Nikola Zigic's late goal was his third in three Premier League games

By Les Roopanarine

An injury-time goal from Nikola Zigic against an obdurate Stoke side gave Birmingham back-to back Premier League wins for the first time in 14 months.

The 6ft 8ins Serbia international nodded in a Cameron Jerome cross after Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic had spilled David Bentley's low shot.

Jermaine Pennant went close for Stoke from a free-kick, but they were lucky not to concede a second-half penalty.

Robert Huth handled a Bentley shot, only for the offence to go unnoticed.

Despite the late drama, it was for the most part an afternoon when entertainment was at a premium.

Indeed, it was clear from the outset that anyone hoping for a repeat of last weekend's Premier League goal glut would have to look beyond St Andrew's.

Statistics and truth can be uneasy bedfellows when it comes to football, but one fact could not be ignored: neither side has a player with more than seven goals to his name.

It was never a likely recipe for a feast of entertaining football, and so it proved, but that will not worry Alex McLeish a jot.

The Birmingham manager had called on his players to capitalise on the feelgood factor surrounding the club, and the win extended their unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions. The small matter of a Carling Cup final appearance also lies ahead.

Like Birmingham, Stoke have not been in the habit of picking up consecutive league wins. They last did so in mid-November, while it was Boxing Day when they last won away from the Potteries.

Yet it could have been so different for Tony Pulis's side, who weathered a good start by the hosts to create the lion's share of what few first-half chances came along.

The initial signs that Stoke might add to a modest tally of three away wins were not good, mainly because Sebastian Larsson appeared intent on stamping the hosts' authority on the match.

With three minutes gone, the Sweden international swung in a cross from deep for Zigic, only for the big Serb to head over under pressure from Huth.

He later sent over a free-kick to defender Roger Johnson, whose header was only just held by Begovic.

However, until Gardner stole the ball from Dean Whitehead in the centre circle with the half-hour approaching, setting off on a run which culminated with a testing long-range shot - with debutant Obafemi Martins lurking, Begovic gathered at the second time of asking - Stoke looked the more credible contenders to break the deadlock.

As Larsson was the creative fulcrum for Birmingham, so the bustling Pennant provided the ammunition for the visitors.

In Kenwyne Jones and John Carew, the big Norway international on loan from Aston Villa, Pennant enjoyed the benefit of a pair of almost unmissable targets, and the former Liverpool man's cultured delivery from the right flank frequently made life uncomfortable for Ben Foster in the Birmingham goal.

But while the two strapping front men battered Foster, they could not better him, and in the absence of tangible reward for his creative efforts, Pennant almost took matters into his own hands, curling a low free-kick inches wide of Foster's left-hand upright.

First-half goals have not exactly been Stoke's forte of late, however - they remain the only team in England not to have scored in the opening 15 minutes of a match this season - and when Bentley curled a shot just shy of the post with half-time nearing, there was a suggestion of better things to come from Birmingham.

Sure enough, they began the second half exuding the same aura of intent with which they had started the first, and might have opened the scoring through Larsson, who gathered a sweeping crossfield ball from the back, picking his way through the Stoke defence before going close with an angled effort.

The visitors were fortunate to survive a credible penalty claim when Huth blocked a Bentley effort with a raised arm. The German turned away, clutching his face, and referee Mark Halsey - who would surely have pointed to the spot had he been able to view a replay - waved play on.

A heated post-match inquest looked inevitable, but then came the match-winning contribution of Zigic, whose third league goal in as many games brought him level with Gardner as the club's leading scorer.

If he maintains his current strike-rate, the Serb's reputation for inconsistency will be in need of some serious revision.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish:

"In the second half I felt we upped the tempo a bit.

"They're a difficult side to play against - big, strong - but we could've had a penalty and I felt we merited our winner.

"We almost did a Stoke to Stoke City.

"Tony and his side have scored late goals against plenty of sides this season, and for us to get that goal with 30 seconds to go was brilliant."

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis:

"It's disappointing, because I don't think Birmingham did enough to win.

"Asmir Begovic should have cuddled that ball, it shouldn't have come off him as it did, but [overall] I thought we defended very well.

"The disappointing thing is that, from a game we thought we'd seen out, we ended up losing."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version