BIRMINGHAM CITY v WEST HAM UNITED
CARLING CUP SEMI-FINAL SECOND LEG
WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY 2011
KICK-OFF: 7.45PM
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Final score - Birmingham City 3-1 West Ham United (Birmingham win 4-3 on aggregate aet)
121 mins - That's it. All over for the Hammers.
120 mins - Into the last minute of the 120 minutes.
118 mins - Cole is limping and Dyer is off the field getting treatment for a cut. Murphy nearly seals it for Blues with a breakaway that Green palms over the top.
117 mins - It looks like it is going to be a real night of disappointment.
114 mins - Cole is penalised for foul against him on Johnson. He is cautioned for it. It comes just 30 seconds after he had hooked an effort goalwards after neat skill. Foster was wise to it, though and saved.
113 mins - Faubert again makes ground up the right wing. He crosses but it only finds a Birmingham boot.
112 mins - A half-chance for Parker who controls in the area and then shoots. The ball runs wide.
111 mins - Green has to race out of his area to clear. He is urging the team forward. Faubert does that but his cross is high and wide.
110 mins - Another clash between Tomkins and Jerome. This time the Hammers No5 gets the call.
110 mins - McCarthy gets a chance but he cannot control. It was a difficult one to be fair.
109 mins - So far Birmingham have been the only team to show. Can the Hammers find one piece of magic?
108 mins - Tomkins has been cautioned. He felt he was fouled by Jerome but Webb believed otherwise.
106 mins - Benni McCarthy is on and Spector is off. The American had run himself into the ground.
End of first period of extra time - Birmingham 3-1 West Ham United (4-3 agg)
106 mins - Webb blows his whistle. The teams will change ends for the last time and the Hammers have just 15 minutes to save their Carling Cup campaign.
105 mins - Last minute of added time.
103 mins - First-time effort from Dyer from a delightful Faubert cross. It just clears the bar by about a foot. So close.
102 mins - What will Grant do in response to the Blues' changes? No one warming up at the moment.
100 mins - Double change for Birmingham just after Parker flashes over from 12 yards. Gardner and Larsson are off, with Jean Beausejour and David Murphy on.
99 mins - Cole goes down in the box but all the Hammers win is a corner. Noble takes it but he cannot get it past the first defender.
98 mins - A rare piece of attacking play sees Noble get a shot away. Foster gets down to smother the shot.
97 mins - Faubert whips in a dangerous cross. But Birmingham get it behind and it is that man Gardner.
94 mins - GOAL! - Birmingham are in front. Another long-range shot beats Green, this time from Gardner.
93 mins - O'Neil bamboozles Bowyer on the edge of the area but his cross is too strong.
91 mins - We are back under way. Grant spent the interval barking out orders to his men. Will they have listened?
Full time - Birmingham 2-1 West Ham United (3-3 agg)
93 mins - The referee blows for the end of 90 minutes. We will have 30 additional minutes - only the Hammers can win on away goals. If the scores are still level after 120 minutes, we will have a penalty shoot-out.
93 mins - Unbelievable. Gardner hits the post from 20 yards. It all came after Noble's long pass forward had found only a Birmingham man.
92 mins - Is there time for a decisive goal from either team?
90 mins - We are playing added time here.
90 mins - What a chance. Spector races fully 30 yards into the box. O'Neil takes over and tries to shoot but the No32 cannot direct his effort on target.
89 mins - Tomkins intercepts a long ball through from Birmingham. A clash between Dyer and Ferguson after the Birmingham man kicks out at the Hammers midfielder. Yellow card for both.
88 mins - Spector is down with cramp. The No18 has been everywhere.
86 mins - Spector, playing wide right, wins another corner. Can Noble do something with this flag-kick? No, nothing comes of it and eventually Foster claims from Bridge's looped ball forward.
85 mins - Bowyer goes down but he's off the pitch so why aren't Birmingham carrying on. Eventually they take a throw-in.
84 mins - Acrobatics from Noble as he brings down a corner. He eventually shoots on the volley but it is never on target.
83 mins - Gary O'Neil is coming on for his debut. Boa Morte makes way. The Hammers have a corner, by the way, won by Parker and to be taken by him.
82 mins - Spector does well at the back post to win a corner. It all came after good work from Bridge on the opposite flank.
80 mins - Into the final ten minutes and it is still all Birmingham. Jerome races forward and shoots. Green comes out and saves with his legs.
79 mins - GOAL! - And so it proves. Roger Johnson rises above Upson to head in. Green had no chance. The tie is all square.
