 |
barry ferguson breaks duck – and nottingham forest's fa cup hopes
|
the power of competition for places had an immediate impact for birmingham city last night as michel, their new £2.9 million signing from sporting gijón, was introduced to the st andrew’s crowd of 9,399 and then watched as barry ferguson, whose anchorman role he will covet, scored his first goal for the club. ferguson has been imperious this season since joining from rangers for £1 million, but he rarely gets into the opposing penalty area. last night, he popped up at the right time to score the goal that earned birmingham a visit to everton in the fourth round. it was fitting that joe hart, the goalkeeper, should be named birmingham’s man of the match and, when nathan tyson skied garath mccleary’s cross over the bar late on, nottingham forest knew that they would be left to concentrate on their push for promotion from the coca-cola championship. there was a cup shock even before kick-off. while billy davies’s selection clarified where forest’s priorities lie, with seven alterations from the team that beat west bromwich albion on friday, alex mcleish named the same xi that have started birmingham’s past nine barclays premier league games, culminating in saturday’s 1-1 draw with manchester united. this may have been the championship’s irresistible force against the premier league’s immovable object — forest had not lost in 18 matches going into this game while birmingham were amassing their 13-game unbeaten sequence — but mcleish’s logic was clear. the elite teams, those not knocked out of this competition by leeds united, are going to find themselves tested more than usual in this refreshingly egalitarian premier league campaign, and may drop the fa cup down their priorities. the cup could be won by a steady, resilient top-flight side who harbour no relegation worries. come on in, birmingham? that seemed a reasonable theory. but birmingham were woeful in the first period. even if this was all but forest’s second string, davies has his team playing with zip and confidence. they were the better side for the first 45 minutes, but could not fashion a clear-cut chance until a shot from dele adebola, the birmingham old boy, deflected into the path of david mcgoldrick. the former southampton striker had time to compose himself but, as he swivelled to shoot, hart sprung from his line, spread himself and saved superbly. if mcleish did utilise the hairdryer during the interval, it soon had the desired effect. cameron jerome pulled down sebastian larsson’s long through-pass only to turn and shoot into lee camp’s hands with christian benítez better placed, but then birmingham went ahead in the 62nd minute. when mccleary ballooned his clearance awkwardly, ferguson, exchanging a one-two with benítez, calmly scored from 15 yards with his left foot. “i’m scratching my head when i reflect on the two games,” davies said. “it’s all about taking your chances. joe hart? he’s been a pain in the backside. he’s been on top form.” birmingham city (4-4-2): j hart — s carr, r johnson, s dann, l ridgewell — s larsson, b ferguson, l bowyer (sub: k fahey, 65min), j mcfadden (sub: d johnson, 76) — c benítez (sub: k phillips, 69), c jerome. substitutes not used: maik taylor, martin taylor, g mcsheffrey, f queudrue. booked: bowyer, ferguson.
nottingham forest (4-4-2): l camp — j perch, w morgan, l chambers, c cohen — g mccleary (sub: p anderson, 81), g moussi (sub: c gunter, 72), l mcgugan, n tyson — d mcgoldrick (sub: j garner, 67), d adebola. substitutes not used: p smith, r majewski, j lynch, b moloney. booked: mcgoldrick.
referee: k friend.
... and the road ahead is long
sol campbell will complete a remarkable return to arsenal today by signing a contract at the emirates stadium until the end of the season. the former england defender played in last night’s reserve-team match against west ham united at upton park and then revealed that talks about a permanent contract are already at an advanced stage. it was campbell’s first appearance in an arsenal shirt since may 2006 and he coped well before coming off at half-time.
... is there a lingering resentment at the way he was treated by his employers when all he was doing, in his estimation, when he “got rid” of peter moores, was putting the interests of the team ahead of his own? all these are the added complications, layer upon layer, of a career in the spotlight
... ” but with manchester city having illustrated their determination to win a place in next season’s champions league, liverpool can ill afford to allow their squad to be further depleted by the possible departure of babel, who is interesting several european clubs, without benitez being given the go-ahead to find a replacement
... coached by local man faouzi benzarti, who was snapped up after being sacked by libya, tunisia are seeded to go through with group favourites cameroon ahead of zambia and gabon
... 'liverpool will press ahead with building work once an initiative to raise £120m extra investment is concluded in the next couple of months
... with japan travelling to europe and africa in recent months looking for tough tests ahead of the 2010 world cup, a chance for some competitive games at home is just what coach takeshi okada ordered
... hughton has hinted that he may play kevin nolan giving him some match time ahead of their next league game against west brom
... " looking ahead at the plymouth replay tomorrow night he said; "it will be an experienced team that plays tomorrow night
If you want have last news about
ahead
in your rss reader , you can use this link .