Birmingham teetering on the precipice

Birmingham City 0 Fulham 2:BIRMINGHAM CITY will be in Europe next season but they may not be in the Premier League. The club's sorry form since beating Arsenal to win the League Cup in February, their first significant silverware in 48 years, reached a new low with this wretched defeat by Fulham and means that even an improbable victory away to Tottenham Hotspur next week may not be sufficient to secure survival.

If Blackpool and Wigan Athletic win by greater margins, at Manchester United and Stoke City respectively, Birmingham will be demoted. “We’ve got to lick ourselves and believe,” said a defiant Alex McLeish.

Birmingham’s jitters were obvious from the outset and Fulham, playing with the vigour and slickness of a side still capable of achieving Mark Hughes’s target of a seventh-placed finish, immediately tore into them, Danny Murphy registering a shot on target within 20 seconds.

Less than a minute later Ben Foster betrayed his nerves and put his defence in a panic with a mishit clearance. That defence was in further disarray in the third minute when Andy Johnson fired the ball across goal, but Clint Dempsey scooped over from two yards.

Birmingham continued to reel and nearly conceded a freak goal in the third minute.

Foster misjudged a mighty drop-kick by his Fulham counterpart, Mark Schwarzer, and let the ball bounce over him. He averted humiliation by backpedalling frantically and pawing the ball behind for a corner – but from that corner Fulham took the lead.

Brede Hangeland stole a march on Roger Johnson to powerfully head Jonathan Greening’s delivery into the net from close range.

Rather than rebel, Birmingham remained a rabble. Andy Johnson, unmarked six yards from goal, headed wide in the ninth minute. In the 13th minute Birmingham finally mustered a shot, but David Bentley’s token effort was easily saved by Schwarzer.

Steve Sidwell posed a sterner test to Foster two minutes later but this time the keeper held the shot. He, like his dithering defenders, was motionless on the half-hour mark, when Bobby Zamora met a Greening free-kick unchallenged. His header bounced out off the post.

Birmingham steadied themselves a little after that and before the break a Kevin Phillips header that was deflected wide reminded Fulham that they were not alone on the pitch. Zamora would have been forgiven for thinking otherwise two minutes into the second period, as no one was near him when he met a Murphy pass but he headed straight at Foster.

Moments later Sidwell cracked a shot off the base of the post.

In the 49th minute Fulham got the second goal that was the least they deserved. Again it came from a corner and again Birmingham’s defending was shambolic. Zamora was allowed to head a Greening corner at goal from three yards, Barry Ferguson headed off the line but Hangeland guided the ball into the net from six yards.

Birmingham’s goal difference was now in danger of taking a battering but, mercifully, Fulham seemed to ease off.

It was never likely that Birmingham would mount a convincing comeback.