- English Npower Championship
- 28 April 2012, 12:30pm
- St Andrews
- Attendance: 25,516
Birmingham | v | Reading |
2
| 0 |
live commentary
Match ends, Birmingham City 2, Reading 0.
90+4 mins:Second Half ends, Birmingham City 2, Reading 0.
90+4 mins:Penalty saved! Wade Elliott (Birmingham City) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
90+3 mins:Penalty conceded by Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading) after a foul in the penalty area.
90+3 mins:Penalty Birmingham City. Chris Burke draws a foul in the penalty area.
90+1 mins:Corner, Birmingham City.
90+1 mins:Attempt saved. Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved.
88 mins:Attempt missed. Brynjar Gunnarsson (Reading) left footed shot from outside the box is too high.
88 mins:Foul by Chris Burke (Birmingham City).
88 mins:Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading) wins a free kick.
85 mins:Foul by Morgaro Gomis (Birmingham City).
85 mins:Simon Church (Reading) wins a free kick.
84 mins:Corner, Birmingham City.
83 mins:Attempt blocked. Andros Townsend (Birmingham City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
83 mins:Foul by Brynjar Gunnarsson (Reading).
83 mins:Andros Townsend (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
81 mins:Foul by Brynjar Gunnarsson (Reading).
81 mins:Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
76 mins:Foul by Morgaro Gomis (Birmingham City).
76 mins:Adam Le Fondre (Reading) wins a free kick.
75 mins:Goal! Birmingham City 2, Reading 0. Wade Elliott (Birmingham City) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
74 mins:Penalty conceded by Jay Tabb (Reading) with a hand ball in the penalty area.
71 mins:Substitution, Reading. Brynjar Gunnarsson replaces Mikele Leigertwood.
71 mins:Foul by Mikele Leigertwood (Reading).
71 mins:David Murphy (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
70 mins:Substitution, Birmingham City. Chris Burke replaces Guirane N'Daw.
68 mins:Foul by Morgaro Gomis (Birmingham City).
68 mins:Mikele Leigertwood (Reading) wins a free kick.
66 mins:Foul by Jay Tabb (Reading).
66 mins:Guirane N'Daw (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
66 mins:Penalty saved! Ian Harte (Reading) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, left footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
64 mins:Penalty conceded by Guirane N'Daw (Birmingham City) after a foul in the penalty area.
64 mins:Penalty Reading. Alex Pearce draws a foul in the penalty area.
64 mins:Corner, Reading.
62 mins:Foul by Guirane N'Daw (Birmingham City).
62 mins:Simon Church (Reading) wins a free kick.
62 mins:Substitution, Reading. Shaun Cummings replaces Matthew Connolly.
61 mins:Foul by Adam Le Fondre (Reading).
61 mins:Guirane N'Daw (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
60 mins:Foul by Peter Ramage (Birmingham City).
60 mins:Jay Tabb (Reading) wins a free kick.
55 mins:Matthew Connolly (Reading) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
55 mins:Foul by Matthew Connolly (Reading).
55 mins:Andros Townsend (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
53 mins:Foul by Simon Church (Reading).
53 mins:David Murphy (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
50 mins:Attempt missed. Wade Elliott (Birmingham City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Andros Townsend with a cross.
49 mins:Attempt missed. Jobi McAnuff (Reading) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Adam Le Fondre with a cross.
Second Half begins Birmingham City 1, Reading 0.
45+4 mins:First Half ends, Birmingham City 1, Reading 0.
45+3 mins:Pablo Ibáñez (Birmingham City) hits the woodwork with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Wade Elliott with a cross.
45+3 mins:Foul by Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading).
45+3 mins:Andros Townsend (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
45+2 mins:Corner, Birmingham City.
45 mins:Corner, Reading.
43 mins:Foul by Andros Townsend (Birmingham City).
43 mins:Mikele Leigertwood (Reading) wins a free kick.
42 mins:Corner, Reading.
42 mins:Attempt saved. Adam Le Fondre (Reading) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved.
37 mins:David Murphy (Birmingham City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
37 mins:Foul by David Murphy (Birmingham City).
37 mins:Jobi McAnuff (Reading) wins a free kick.
35 mins:Foul by Alex Pearce (Reading).
35 mins:Pablo Ibáñez (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
34 mins:Corner, Reading.
34 mins:Foul by Morgaro Gomis (Birmingham City).