79 mins - Green palms the ball over from Jerome's free header. Every ball into the box is a problem for the Hammers.
78 mins - Faubert does well to block Jerome but he cannot avoid conceding a corner. Green is booked for time-wasting. From the corner, Faubert hooks over the bar.
76 mins - The Hammers fans find their voice again. This has been tense stuff but still they sing Bubbles.
75 mins - Up the other end, and Jerome barges down Parker's defensive clearance. The ball runs behind.
74 mins - Cole is penalised for a foul on Ridgewell. The Blues go forward but the ball runs through to Green. A quick counter, sees Cole carry the ball before trying his luck from 20 yards. The ball is deflected for Foster to save.
74 mins - Dyer wins a corner with a burst into the box. It's played in and eventually Tomkins heads goalwards. The effort is poor, though.
73 mins - This is nail-biting stuff, for both teams.
71 mins - This time Green punches before Boa Morte gets the ball away. it's backs to the wall stuff. Hines is going off to be replaced by Dyer.
70 mins - Zigic forces another corner. Ferguson then picks up a ball 25 yards out and lashes goalwards. Green gets down well to parry it behind for another corner.
69 mins - Well done Green. The keeper eases the pressure by coming to claim.
68 mins - Boa Morte goes down after Larsson's cross hit him flush in the face. It looks like Kieron Dyer is about to come on. Faubert heads behind when he probably didn't need to. Corner to Birmingham.
67 mins - Zigic rises with Faubert and the Frenchman only just clears. The striker is causing all sorts of trouble.
65min - Cole is penalised for handball just as he looked ready to control the ball eight yards out. A rare move forward there.
63 mins - Faubert races forward and crosses. It nearly deceives Foster but the keeper gets his body behind it and catches well.
60 mins - What will Avram Grant do now? Birmingham have dominated every minute of this second half and their fans are fired up.
59 mins - GOAL! - Bowyer scores against his old club. The Hammers fail to clear the corner and the ex-Hammers midfielder rifles in to the top corner. Green had no chance.
58 mins - The home side are roaring forward. Tomkins has to head clear three times in 90 seconds before Birmingham win a corner. Referee Webb waves away shouts for a penalty with the ball striking Bridge's arm. From the corner, Green pushes Ridgewell's header behind.
55 mins - Another great block from Boa Morte. The Portuguese midfielder is everywhere for the visitors. But the home side are piling on the pressure. This time, Jerome tries an acrobatic half-volley from Zigic's knockdown. It goes high and wide.
54 mins - Birmingham earn a free-kick but a long ball forward is claimed by Green.
52 mins - Upson twice does well to clear the danger but Birmingham keep on going. Gardner fires in a shot that hits the post and travels along the goal-line before going behind to safety.
51 mins - There are 27,519 people inside St Andrew's. It sounds like double from the away end with 3,800 travelling Hammers fans.
46 mins - Birmingham make a change at half-time. Nikola Zigic is on for Derbyshire. No changes from the Hammers
Half-time - Birmingham City 0-1 West Ham United (agg 1-3)
46 mins - After just a few seconds of added-time, referee Webb blows for half-time.
45 mins - Parker does really well to hold up the ball near his own corner flag before flicking it off a Birmingham player and behind for a goal kick. The away fans respond with a chorus of 'Super Scotty Parker'.
40 mins - Birmingham win a free-kick wide on their left that Larsson whips into the box and Tomkins heads behind. From the Swede's corner, Green claws the ball to safety.
37 mins - Jiranek fouls Hines wide on the West Ham left. Noble has a chance to deliver some quality into the box. He does and Hines gets his foot to the ball with an acrobatic effort which bounces against the outside of the post and behind for a goal kick!
37 mins - Jiranek fouls Hines wide on the West Ham left. Noble has a chance to deliver some quality into the box.
35 mins - The home side have been stung into life. Jerome gets in behind Upson, who recovers. The striker still gets his cross in, but Derbyshire can only head wide of the right-hand post.
34 mins - Another chance for Birmingham as Noble commits a foul about 25 yards out. Larsson... It's too close to Green and he holds in front of his face.
33 mins - The away fans loved that, and they also loved the save Green just made to turn aside a fierce shot from Derbyshire. The ball literally bounced 25 yards outside the box.
31 mins - GOAL! WHAT A GOAL! Bridge throws the ball in for Cole. Gardner and Ferguson get in each other's way and Cole unleashes an amazing curling 25-yard shot that flies past Foster's dive and nestles inside the far post. What a goal!
