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Birmingham City 1 Sheffield United 0 - Phillips stuns Blades
SHEFFIELD United manager Kevin Blackwell mourned the absence of his own 'Kevin Phillips' after the late goal that condemned his side to defeat at Birmingham City.
Phillips had just conjured up the sort of goalscoring magic that is a rare commodity in the Championship and which, financially, a club needs to push the boat out to acquire.
The former England striker sacrificed life in the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion this summer to join Birmingham but is still picking up Premier League wages.
Unfortunately for Blackwell, his own big money striker, James Beattie, was sat in the stands and is unlikely to play again for a month due to knee surgery.
How the Blades could have done with Beattie on the field this weekend at St Andrews – where they arguably won the majority of the battles but ultimately failed to win the war on the opening day of the season.
"You have to praise Kevin Phillips," admitted a frustrated Blackwell afterwards. "That (sort of goal) is an art and it showed why he has earned a great living throughout the years and showed why Birmingham have spent the money to get him.
"It is frustrating to go that far and lose and it takes the wind out of your sails.
"We gave a good performance, we got the tactics right, the shape right, and we had some chances – but the old school report will still say 'room for improvement'."
On the absence of his own former England striker, Blackwell said: "James Beattie could be a month away and we won't push him. Kevin and 'Beats' are players of the same ilk. They get goals that no-one else could have got. We saw that last season.
"We will be delighted when he is fit again to add competition. The teams with the best strike-forces will win this division or be up there.
"I hope that 'Beats' will turn out for us as Kevin has done for Birmingham today."
Blackwell's gameplan looked to have secured a point until, three minutes into stoppage time, when Phillips took matters into his own hands and made the difference.
With his back to goal 12 yards out, Phillips received the ball from fellow substitute Garry O'Connor, who had headed on a long clearance by Maik Taylor, swivelled and turned it inside the foot of the post.
Goalkeeper Paddy Kenny had not even been tested in the previous 92 minutes but was now left picking the ball out of his net.
Defender Chris Morgan, who had been impressive all afternoon, sank to his knees wondering if he should have got closer to block the shot.
The answer was probably yes but that might also have risked giving away a penalty.
In truth, few strikers could have exploited the little space available as ruthlessly as Phillips did, a master executioner worth every penny spent by the hosts.
Blackwell's decision to err on the side of caution for this game was an educated gamble against a side rated by the bookmakers' as favourites for promotion.
Winger David Cotterill was omitted as Blackwell opted instead to employ the more protective qualities of Greg Halford and Sun Jihai down the right flank.
The selection of Jihai at rightback was inspired and the Chinese international showed great positional sense and compusure in stifling the threat of Birmingham winger Gary McSheffrey.
Halford, however, looked like a fish out of water on the right side of midfield and the Blades suffered from a general lack of creativity all across the centre of the park.
The fact that strikers Darius Henderson and Billy Sharp received such poor service made the absence of Beattie appear even more glaring.
Yet defensively, the Blades ticked all the boxes and Birmingham found it virtually impossible to get within sight of goal.
On the rare occasion that a ball did fall to an unmarked City striker in the box, James McFadden miscued his shot.
The Blades could look back on an early Gary Speed volley, struck with a wonderful technique, as an opportunity that tested Birmingham goalkeeper Maik Taylor.
For the majority of the rest of the game, however, they either squandered possession in the final third or ran down blind alleys.
"It is the start of a marathon and you have got to improve as you go along," reflected Blackwell, who is likely to rest players for the midweek Carling Cup tie with Port Vale.
"There are things we can take from this display that we know we need to improve on.
"We had good possession in good parts of the pitch but maybe we could have made better use of it.
"We had a good game plan, we looked well organised, and if we had made the right decisions in the final third it would have been a fabulous performance."
Player focus
Birmiingham City
M Taylor 6
S Parnaby 6
M Taylor 7
L Ridgewell 7
D Murphy 6
S Larsson*** 7
L Carsley 7
M Nafti 8
G McSheffrey* 7
M Bent** 6
G McFadden 6
Substitutes
K Phillips* 7
G O'Connor** 6
C Jerome*** 5
Not used
C Doyle
F Queudrue
Sheffield Utd
P Kenny 7
S Jihai 8
C Morgan 7
M Kilgallon 7
G Naysmith 6
G Halford 5
M Tonge 5
G Speed 7
S Quinn 6
B Sharp 6*
D Henderson 6**
Substitutes
D Webber* 6
J Stead** 6
Not used
D Cotterill
M Spring
U Ehiogu
MATCH FOCUS
Hero: Kevin Phillips
The veteran striker made all the difference with his late winner just when it looked as though Sheffield United had done enough to earn a point. Phillips scored some crucial goals for West Bromwich Albion last season as the Baggies won promotion and he is a real threat.
Villian: Greg Halford
Slightly harsh maybe but Halford struggled throughout the match and at times looked to be something of square peg in a round hole. Will hope to find his rightful place and form very soon.
Key moment
93rd minute: No doubt about this one as veteran substitute Phillips turns expertly in the area and shoots past the startled Paddy Kenny to secure the points.
Ref watch
Keith Stroud: Showed good understanding of the game when dealing with accidental use of the elbows by players in aerial challenges.
Verdict
This was a truly harsh result for the Blades who certainly deserved at least a point for what was a well-organised defensive show at one of the Championship sides which harbour real promotion dreams.
Quote of the day
He's got a few years on Teddy Sheringham yet – so really he is just a boy. That sums Phillips up, he is a born finisher if he gets half a chance. Everybody became a wee bit edgy but Phillips did what he does best.
– City boss Alex McLeish
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
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