Birmingham 1 Bowyer (89) v Man Utd 1 Berbatov (58)
28 DECEMBER 2010, ST ANDREW'S ATTENDANCE 28,242
Report by Ben Hibbs
United are back at the Barclays Premier League’s summit, ahead of noisy neighbours Manchester City who'd temporarily gone top with a 4-0 win over Aston Villa. But the lead, by goal difference only, is not as commanding as Sir Alex Ferguson would have liked after a typically hard-fought 1-1 draw at Birmingham City.
It looked like a moment of magic and yet another goal from the league’s top goalscorer, Dimitar Berbatov, had given United victory in a game characterised by its battling qualities rather than its technical brilliance. But Sir Alex’s men can justifiably feel aggrieved at the dubious fashion with which Birmingham snatched a last-minute equaliser through Lee Bowyer.
United remain the sole unbeaten team in England, and are now only the seventh club in top-flight history to enter the New Year without defeat in the league. Most importantly Sir Alex's men are top of the table, with games in hand on City and Chelsea. But there was more than a tinge of frustration at the manner in which the Reds were forced to end 2010.
Despite there being little over 48 hours between the visit to St Andrew’s and the comfortable 2-0 Boxing Day win over Sunderland, Sir Alex made only one alteration to his starting line-up – Darron Gibson coming in for Ji-sung Park, who is now on Asian Cup duty with South Korea until the end of January. The lack of personnel changes may not entirely have been down to choice - Nani would undoubtedly have been recalled had he overcome a hip injury, while Darren Fletcher was fit enough only for the bench after missing the Sunderland clash through illness.
The Reds started out in a 4-2-3-1 set-up, with Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson sitting deeper and allowing the in-form Anderson to push on, while Ryan Giggs started on the right, Wayne Rooney took up a position on the left and Berbatov was stationed up front on his own.
As Birmingham chose a defensive 4-5-1 system, United did much of the pressing and had most of the ball in the first fifteen minutes. The Reds’ first effort on goal came from Rooney, who shifted in-field and fired a shot wide of former United goalkeeper Ben Foster’s post. Rooney came into the game without a league goal since August, although he has shown form playing deep behind Berbatov.
On 18 minutes, Giggs hit a post with a misdirected right-foot cross that deceived Foster. After getting a fingertip to the ball, the keeper was able to share a wry smile with his former team-mate, indicating the Welshman's lack of goalscoring intent. But United’s early domination dissipated like the pre-match fog, and a flurry of tackles and bookings told the tale of a game that became a midfield scrap.Birmingham put men behind the ball, but Alex McLeish attended United’s victory over Sunderland and knew not to allow his opponents space. His Blues side didn’t just sit back to soak up pressure, they actively pursued the men in red to stifle the visitors' attacking threat. Carrick and Anderson, so crucial to kick-starting forward forays, were never given time on the ball.
It was the type of game that required brilliance to break the deadlock, and it arrived on 59 minutes from the top flight's leading goalscorer. Berbatov not only provided the finish to put United in front. It was his incisive skill - a flick to Gibson who returned the ball to the Bulgarian - that enabled him to fire the ball past Foster at his near post. Berbatov almost grabbed a second a minute later with more fleet-footed trickery on the edge of the box. He danced away from two defenders before his low-struck shot ricocheted off the post with the keeper beaten once again.
The goal opened up the game and United looked increasingly dangerous going forward. Gibson wasn’t far off with a shot from the edge of the box that went whistling past the post. But the fragility of the Reds' advantage was not lost on the Birmingham players, or their supporters, who urged their team forward in the final fifteen minutes. And with eight minutes remaining, the home side introduced giant Serbian striker Nikola Zigic as a target man.
Initially his compatriot, Nemanja Vidic, almost grabbed the game’s second goal, as he forced a save from Foster with a powerful header from Giggs’ corner. However, with the clock ticking down towards the 90-minute mark, it was Zigic that played the crucial role in a late, late twist in the tale. The towering Serbian almost inevitably won an aerial battle in the box, but he first appeared to foul Rio Ferdinand, then the ball came off his hand and into the path of the arguably offside Bowyer, who beat Edwin van der Sar from close-range to snatch a point.
Credit: Manchester United Ltd (www.manutd.com)
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