King Venomation - X
03-21-2006, 11:32 PM
Birmingham City's terrible season plumbed new depths, as a first-half capitulation resulted in a 7-0 destruction at the hands of Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter finals.
The cup had provided the only respite for Blues in what has been a shocking campaign for manager Steve Bruce, but their run came brutally to an end at the hands of Rafa Benitez's rampant Reds.
Two goals inside the first five minutes from Sami Hyypia and Peter Crouch ended the tie as a contest, and Liverpool powered their way to join West Ham United in the semi-finals - thanks to further goals from Crouch, Fernando Morientes, John Arne Riise, Djibril Cisse and an own goal from Olivier Tebily.
It was a memorable night all round for Benitez, as he welcomed Mohamed Sissoko back to the starting line-up for the first time since his serious eye injury sustained against Benfica, but for Bruce, with the club's owners recently admitting their patience is waning, it was clearly an evening to forget.
Suffering a dismal run of form and contending with a number of injuries the last thing Bruce's team needed was a terrible start, but within 60 seconds, Birmingham's confidence took another killer blow when Hyypia beat Maik Taylor.
The architect was Steven Gerrard, as the England star swung in a free kick that Sissoko flicked on to the back post with the back of his head, and Martin Taylor let Hyypia out of his sights to allow the Finnish stopper to direct his header down and past the Birmingham keeper.
Incredibly, just three minutes later, The Reds doubled their advantage, and any late arrivals at St Andrews would have been blinking in disbelief at the scoreboard after Crouch also converted.
Gerrard again supplied the ammunition from out wide, as he collected a pass from Sissoko and curled in an inch perfect cross. Crouch eagerly accepted the opportunity to grab his ninth of the season, as he nodded home but Maik Taylor had two attempts to stop the ball crossing the line after getting a hand to the header.
Liverpool were forced to withdraw Djimi Traore after the defender sustained an injury in a challenge with Damien Johnson, but the introduction of Harry Kewell would hardly have given Bruce a lift, as his side continued to bring little to the contest.
Despite being involved in the two early goals, Sissoko's return was not all going according to plan as his fetching Edgar Davids-style eyewear was causing him a condensation problem, and Liverpool's bright start was also temporarily clouded, as they settled into a more pedestrian stride.
However, on 38 minutes, the spark was back as Luis Garcia drove across the penalty box before holding off Kenny Cunningham, and when Martin Taylor tried to intervene, the ball merely fell to the accepting feet of Crouch, who side-footed home for a three-goal lead.
The England international could have had a hat-trick before half time, as he fired wide after dispossessing Marcos Painter in the box before also heading straight at Taylor, as he climbed high to reach a corner.
Only Jermaine Pennant posed a real threat for the beleaguered home side, and when he had the chance to unleash his pace and crossing on the right, he called on both Jose Reina and Jamie Carragher to supply timely interventions to deny Forssell a sight at goal.
David Dunn and Jamie Clapham also offered ambitious attempts, but the locals' discontent was evident at half time with the chorus of boos that rang out around St Andrews.
No doubt acutely aware that their remaining pride was on the line, Birmingham came out of the half-time break a more improved unit, at least initially, and Johnson sliced an effort wide from the edge of the box within 60 seconds of the restart.
However, despite the neat build-up involving David Dunn and Pennant, Jose Reina was a virtual bystander in the Liverpool goal and The Reds began to search for an even more comprehensive victory.
Riise saw a set-piece gathered by Taylor at his left-hand post, and a cheeky lofted lob from Xabi Alonso nearly caught the Northern Ireland international napping, as he tipped over a bit too casually.
With Crouch looking dangerous and in search of a hat-trick, it seemed a puzzling decision when Morientes was summoned from the bench to replace the England man on 56 minutes, however Benitez's choice was inspired, as within three minutes the Spaniard was also on the scoresheet.
Gerrard was released inside the box by a glorious dummy from Garcia, and the task for Morientes could not have been simpler, as he tapped home the square ball from his captain.
Although Mikael Forssell offered a rare shot on goal, as he took down Pennant's chipped cross and fired down Reina's throat, it was game over for Bruce's side and damage limitation thoughts came into play.
However, they were not to be so lucky as on 70 minutes, the best goal of the night arrived after Gerrard flicked a pass to Riise with the outside of his boot.
The Norwegian steadied himself on the left corner of the box and unleashed a trademark rocket of a shot that seared past Taylor for a five-goal lead.
To heap on further embarrassment, substitute Olivier Tebily left his manager with his head in his hands, as he clumsily turned a Harry Kewell cross past his own keeper to make it six.
Just when they thought things could not get any worse, and with the locals departing in their droves, Birmingham's red-face turned a deeper shade of claret when Cisse picked up the ball from Garcia, made space to the right of Painter and saw his speculative effort creep under an unconvincing dive from Taylor to apply the coup de grace.
For Liverpool, the St Andrews' massacre was a further riposte to critics of the Reds' sharp shooters, but for Bruce, the main concern will be avoiding the firing squad after an embarrassing and morale-destroying defeat.
