Men's

Matchday 16

St Andrew's

Sat 4 Dec 2010 | 15:00

Match Report

Craig Gardner's second-half header salvaged a point for Birmingham against Tottenham at St Andrew's.

Sebastien Bassong gave Spurs the lead when he lashed in from five yards after goalkeeper Ben Foster had punched away Gareth Bale's free-kick.

Gardner equalised with 10 minutes remaining when Scott Dann's punt was headed across the area by Nikola Zigic and met by the midfielder.

The draw keeps Spurs in fifth while Birmingham remain in 14th.

But it could have been so much better for Harry Redknapp's travelling side who looked comfortable for the win following their first-half display.

Tottenham had a couple of half-chances in the opening moments of the match. First, striker Peter Crouch chested down Aaron Lennon's cross before forcing Foster to push behind his low shot for a corner, even though it appeared to be going wide.

Then Jermain Defoe, starting in place of the injured Rafael van der Vaart, had his goalbound strike from 12 yards brilliantly blocked by Dann.

The Blues defender was quick to the ball on that occasion but it was Spurs blocker Bassong who was fastest a few moments later when he pounced on the loose ball from Foster's punched clearance and smashed his effort high into the Birmingham goal.

The closest Birmingham came to a goal in the first 45 minutes was when Roger Johnson headed a left-wing corner three yards wide and Gardner drove a 20-yard angled shot comfortably wide of Heurelho Gomes' right-hand post.

Alex McLeish's side had as many chances in the first 15 minutes of the second half, when Gomes had to be alert to fist away Gardner's in-swinging free-kick before he was in the right place at the right time to save a Gardner header from eight yards.

The former Villa man was the catalyst of the majority of Birmingham's good play and he supplied the ball for Cameron Jerome in the area which ended with William Gallas having to make a brave block on the forward's shot.

With 10 minutes remaining it seemed that Gardner's industry would go unrewarded, but that was until Dann fired in a hopeful ball upfield which was met by Zigic and then brilliantly headed into the Spurs net by the jubilant midfielder.