at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea locked horns with Liverpool, only days after Fernando Torres had completed a £50million move from Anfield to West London.  For Torres, the day was a dud, as was the match in truth, failing to live up to its great billing.  El Nino looked out of sorts all afternoon and was replaced by Salomon Kalou on 66 minutes.  Three minutes later, Chelsea’s title dreams were smashed into pieces by Raul Meireles.  Frank Lampard failed to close down Steven Gerrard and once the Englishman crossed and Dirk Kuyt caused more miscommunication between Petr Cech and Branislav Ivanovic (they clashed heads in the first half), Meireles arrived at the back post and smashed the ball into the corner of the net.  It was the Portuguese’s midfielder’s fourth goal in five matches and earnt a deserved 1-0 victory for the visitors.  Kenny Dalglish has now steered Liverpool into the top six, after their fourth win in a row.  For Chelsea, this was a massive opportunity spurned and Torres was probably wondering; why did I move?

The game of the weekend, decade and possibly of all time came at St. James Park.  Arsenal threw away a 4-0 lead at half-time, to end up drawing 4-4 with Newcastle United.  Still reeling from Andy Carroll’s defection to Liverpool, Newcastle looked like a team of hedgehogs in the first half, conceding four goals in the first 23 minutes.  Theo Walcott ghosted past Fabricio Coloccini to have Arsenal infront after 40 seconds.  Less than three minutes later, Johan Djourou headed in from a free-kick for his first ever Gunners goal.  Robin Van Persie completed Newcastle’s catastrophic first half, with two goals which were so easy, Bart Simpson could have scored them.  The game changed when Abou Diaby lost the plot completely four minutes into the second half.  The Frenchman was incensed by a fair challenge from Joey Barton and went onto push both Kevin Nolan and Barton.  He was rightfully dismissed and with it, Arsenal’s composure went.  Barton began the fightback on 68 minutes, with a penalty and Leon Best pulled the scoreline back to 4-2, after he had a goal wrongly chalked off for offside.  With seven minutes to go, Newcastle got a second penalty, which looked very harsh as Mike Williamson went down softly under pressure from Tomas Rosicky.  Barton converted his second penalty, then Chiok Tiote produced a stunning volley with two minutes to play to make it 4-4.  It was the greatest comeback in Premiership history in a quite extraordinary match.

HEADER: George Elokobi powered Wolves on their way to a famous win

The drama continued on Saturday evening, as Manchester United’s unbeaten run, lasting 30 games and stretching back to April last year, was ended at Molineux by Wolves.  The league’s bottom side won 2-1 to add United to a list of scalps that includes Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea already this season.  Nani had the leaders infront on three minutes, finding the tightest of gaps at Wayne Hennessey’s near post but it was a frustrating night for Man United, struggling badly with set-pieces and missing Rio Ferdinand, due to a late injury in the warm-up.  George Elokobi, found wanting by Nani for the goal, produced a lovely header on ten minutes, when Nemanja Vidic failed to pick him up from a corner.  Five minutes before half-time, Kevin Doyle flicked in Jamie O’Hara’s free-kick to win it for the sensational Wolves.  Doyle was magnificent and with this, Arsenal 2003/04 unbeaten season remains intact as the only one in Premiership history.

While Wolves were claiming another big boy, Black Country rivals West Brom hit the panic button.  13 defeats in 18 games have cost Roberto di Matteo his job.  Despite the poor run of form, it is another example of chairman simply taking desperate measures at a time of crisis.  Di Matteo’s final game in charge came at Manchester City, as West Brom folded to a 3-0 loss on Saturday.  Birthday boy Carlos Tevez scored a first half hat-trick, including two penalties, as the Albion defence was left exposed by Tevez’s creative movements.  The Argentine has now scored 49 goals in 71 games for Manchester City.  It was an emotional day at Eastlands, as the club paid tribute to Neil Young.  Young scored the winner for the club in the 1969 FA Cup final.  He passed away last Thursday, following a long battle with cancer.

