The race for a top four finish remains wide open after Tottenham were held 1-1 by Birmingham.
Spurs held by last-gasp Blues
The race for a top four finish remains wide open after Tottenham were held 1-1 by Birmingham at St Andrews.
Jermain Defoe looked to have kept Harry Redknapp's side clear of the chasing pack, but a late leveller from Liam Ridgewell has given hope to Liverpool and co.
A tame first half saw defences very much on top, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut opportunities.
Luka Modric did send a snap-shot inches past the post for Spurs, while Christian Benitez rolled straight at Heurelho Gomes after leaving Michael Dawson on the deck, but that was as close as either team came to forcing a breakthrough.
The standard was raised slightly after the interval, and it was Tottenham who edged themselves in front after 69 minutes.
Gareth Bale swung over a cross from the left, Peter Crouch got the faintest of flicks and Defoe made no mistake as he rifled past Joe Hart from eight yards out.
Birmingham offered a positive response to falling behind and they hauled themselves level in the first minute of stoppage time.
Cameron Jerome rose highest to meet a high cross to the back post and his knock down was bundled home by Ridgewell.
Impressive
The visitors were the better side for long periods with David Bentley impressing on the right wing and full-back Bale getting forward on the opposite flank to good effect.
And the poor finishing of City striker Benitez highlighted why Alex McLeish is in the market for a striker with Spurs' Roman Pavlyuchenko remaining top of his wish list.
But Birmingham this season have had that never-say-die quality about their performances - and it surfaced again.
Blues leading scorer Lee Bowyer had a good chance to open the scoring after four minutes.
James McFadden linked up well with Benitez before playing the ball into the path of the midfielder 15 yards out.
But Bowyer did not make a full contact with his low drive and Gomes was able to save away to his right.
A mistake by Bowyer almost proved costly after his loose pass was seized onto by Bentley.
His shot was blocked by Ridgewell but the rebound fell invitingly to Modric who would have been disappointed to screw his shot past the far post.
McLeish seemed unhappy with the way his side had started judging by the verbal volley he aimed at his players who were guilty of some casual and sloppy play.
Squandered
But Birmingham squandered another good opening on the counter-attack with Benitez this time guilty of some poor finishing.
Jerome created the chance and then Benitez found himself with only Gomes to beat after turning inside Dawson.
But he fired a low weak drive straight at the Brazilian keeper when he could have picked his spot.
Bentley continued to pose a threat to the home side and he went past Ridgewell before unleashing a fierce shot from a narrow angle which Hart turned aside for a corner.
Birmingham forced a trio of corners in quick succession and the third of them from McFadden flew right across the six yard box but no-one was able to apply a finishing touch.
Tottenham began the second half on the offensive and Hart went down to his left to smother a shot from Bentley 12 yards out and was able to gather the rebound.
Crouch missed Spurs' best chance of the game to date after 52 minutes.
Defoe was released by Wilson Palacios and then slightly mis-controlled the ball, but it fell invitingly to Crouch who stabbed a weak effort wide.
Cautions
Roger Johnson became the first player to be yellow carded after 57 minutes for showing dissent towards a referee's assistant.
Then Palacios was booked for bringing down Bowyer on the edge of the Spurs box.
The cautions were now coming thick and fast with Bowyer going into the notebook for a lunge at Palacios.
Tottenham's pressure finally paid off after 69 minutes when Bale's centre was flicked on by Crouch - and Defoe did the rest from close range.
Birmingham tried to retaliate and Benitez beat the offside trap to find himself clear of the Spurs defence.
But the Ecuador international opted to cut back inside and, by the time he elected to shoot, Spurs had enough players back to block his shot.
Defoe was booked for deliberate handball as the home side tried to build up some momentum.
McFadden sliced a shot wide after a deflected drive from Jerome had fallen into his path.
Then, in injury time, Ridgewell equalised for City after Jerome had headed a McFadden centre back across goal.
| Birmingham City |
Team Statistics |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
9 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
9 |
| 5 |
Corners |
8 |
| 13 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 4 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 70.4 |
Passing Success |
67.5 |
| 19 |
Tackles |
20 |
| 63.2 |
Tackles Success |
70 |
| 52.7 |
Possession |
47.3 |
| 48.5 |
Territorial Advantage |
51.5 |
|
