Brave Birmingham Go Close To Cup Upset
Birmingham City put up a brave fight in one of the most dramatic games of the FA Cup fourth round before slipping to a narrow defeat to Premier League Newcastle United.
The Vertu-backed side headed into the game on the back of a strong unbeaten run in EFL League One, with the visitors arriving on a high following a League Cup semi-final win against Arsenal a few days earlier.
In front of a packed St Andrew’s, Birmingham grabbed the lead within 60 seconds of the start when Ethan Laird smashed the ball in from close range following a corner.
Keshi Anderson then went close to doubling the lead with a shot from the edge of the box that forced Nick Pope into a smart save before a controversial equaliser at the other end drew Newcastle level.
Joe Willock’s effort appeared to have been blocked by Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the Birmingham goal but the assistant referee signalled that the ball had crossed the line, with no VAR in place to intervene.
Newcastle then grabbed the lead with a scrappy second from Callum Wilson before a stunning strike from Tomoki Iwata shortly before the break brought the scores level once again.
Running onto a loose ball outside the box, the Japanese midfielder rifled in a shot that gave Pope no chance as it whizzed into the top corner of the net to send the home fans wild.
After both sides created chances in the second half, the game looked to be heading for extra time before Willock bagged his second with eight minutes to go to put Newcastle back in front.
Whilst the Premier League side held on to go through, there were plenty of positives for Birmingham to take away from the match as focus now turns back towards the league campaign and ultimate goal of making it back into the Championship at the first time of asking.