Birmingham City 0 Aston Villa 1 - Birmingham Post analysis
Sep 14 2009 by Andy Walker, Birmingham Post
Birmingham City 0 Aston Villa 1
Gabriel Agbonlahor repeated his Second City derby-winning antics at St Andrew’s to hand Aston Villa the bragging rights of Birmingham.
After a tight encounter, Agbonlahor pounced with five minutes of normal time remaining to head home a John Carew flick-on and settle an intriguing battle.
It would have been a familiar feeling for the Erdington-raised striker, as it was he who struck an 87th minute winner the last time these neighbours met at St Andrew’s on Remembrance Day, 2007.
The result was slightly harsh on Birmingham who had put in a sterling display against opposition who, on paper, many would consider to be far superior. The Blues’ performance was certainly a far cry from the one they produced during the 5-1 thrashing at Villa Park last April and Alex McLeish’s side remain a solid outfit.
The hosts were hit by a pre-match blow following the news that right-back Stephen Carr, arguably Birmingham’s most consistent player since arriving in February, was ruled out with a hamstring injury. That meant that Finland international Teemu Tainio came into the starting line-up to make his debut as a makeshift full-back.
The only other change from the side that lost at Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago was Keith Fahey in for Lee Carsley, to help give the home side’s midfield a more attacking edge.
Villa meanwhile started the game with a trio of derby day debutants in defence. Summer signings Richard Dunne, Stephen Warnock and James Collins all came in for Ciaran Clark, Nicky Shorey and Habib Beye from the side that beat Fulham at Villa Park a fortnight ago.
While Birmingham started much the brighter side, it was the visitors who created the first goal-scoring opportunity in the eighth minute. Agbonlahor used his new-found muscle to casually brush away Tainio and set up James Milner inside the area, but the England international dragged his effort wide of the mark.
Although the Finn had been outdone on that occasion, he didn’t look too out of his depth in a position that he had only previously played in on a couple of occasions for former club Tottenham.
The Blues were playing the better football and it was only a matter of time before they carved out their own chances at the other end. Garry O’Connor and Sebastian Larsson both had successive shots scrambled away by the Villa defence, the former effort looking as if it had struck Warnock’s arm.
Milner wasted a further opportunity from 18 yards in the 21st minute, this time he failed to fully connect with Agbonlahor’s cross from the right after the delivery had slipped past Roger Johnson.
Birmingham continued to be the better side and after Lee Bowyer had a shot tipped wide by Brad Friedel, former Villa trainee Fahey watched his long-range effort bobble narrowly wide of the right post.
