Paul Furlong came off the bench to grab a double for Birmingham and
consolidate their First Division play-off place.
Furlong, who has missed most of the season with a leg injury, made a dramatic
impact on the local derby with his two goals which plunged Walsall back into the
bottom three.
It was a double substitution by manager Trevor Francis which inspired the win.
He was obviously far from happy with the finishing of Dele Adebola and Marcelo.
As a result they were both replaced by Furlong and teenager Andrew Johnson.
The impact was immediate with Furlong breaking the stalemate in the 70th
minute when he scored from close range following a flashing header into the
heart of Walsall's defence by Gary Rowett.
It was Furlong who sealed the game in an incident-packed final minute when he
converted a penalty for his 11th goal of the season.
Andrew Johnson raced clear but he was brought down inside the area by
substitute Tony Barras.
Barras had been booked only two minutes previously and referee Neale Barry had
no hesitation in showing him the second yellow card followed by the red.
Furlong stepped up for the spot-kick and coolly slotted his shot to the right
of Walsall keeper James Walker.
It had been Walker who had done much to keep the Saddlers in the game with a
brilliant first-half display when he denied both Marcelo and Adebola with superb
saves.
Walsall defended gamely in the first half when Ian Roper and Adrian Viveash
were outstanding.
Unfortunately for Walsall they lost the services of Roper after 39 minutes. He
was forced to leave the field with concussion after earlier being involved in a
collision with Adebola.
Walsall, who now appear destined to return to the Second Division, had little
attacking flair to upset a dominant Birmingham side who could derive
satisfaction from the win as they gained revenge for their defeat at Bescot
Stadium earlier in the season.
Surprisingly, it was the first defeat suffered by Walsall in any of their six
local derby games this season.
Teams
Birmingham: Myhre, Rowett, Holdsworth, Purse, M. Johnson,
McCarthy, Hughes, Grainger (Hyde 66), Lazaridis,
Adebola (A. Johnson 56), Marcelo (Furlong 56).
Subs Not Used: Charlton, Campbell.
Booked: McCarthy.
Goals: Furlong 70, 90 pen.
Walsall: Walker, Marsh, Viveash, Roper (Barras 39), Padula,
Vlachos, Keates, Hall, Matias (Wrack 46), Robins (Ricketts 74),
Rammell.
Subs Not Used: Fenton, Bukran.
Sent Off: Barras (90).
Booked: Rammell, Barras.
Att: 24,268
Ref: N Barry (Scunthorpe).
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