MOBBED: Nikola Zigic is congratulated after his winner

After the fillip of a massive win in midweek at Bloomfield Road, West Ham returned to their traditional best.  Another flat performance infront of their home supporters saw the Hammers lose 1-0 at home to relegation rivals Birmingham City and leave them in their customary position of bottom in the table.  The much criticised Nikola Zigic headed the only goal of the game midway through the second half to lift Birmingham out of the bottom three, their first win at Upton Park since October 2002.  Having just been dumped out of the Carling Cup at the semi-final stage by Birmingham, Avram Grant must be sick of the sight of the Midlands team.

There was another classic encounter between two North-West sides desperate for points.  Everton and Blackpool went goals galore at Goodison Park, sharing eight goals in a 5-3 win for the home side.  Louis Saha scored four goals, his first came on 20 minutes, lashing home a cutback from Diniyar Bilyadetinov.  Alex-John Baptiste claimed the equaliser eight minutes before half-time, but the Toffees were back infront within 100 seconds of the restart.  Leighton Baines crossed and Saha finished from close range.  In this remarkable match, Blackpool recovered to hit the front.  Deadline day signing Jason Puncheon levelled, finishing off a wonderful pullback from fellow new signing James Beattie.  Just two minutes later, Ian Holloway’s men completed their fabulous response when DJ Campbell rattled the crossbar on the counter-attack, only for Charlie Adam to head the rebound in.  Saha got his hat-trick, heading in from close range as Blackpool failed to deal with a routine corner and Everton grabbed the lead back as Jermaine Beckford made a great run and converted Baines’s majestic ball over the top of Blackpool’s square defence.  As the Tangerines pushed forward for another equaliser, Saha settled the match on a great Toffees counter-attack, coaxing in his fourth of the afternoon.  This is Blackpool’s fifth successive Premiership defeat, and they are plummeting down the table as quick as a shattered fruit machine.

STAR: Ben Watson celebrates with James McCarthy after he scores his second

Wigan are still in the bottom three, but they recorded their first home win since mid-November in another entertaining game, beating Blackburn Rovers 4-3 at the DW Stadium.  Ex-Wigan striker Jason Roberts had the visitors infront, tucking in Brett Emerton’s ball, but James McCarthy equalised, reacting quickest to Paul Robinson’s spill from a Charles N’Zogbia drive.  Hugo Rodallega made it 2-1, getting in behind Christopher Samba and beat the stranded Robinson to guide the ball into the empty Blackburn net.  An outstanding individual goal from McCarthy increased Wigan’s lead, needing one touch to control and another to finish.  On a pitch more accustomed to the Six Nations, Blackburn responded well when the powerful Samba beat Ali Al-Habsi to a cross.  Ben Watson scored a penalty to restore Wigan’s two goal advantage, before David Dunn tumbled under Emerson Boyce’s challenge and converted his own spot kick.  Wigan’s first win in eight games was well deserved.

In the other matches, Stoke City beat Sunderland 3-2 at the Britannia Stadium.  In another frantic game, Kieran Richardson and Asamoah Gyan had Sunderland in the lead twice.  John Carew scored a scruffy goal and Robert Huth scored twice for the home side, his second in the third minute of injury time.  Craig Gordon made a meal of the match, as the Scot failed to deal with Stoke’s physical prowess.  Niko Kranjcar made a point to Harry Redknapp, as he hit a rasping left foot drive in stoppage time to see off Bolton Wanderers.  Tottenham won 2-1, to keep pace with the top four.  Aston Villa and Fulham drew 2-2 at Villa Park, with Clint Dempsey earning the away side a valuable point.  Kyle Walker scored the goal of the match, on the night he was called into the England squad for the first time by Fabio Capello.

It was an amazing weekend of gripping Premiership action; totally breathless and captivating.  After a pointless international set of friendlies in midweek, bring on next weekend!  We only have a Manchester derby to look forward to.