Filed under: Birmingham, Sunderland, Premier League, Match Reports
Craig Gardner scored for the second successive time at St Andrew's to extend the agony for former manager Steve Bruce and ease Birmingham City's relegation fears.The self-confessed Birmingham fan is doing all he can to make sure Alex McLeish's side do not suffer the indignation of winning the Carling Cup this season and sliding into the Championship.
Birmingham's top scorer collected his ninth goal of the campaign to push McLeish and Co level on points with Sunderland as Bruce was sentenced to his eighth defeat in nine games as the Black Cats continue to nose-dive towards relegation.
It completed a hugely disappointing return to his former club for Bruce as Sunderland's wait for a victory at St Andrew's extended to 28-years.
But Bruce will be left wondering how his side dominated for huge periods of the game and still failed to score for the fourth away game in succession as the alarm bells start to ring louder at the Stadium of Light.
The crucial moment which swung the game in favour of the hosts perfectly encapsulated the troubles being suffered by Bruce and his side and raised further question marks over why Bruce continues to operate with Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet ahead of Craig Gordon.
Mignolet's mad rush from his goal line five minutes before the interval, to collect Cameron Jerome's flick-on was a needless one as Phil Bardsley looked to have the situation under control.
But Mignolet failed to intercept the loose ball and Bardsley, under pressure from Sebastian Larsson, pushed the ball beyond his goalkeeper and into the empty net, despite the Swedish international claiming the goal.
Sunderland had enough chances to have equalised. Jordan Henderson was guilty of missing the target at the end of an incisive move he started, involving Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck and Sunderland dominated large sections of the encounter, but were unable to convert their periods of supremacy into tangible rewards.
Stephane Sessegnon saw a shot cleared off the line by Roger Johnson and Lee Cattermole's shot from the edge of the area was well saved low down by Ben Foster and on-loan Manchester United striker Welbeck saw a close-range header from Henderson's corner, tipped over by the England goalkeeper.
Mignolet's desperate day was complete 25 mintues from time when Gardner unleashed a swerving shot from 25-yards and to defeat the Belgian for a second time and give Birmingham a five-point cushion above the drop zone.
McLeish knows that victory was a fortunate one, but is more than happy to accept the points:
"It was a big, big win for us. We had a fantastic start and then we took our foot off the gas and that suited Sunderland.
"We nearly came unstuck because of that and our first goal was against the run of play, but we will take it and it was a great gamble by Seb Larsson."
On the debate over the first goal scorer:
"I don't know who got the final touch. I have been told that it was Seb, but I have not seen the replays.
"Seb deserves credit for the fact he gambled and chased what was a lost cause. You never know what might happen. The defender can slip and if you don't buy a ticket you cannot win the raffle."
On the performance of Roger Johnson:
"He is colossal for us. He has played through injuries and he has put himself on the line all season. He does not miss a single minute of a single game.
"I hope we can keep pushing him on for another three or four years at this club. The Premier League is so demanding and I can't remember us having an easy game all season. We have been put through a really difficult test in every match."
On how many points will be needed to stay up:
"I did not say we were safe. 38 points is a lot better than 35 points, but we cannot look any further than our next game against Chelsea.
"No one expects us to get anything from that, but we have been in similar positions in the season and got something when least expected."
On the way the team has recovered from the Carling Cup win:
"We suffered mentally after that. A lot of the players in the team had not won a trophy and they felt they were on holiday and the season was not over. We have re-grouped really well and done a lot of hard work."
On the performance of Craig Gardner:
"I think he can improve technically and in his understanding of the game, but he has been superb for us. The pass from Hleb was outstanding, because it gave him a free shot and I fear for all goalkeepers when Gardner is in that situation.
Bruce was at a loss to explain why his side could play so well and leave empty handed:
"There have been a few weeks previously when our performances have not been good enough, but I cannot fault the players and a young side for their efforts.
"We have done enough in the game to have got something out of it. We have to take the positives and try to take that into our next game."
On the performance of Mignolet:
"You cannot afford individual errors. The goalkeeper has been excellent for us all season, so I don't want to be too hard on him, but he will be disappointed with the errors."
On the fact that Sunderland's fate is still in their own hands:
"We have back to back home games coming up and we could not wish for anything better than that.
"If we play like that next week we can still finish the season with a flourish and turn things around."
On whether Sunderland have to be considered relegation candidates:
"We are in it, there is no doubt about that. With five games to go, I feel there are ten teams who could go down and we have to be included in that.
On how many points he believes are needed for safety:
"38 points is not safe. One win might be enough. The players are intelligent enough to know they do not have enough points right now."
WHAT IT MEANS: One more win for both sides could be enough to secure safety, but while Birmingham appear to have forward momentum, Sunderland are stuck in reverse and short of confidence. Next weekend's visit of Wigan to the Stadium of Light is fixture which is now taking on even more significance. Anything other than victory will only serve to deepen the mood.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/04/16/birmingham-2-sunderland-0-craig-gardner-steve-bruce-football/
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Monaco Juan Roman Riquelme Juninho Pernambucano Jurgen Melzer
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