30 mins - Tomkins doesn't get enough power on his clearing header and the ball is passed to Ridgewell. He crosses and the ball takes a nick off Faubert before being collected safely by Green.
29 mins - Birmingham are trying to find an opening with a mixture of long direct balls for Jerome and Derbyshire to chase and some more intricate passing football. It is showing signs of working, but so far the Hammers are holding firm.
26 mins - West Ham are pressing really high and not allowing Birmingham's players any time in possession. Spector chases a lost cause and concedes a throw deep in Birmingham territory. The Hammers box them in and Noble gets in and wins the ball, but his cross-shot is nowhere near the target.
24 mins - At present Birmingham just can't get out of their own half. Bridge gets on to Cole's pass and crosses. The ball pings around inside the home penalty area for a while before the Blues finally clear their lines. When they do, Tomkins gets in quickly and hacks the ball forward again. Groans from the home fans.
22 mins - West Ham come again. Upson finds Boa Morte and he wins a corner. Parker crosses and Johnson heads clear, just.
20 mins - The Hammers are having a really good spell here. The home fans have gone a bit quiet, while the travelling hordes are singing Paolo Di Canio's name. Boa Morte nips in and chooses to shoot himself, but his effort is charged down.
19 mins - Hines does well to flick on and Johnson's back pass is too strong. Foster hacks out for a throw. It's taken quickly to Noble, who finds Cole. He crosses and Ridgewell can only head out for a corner. Parker takes it short to Noble, who finds Bridge. His cross is headed out for a throw.
18 mins - West Ham have a succession of throw-ins down the Birmingham left before the Blues clear their lines. Alex McLeish has joined Downes on the touchline. This is so tense. Neither side has really settled into any sort of passing rhythm as yet.
15 mins - Cole holds up Upson's long ball superbly and feeds Bridge. The left-back ignores the run of Hines and gets into the box. The ball is poked to Boa Morte before being hacked out for a throw. West Ham come again, but the ball ricochets to a City player and the hosts clear.
13 mins - Another good chance for West Ham as Bridge sends a delightful ball over the top for Cole to chase. He out-strips Jiranek but his left-foot volley flies past the angle of near post and crossbar. Goal kick.
12 mins - Downes is out on the edge of the technical area urging the West Ham players to defend higher up the pitch. Boa Morte responds and blocks a Larsson pass out for a throw.
11 mins - A first big chance of the evening and it falls to Hines. Parker cleans up in defence before the ball is worked to Noble. He releases Hines with an amazing pass and the No26 is in on goal. He takes a couple of touches before shooting powerfully. It's too close to Foster and the goalkeeper blocks the ball away to safety.
7 mins - Birmingham win a corner down their left. The ball is curled over by Larsson, but Green is there to punch and the ball flies out for a throw on the near side. Good goalkeeping, that.
5 mins - Hines again, this time in control on the edge of the Birmingham box. He cuts on to his right foot and tests Foster with a low shot. The England goalkeeper dives low to his left to save.
3 mins - Hines tries to get in behind on to Spector's pass, but Johnson shields the ball and Foster collects.
2 mins - Hines tries to latch on to a pass from Bridge, but Jiranek is too strong. Boa Morte follows up, but he loses out to Carr and Larsson and Birmingham clear their lines.
1 min - The ball is played back to Julien Faubert from the kick-off but his first-time ball forward is too strong for Cole and skips through to Foster.
7.46pm - Referee Howard Webb blows his whistle and we're under way...
7.45pm - West Ham will kick-off shooting right to left as we look at the pitch.
7.44pm - West Ham's mascot tonight is called Harrison. It's a big night for the lad, and let's hope it's one he cherishes for the rest of his life. The PA announcer is going through the Birmingham team and his voice sounds like it's going to give out on a couple of occasions! Great effort, though.
7.42pm - Here come the two teams, joined by the mascots, a giant dog, match officials, a Sky film crew and a few other people. The two teams line up for their pre-match handshakes and we're nearly ready to go. For some reason, they are playing the Premier League music over the PA system.
7.40pm - The home fans are now giving the old singing a go, clapping their way along to the 1998 dance classic 'Feel It' by Tamperer. It is an amazing tool is Wikipedia!
7.37pm - The giant tarpaulin that was covering the centre-circle has been folded up and the two sets of players have disappeared from view. To my right, the Hammers faithful are singing 'Bubbles' as loud as you've ever heard it!