Birmingham City Team Statistics Liverpool
0 Goals 7
0 1st Half Goals 3
1 Shots on Target 9
3 Shots off Target 3
0 Blocked Shots 0
3 Corners 5
14 Fouls 14
3 Offsides 3
3 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
40 Possession 60
Credit: SkySports.Com
The cup had provided the only respite for Blues in what has been a shocking campaign for manager Steve Bruce, but their run came brutally to an end at the hands of Rafa Benitez's rampant Reds.
Two goals inside the first five minutes from Sami Hyypia and Peter Crouch ended the tie as a contest, and Liverpool powered their way to join West Ham United in the semi-finals - thanks to further goals from Crouch, Fernando Morientes, John Arne Riise, Djibril Cisse and an own goal from Olivier Tebily.
It was a memorable night all round for Benitez, as he welcomed Mohamed Sissoko back to the starting line-up for the first time since his serious eye injury sustained against Benfica, but for Bruce, with the club's owners recently admitting their patience is waning, it was clearly an evening to forget.
Suffering a dismal run of form and contending with a number of injuries the last thing Bruce's team needed was a terrible start, but within 60 seconds, Birmingham's confidence took another killer blow when Hyypia beat Maik Taylor.
The architect was Steven Gerrard, as the England star swung in a free kick that Sissoko flicked on to the back post with the back of his head, and Martin Taylor let Hyypia out of his sights to allow the Finnish stopper to direct his header down and past the Birmingham keeper.
Incredibly, just three minutes later, The Reds doubled their advantage, and any late arrivals at St Andrews would have been blinking in disbelief at the scoreboard after Crouch also converted.
Gerrard again supplied the ammunition from out wide, as he collected a pass from Sissoko and curled in an inch perfect cross. Crouch eagerly accepted the opportunity to grab his ninth of the season, as he nodded home but Maik Taylor had two attempts to stop the ball crossing the line after getting a hand to the header.
Liverpool were forced to withdraw Djimi Traore after the defender sustained an injury in a challenge with Damien Johnson, but the introduction of Harry Kewell would hardly have given Bruce a lift, as his side continued to bring little to the contest.
Despite being involved in the two early goals, Sissoko's return was not all going according to plan as his fetching Edgar Davids-style eyewear was causing him a condensation problem, and Liverpool's bright start was also temporarily clouded, as they settled into a more pedestrian stride.
However, on 38 minutes, the spark was back as Luis Garcia drove across the penalty box before holding off Kenny Cunningham, and when Martin Taylor tried to intervene, the ball merely fell to the accepting feet of Crouch, who side-footed home for a three-goal lead.
The England international could have had a hat-trick before half time, as he fired wide after dispossessing Marcos Painter in the box before also heading straight at Taylor, as he climbed high to reach a corner.
Only Jermaine Pennant posed a real threat for the beleaguered home side, and when he had the chance to unleash his pace and crossing on the right, he called on both Jose Reina and Jamie Carragher to supply timely interventions to deny Forssell a sight at goal.
David Dunn and Jamie Clapham also offered ambitious attempts, but the locals' discontent was evident at half time with the chorus of boos that rang out around St Andrews.
No doubt acutely aware that their remaining pride was on the line, Birmingham came out of the half-time break a more improved unit, at least initially, and Johnson sliced an effort wide from the edge of the box within 60 seconds of the restart.
However, despite the neat build-up involving David Dunn and Pennant, Jose Reina was a virtual bystander in the Liverpool goal and The Reds began to search for an even more comprehensive victory.
Riise saw a set-piece gathered by Taylor at his left-hand post, and a cheeky lofted lob from Xabi Alonso nearly caught the Northern Ireland international napping, as he tipped over a bit too casually.
With Crouch looking dangerous and in search of a hat-trick, it seemed a puzzling decision when Morientes was summoned from the bench to replace the England man on 56 minutes, however Benitez's choice was inspired, as within three minutes the Spaniard was also on the scoresheet.
Gerrard was released inside the box by a glorious dummy from Garcia, and the task for Morientes could not have been simpler, as he tapped home the square ball from his captain.
Although Mikael Forssell offered a rare shot on goal, as he took down Pennant's chipped cross and fired down Reina's throat, it was game over for Bruce's side and damage limitation thoughts came into play.
However, they were not to be so lucky as on 70 minutes, the best goal of the night arrived after Gerrard flicked a pass to Riise with the outside of his boot.
The Norwegian steadied himself on the left corner of the box and unleashed a trademark rocket of a shot that seared past Taylor for a five-goal lead.
To heap on further embarrassment, substitute Olivier Tebily left his manager with his head in his hands, as he clumsily turned a Harry Kewell cross past his own keeper to make it six.
Just when they thought things could not get any worse, and with the locals departing in their droves, Birmingham's red-face turned a deeper shade of claret when Cisse picked up the ball from Garcia, made space to the right of Painter and saw his speculative effort creep under an unconvincing dive from Taylor to apply the coup de grace.
For Liverpool, the St Andrews' massacre was a further riposte to critics of the Reds' sharp shooters, but for Bruce, the main concern will be avoiding the firing squad after an embarrassing and morale-destroying defeat.
Birmingham City Team Statistics Liverpool
0 Goals 7
0 1st Half Goals 3
1 Shots on Target 9
3 Shots off Target 3
0 Blocked Shots 0
3 Corners 5
14 Fouls 14
3 Offsides 3
3 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
40 Possession 60
Credit: SkySports.Com