SOCCER/ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE/Birmingham 1 Newcastle Utd 1:FOR MUCH of his time on Tyneside, Michael Owen has been more of a hindrance than a help to Newcastle's cause but last night the England international provided a timely and crucial reminder of his innate ability to turn matches. Watched by the England manager Fabio Capello, Owen struck his seventh goal of an underwhelming season to secure Newcastle the point that should restore a modicum of stability to St James' Park until Saturday.
It was not enough to bring Kevin Keegan his first victory since returning to Newcastle some 61 days ago, but after four successive defeats the manager should be grateful for small mercies. Outplayed and outfought before the interval, Newcastle recovered to rescue a result that sees them climb above Reading to 14th place.
It is difficult to believe that anyone other than Keegan would respond to a crisis by naming three centre forwards in their starting line-up. The inclusion of Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins alongside Michael Owen was perhaps not surprising given that the Newcastle manager has long deemed scoring rather than stopping goals to be the key to success. Four Birmingham chances inside the opening 16 minutes suggested Keegan might regret his decision.
Encouraged by the huge spaces that opened up in front of them, Birmingham tore at the heart of the Newcastle defence. Panic was etched across the faces of the Newcastle backline. James McFadden had already seen a swerving shot deflected wide when Fabrice Muamba snatched at a more presentable chance in the 10th minute.
Against that backdrop, there was a sense of inevitably about Birmingham's breakthrough. David Murphy, released by Damien Johnson's square pass, floated a hopeful ball into the penalty area that Abdoulaye Faye ought to have comfortably cleared.
Instead the central defender allowed McFadden to steal the ball and the forward, whose movement and trickery troubled Newcastle throughout, steered a low shot past the stranded Stephen Harper.
The only surprise was that it had taken 33 minutes for Birmingham to confirm their superiority in the game.
An improvement was the least Newcastle's travelling fans were entitled to expect and tangible reward for a more purposeful start to the second half arrived in the 56th minute. Owen had threatened moments earlier when he was denied by Maik Taylor's courageous save but there was to be no second reprieve. Martins's low shot drew another smart stop from Taylor but this time Owen, the doyen of the tap-in, made no mistake as he stabbed the rebound into the far corner.
Alex McLeish, Birmingham's manager, will rue the concession, not least because there had been several chances to clear in the lead-up to the goal. Birmingham's belief had been shaken although the home team continued to trouble Newcastle. Substitute Stuart Parnaby might have done better with a looping header after Steven Taylor, not for the first time, failed to complete what should have been a routine clearance.
BIRMINGHAM: Maik Taylor, Kelly, Jaidi, Ridgewell, Murphy, Larsson (Parnaby 46), Muamba, Johnson, McSheffrey, Forssell (Jerome 71), McFadden (Zarate 86). Subs Not Used: Doyle, Nafti. Booked: Kelly, Parnaby.
NEWCASTLE: Harper, Beye, Faye, Taylor, Jose Enrique, Barton, Geremi, Butt, Martins (N'Zogbia 80), Owen, Viduka. Subs Not Used: Forster, Cacapa, Smith, Carroll. Booked: Geremi, Taylor.
Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).
