Commentary: Birmingham 3 Man City 1

Last updated: 29th March 2008

McLeish Alex

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FULL-TIME: Birmingham deserved all three points with Man City failing to trouble Maik Taylor too much. A goal before the interval from Zarate set the Blues alight and his clinical finish in the second-half killed off Man City. The away side were awarded a penalty which was taken well by Elano to force the comeback but McSheffrey made sure all three points stayed in the Midlands after he went down under Sun Jihai's challenge in the box and scored from the penalty spot, Thanks for the e-mails, final score 3-1.

90 - Substitution: Goalscorer Zarate makes way for Garry O'Connor with three minutes added on

E-mail: Villa fan Clare has her prayers answered with the score now 3-1 it looks like the three points are staying at St Andrews so she won't be suffering her brother's Blues temper tantrums tonight!

77 - GOAL!!! McSheffrey steps up after the decision and takes the penalty and dispatches it well

77 - Penalty: Sun Jihai and Gary McSheffrey go into a 50-50 shoulder challenge and the Man City midfielder falls over to win the penalty

76 - Booking: After going down easily earlier, Caicedo goes into the book for deliberate handball

Can Birmingham hold on? Send me your thoughts: hayley.paterson@bskyb.com

75 - Substitution: Dietmar Hamann makes way for Geovanni - who gets straight into the action, makes a yard of space for himself and unleashes a shot to test Taylor

70 - Substitution: Stuart Parnaby comes on for Mikael Forssell to sure up the defence as Man City press for the equaliser

61 - Caicedo run: Man City's cub Caicedo had a jinking run at Birmingham's back four but over-runs it and looks for the penalty, getting a stern warning from Styles

59 - GOAL!!! Elano stepped up to slot the ball into the corner giving Maik Taylor no chance, and the goal seems to have answered Duncan's e-mail prayers... can Man City capitalise on Birmingham's ten men?

55 - Penalty: Benjani goes down under the challenge of Queudrue who sees red!

54 - GOAL!!! McSheffrey lays off a clinical ball to Zarate who takes it on the turn and plants it into the bottom corner, superb controlled finish - and he seems to have trebled his tally in the space of 53 minutes!

50 - Struggling: Benjani's been feeding on crumbs today as Man City struggle to make the tactical changes count in the early stages, Vassell is seeing a lot more of the ball though

46 - Tactical change: Sven has opted for a more 4-4-1-1 with Elano pushing up more just behind Benjani and Vassell on the right, can it work?

SECOND-HALF: The second half gets underway and Stez2005 is straight onto the e-mail and feels Man City shouldn't rely on Hart and Dunne so much with the defence needing to tighten up, especially Sun Jihai. Whereas Stu feels Zarate is a God and just what can spark St Andrews this season... but fears that a 2-1 defeat could be on because they have failed to kill off games once ahead

HALF-TIME: The home side have dominated the first-half and got their just rewards in the 40th minute when Mauro Zarate delicately lobbed the ball over Joe Hart. A weakened Man City side need to get Elano on the ball more if they are to start creating chances. Let me know what you think: hayley.paterson@bskyb.com

40 - GOAL!!! Zarate latches onto a throughball from Queudrue after Dunne fails to clear and lobs it over Hart for the opener. Unfortunately for Duncan and Jan, their e-mail prediction of a 0-0 is no longer on the cards... I hope they didn't have money on it.

38 - Hart trouble: Joe Hart shows great awareness when he collects the ball on the run and releases just before the edge of the box, Birmingham fans appeal for the handball but to no avail

33 - Overhead kick: Queudrue, an unlikely goalscoring source, tries to open his account with an audacious overhead kick, Hart tips over the bar

32 - Close call: Larsson puts in another testing ball which Dunne stretches to stop the advancing McSheffrey, thankfully Hart sees it over the bar after a heart-stopping moment

E-mails: Thanks for the e-mails coming in, most Man City fans are well behind their team and are applauding the great season so far, but are searching for that illusive goal-scoring striker. Any thoughts on who Sven could bring in? And what do Birmingham City fans feel for their season hopes?

25 - Scrappy middle: The game has died down from a lively first 20 minutes. Both sides are looking for the breakthrough and it may take a moment of magic to get the opener

21 - Clearance: Larsson finds space in the box and opts to pull the ball back with the advancing Sun Jihai connecting and nearly planting it into the roof of his own net

20 - Wall: The wall stays firm blocking the setpiece specialist's effort and McSheffrey continues to nurse a knock on his knee but groggily carries on

19 - Freekick: Johnson goes down under a Stephen Ireland challenge as Seb Larsson steps up to take the kick

Remember to e-mail hayley.paterson@bskyb.com with your thoughts and views on the season so far for Birmingham and Man City

15 - Jaidi chance: Radhi Jaidi has another chance with a point-blank header cleared off the line by Elano for the best chance of the game

14 - Box melee: Larsson plays in a teasing freekick and when it is half cleared, Jaidi stands the ball up to the back post causing havoc in the six yard box

9 - Forssell header: The Finnish international has half a chance to break the deadlock but has his header saved with Zarate unable to follow up before Hart collects

7 - Woodwork: Elano was given far too much time on the ball and slotted it into Benjani who was one-on-one with Taylor but strikes the post

5 - Lively start: Birmingham look the brighter of the two, Joe Hart gets a rush of blood to the head and inside his own box decides to chest the ball and take it on himself before clearing it

3 - Birmingham corner: The home side win the first corner of the day and Benjani half clears. Forssell chests down the ball to unleash a shot and feels he was impeded, but Styles waves play on

Kick-off: Man City kick off the cold and windy day at St Andrews

Man in the middle: Rob Styles

Man City team news: Hart, Jihai, Onuoha, Dunne, Garrido, Vassell, Gelson, Hamann, Ireland, Elano, Mwaruwari. Subs: Isaksson, Geovanni, Mpenza, Corluka, Caicedo

Birmingham team news: Maik Taylor, Kelly, Jaidi, Queudrue, Murphy, Larsson, Muamba, Johnson, McSheffrey, Forssell, Zarate. Subs: Doyle, O'Connor, Jerome, Nafti, Parnaby

Welcome to Skysports.com's live coverage of the tale of two cities at St Andrews. I will be your host for the evening so get in touch throughout the game and let me know your views by e-mailing: hayley.paterson@bskyb.com. Can Man City be victorious and push for that lucrative European spot? Or will Birmingham provide an upset and keep them adrift from the drop zone?