34 mins:Jay Tabb (Reading) wins a free kick.
32 mins:Attempt blocked. Wade Elliott (Birmingham City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is blocked.
30 mins:Corner, Birmingham City.
30 mins:Attempt missed. Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City) left footed shot from outside the box is too high.
28 mins:Foul by Guirane N'Daw (Birmingham City).
28 mins:Jay Tabb (Reading) wins a free kick.
24 mins:Goal! Birmingham City 1, Reading 0. Adam Rooney (Birmingham City) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Nathan Redmond.
19 mins:Attempt missed. Simon Church (Reading) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
19 mins:Substitution, Birmingham City. Adam Rooney replaces Nikola Zigic.
17 mins:Attempt missed. Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
16 mins:Attempt saved. Curtis Davies (Birmingham City) header from the centre of the box is saved. Assisted by Andros Townsend with a cross.
15 mins:Foul by Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading).
15 mins:Wade Elliott (Birmingham City) wins a free kick.
12 mins:Foul by Guirane N'Daw (Birmingham City).
12 mins:Jay Tabb (Reading) wins a free kick.
7 mins:Attempt saved. Andros Townsend (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved.
4 mins:Corner, Reading.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
- English Npower Championship
- 28 April 2012, 12:30pm
- St Andrews
- Attendance: 25,516
| Birmingham | v | Reading |
2
| 0 |
match report
Champions Reading saw their promotion party tainted somewhat as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Birmingham and only a second loss in 19 games.
Birmingham will go into the play-offs full of confidence after the victory.
The loss, however, will be the last thing on the minds of Reading's players and staff when they deservedly lift the npower Championship trophy back in Berkshire tomorrow after a superb season on the back of last May's play-off agony at Wembley.
But Birmingham, unbeaten in nine, will take great heart from the triumph, which crucially moves them up into fourth place and with home advantage in the second leg of the play-offs against Blackpool - with the first leg at Bloomfield Road next Friday.
Substitute Adam Rooney grabbed the opener in the 24th minute before Pablo Ibanez, having twice cleared off the line, headed against a post.
Blues goalkeeper Colin Doyle, who saved two penalties from Chelsea's Juan Mata in the FA Cup earlier this season, kept out Ian Harte from the spot, and it was left for Wade Elliott to seal victory with a penalty of his own.
City could have inflicted Reading's heaviest defeat of the season in injury time but Elliott saw a second spot-kick parried away by Adam Federici.
With Birmingham's play-off place already all but mathematically secure, boss Chris Hughton was able to rest star performers Marlon King and Chris Burke to the bench while Jordon Mutch, carrying a slight ankle knock, was also omitted.
The early entertainment came courtesy of the 4,134 Reading faithful who were well and truly in party mood, with a host of inflatables making their way on to the pitch in the early stages.
Andros Townsend and Curtis Davies tested Federici before City suffered a 19th-minute blow as Nikola Zigic was unable to continue having suffered a blow to his ankle in an earlier challenge.
Royals frontman Simon Church almost immediately opened the scoring with a well-taken volley which flew narrowly over the crossbar.
But it was Blues who broke the deadlock midway through the half as Rooney, on for Zigic, converted from the middle of the penalty area after a great break down the left by Nathan Redmond.
The promising 18-year-old whistled a shot of his own narrowly over but it was the hosts who were soon clearing their lines.
Adam Le Fondre was clattered by Davies, with appeals for a penalty, but the ball passed Doyle and had to be hacked off the line by Ibanez.
The Spaniard again came to Blues' rescue before the break as he cleared off the line for a second time from Le Fondre.
And Ibanez almost make an impact at the other end on the stroke of half-time, his header from Elliott's right-wing free-kick coming off a post.
Jobi McAnuff headed off target for Reading at the start of the second half before Elliott's volley for Blues flew a fraction over the bar.
Davies spared Colin Doyle's blushes with a timely clearance but, from the resulting corner, Ibanez needlessly climbed over Alex Pearce to concede the first penalty of the game.
Yet Doyle made up for his error with a superb save to his right to keep out Harte.
And the game was soon wrapped up in the 75th minute as Jay Tabb was penalised for handball, leaving Elliott to fire home from the spot.
The former Burnley man could have grabbed a second from 12 yards late on but he was denied by Federici after Hal Robson-Kanu brought down Burke.
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