7.30pm - Wally Downes has gathered the back-four for a last-minute chat about their jobs tonight. Behind them, the attacking players are taking some shooting practice against Ruud Boffin, while Robert Green is catching some crosses. Less than 15 minutes until kick-off...I'm getting rather excited, and I expect you all are too!
7.25pm - For those of you concerned about Wayne Bridge and Gary O'Neil being cup-tied, I can assure you that neither has played for either Chelsea, Middlesbrough or anyone else in this season's Carling Cup! For confirmation, click here and here.
7.23pm - The club has issued an update regarding the Olympic Stadium bid. To read it in full, click here.
7.20pm - The two sets of players are both having a game of keep-ball at present. Birmingham favour the white and red bibs, while West Ham are sporting orange and green. Very colourful! West Ham brought a squad of 21 players with them to the Midlands, with Radoslav Kovac, Pablo Barrera and Frank Nouble being the three unlucky men to miss out.
7.15pm - Former Hammers defender Joe Gallagher is also among the press corps tonight. Centre-back Gallagher made eleven appearances during the 1982/83 season. Gallagher is joined in the ground tonight by more than 3,800 West Ham fans. The travelling Hammers army are already making an almighty racket in the stand to my right. Good on them!
7.05pm - Apologies for the momentary error in the starting lineup both on the official site and on twitter. Zavon Hines keeps his place, with Freddie Sears on the bench. I'm putting the mistake down to nerves!
7.05pm - The full team news is below. Birmingham City replace left-back David Murphy with Czech centre-back Martin Jiranek, with Liam Ridgewell moving to full-back. In midfield, Keith Fahey is on the bench, with Craig Gardner partnering Barry Ferguson and Lee Bowyer playing on the left. Up front, Matt Derbyshire partners Cameron Jerome.
6.45pm - West Ham make ONE change to the starting XI that drew at Everton on Saturday. Carlton Cole replaces the suspended Frederic Piquionne. Team in full below...
6.40pm - I'm hoping to have some team news for you very soon...
6.35pm - The Press Room is filling up with some familiar faces. The Daily Telegraph's Henry Winter is here, as is BBC Radio FiveLive commentator Alan Green and Evening Standard correspondent and matchday programme columnist Ken Dyer.
6.20pm - The Hammers have arrived safely at St Andrews and the players are getting changed in the Away Dressing Room ahead of their pre-match warm-up. I can exclusively reveal that Gary O'Neil will wear the No32 shirt. That number was, of course, worn by Carlos Tevez and, more recently, Alessandro Diamanti.
Hello and welcome to what could be an unforgettable night for West Ham United at St Andrews.
The Hammers hold a 2-1 advantage over Birmingham City following their Carling Cup semi-final first-leg meeting at the Boleyn Ground 15 days ago. A victory, draw or even a narrow defeat - providing West Ham score twice - would be enough to see the east Londoners return to Wembley for the first time in 30 years.
Encouragingly, West Ham have NEVER lost at Birmingham in the League Cup. Indeed, the Hammers have won on both of their previous visits to St Andrews in this competition - a 2-1 second-round first-leg win in September 1989 and a 3-2 fourth-round success in November 1999.
A repeat of either of those two scorelines this evening and West Ham would be through to face Arsenal in the final at Wembley on Sunday 27 February.
Of course, West Ham have won all six cup ties they have contested this season, defeating Oxford United, Sunderland, Stoke City and Manchester United to reach the last four, while also defeating Barnsley in the FA Cup third round.
Birmingham have had an easier run to the semi-finals, defeating League One trio Rochdale, MK Dons and Brentford - on penalties - before overcoming local rivals Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.
Tonight's referee will be 2010 FIFA World Cup final official Howard Webb, who also took charge of West Ham's Carling Cup wins over Sunderland and Manchester United earlier this season.
Team news-wise, West Ham manager Avram Grant will have to make do without strikers Frederic Piquionne and Victor Obinna who are both suspended, but new signing Gary O'Neil and on-loan left-back Wayne Bridge are both available for selection.
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish will definitely be without important defender Scott Dann, who suffered a serious hamstring injury in the first leg at the Boleyn Ground and has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. David Bentley is cup-tied after appearing for Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the competition.
Birmingham City: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Jiranek, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Gardner, Bowyer, Derbyshire, Jerome
Subs: Taylor, Murphy, Fahey, Beausejour, Hleb, Phillips, Zigic
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Bridge, Spector, Parker, Noble, Boa Morte, Hines, Cole
Subs: Boffin, Reid, Gabbidon, O'Neil, Dyer, Sears, McCarthy