22 METROSPORT Monday, November 2, 2009 D Lee-thal: Birminghams Bowyer fouls Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry Picture: Reuters Shays spot-kick heroics save City SHAY GIVENS penalty save earned Manchester City a point which took them into the Premier Leagues top four yesterday. The Republic of Ireland keepers stop from James McFadden on 56 minutes earned a fourth straight draw for Mark Hughes side but if it was not for his fine display Birminghamcouldbeencelebrating a famous victory. Hughes, who celebrated his 46th birthday yesterday, knows City will have to show a massive improvement if they are to sustain their challenge for a Champions League place. His expensively-assembled side minus the injured Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure never came to terms with the swirling wind at St Andrews, or a fired-up Birmingham team full of confi- dence after beating Sunderland the previous weekend. City also failed to get past the home sides centre-backs Roger Johnson and Scott Dann. Barry Ferguson, despite being sent off in injury-time, also put in an otherwise impressive midfield display and Christian Benitez was a constant threat up front. The Equador strikers ninth- minute shot almost opened the scoring when it took a deflection off Vincent Kompany and crashed against a post. Shaun Wright-Phillips tested Maik Taylor at the other end but Given was called into action to tip over a McFadden drive. Taylor then blocked from a Roque Santa Cruz shot but it was Given who was the busier, denying Dann before the break. In the second half Nigel de Jong conceded a penalty when he was handled but Given produced a fine save to his left to keep out McFaddens spot-kick. And in injury time Birmingham were down to ten men as Ferguson was sent off for handling a Pablo Zabaleta throw-in.. Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Carr, Roger Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden (Fahey 61), Jerome (Phillips 88), Benitez. Booked: Ferguson, Dann, McFadden. Sent Off: Ferguson (90). Man City: Given, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, De Jong (Ireland 60), Barry, Bellamy, Santa Cruz (Petrov 66), Tevez. Booked: Bridge, Santa Cruz. Att: 21,462 Ref: Mike Dean BIRMINGHAM 0 MAN CITY 0 Moyes delighted to stop the rot Equaliser: Carew DAVID MOYES praised his sides battling spirit as Everton ended a torrid ten-day horror spell with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. The Toffees, who still have a host of players unavailable through injury, headed into the clash on the back off three successive defeats. But boss Moyes said: The one thing Everton have got is resilience but we are introducing players who might have come from clubs where they arent resilient. I have had to try and get that into them quickly and make them recognise and realise what we want and demand from them. It is hard in the short term and when you play Thursday then Sunday and you are not getting much chance to prepare. But thats the job and well get it soon. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov put Everton ahead before Villa boss Martin ONeill was rewarded when half-time substitute John Carew equalised. It was important to match up and try and get a bit of strength, ONeill said. By kEvin AitkEn SOCCER pREMiER LEAGuE talks: Brown spoke to incoming Hull chairman pearson Brown still on brink as new man takes charge Hull boss Phil Brown revealed he spoke with incoming chairman Adam Pearson before Saturdays 2-0 defeat at Burnley and will resume talks today as he fights to save his job. Pearson is set to replace Browns good friend Paul Duffen, who resigned from the role last week. The new man is understood to be considering a change of manager after the clubs woeful run of form which has seen Hull win just three of their past 31 games. Asked what he thought Pearson, who was watching from the stands at Turf Moor, would have learned from the game, Brown said: He would have learned that he has a manager that is still at the helm and one that is willing to put his neck on the line for the cause. And that he also has a group of players that will do the same for the manager. The players are disappointed, not at themselves, not at me, maybe at something else. Confirming he had spoken to Pearson in person, Brown said: Yes. It was before the game two days ago and before the game yesterday [Friday] and Ill speak with him again after the game. Burnley manager Owen Coyle backed his Hull counterpart to survive in his job. Coyle, who played alongside Brown at Bolton in the mid-1990s, said: The last thing Brown will want is sympathy. Hes a personal friend of mine. Hull got into the Premier league and thats down to him being in charge. Knowing him as I do, hell bounce back, hes a battler. Off the mark: McGinn McGinn delights home fans with his first strike NIAll McGINN was mistakenly left off the Celtic team sheet for Saturdays Clydesdale Bank Premier league clash with Kilmarnock at Parkhead, but still managed to score his first goal for the Hoops in a convincing 3-0 win. The former Derry City man replaced fellow Irishman Paddy McCourt in the 66th minute with the home side cruising through goals by Aiden McGeady and Georgios Samaras. And with his parents having travelled from Donaghmore in Tyrone to see him for the first time since he signed in January, the 22-year-old took an Andreas Hinkel pass and confidently drove past Rugby Park stand-in keeper Cameron Bell to seal the win. And McGinn said his goal made for a perfect day for his parents. They missed my debut against Dundee united in September because they were on holiday so it was great to score for them and they were delighted, he said. A year ago or so when I was playing for Derry City I could never have dreamed that I would one day be scoring for Celtic. Meanwhile, Rangers missed the chance to cut Celtics lead to a single point after their match with Dundee united was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch at half-time, with the Ibrox side leading 1-0. SCOTTISH pREMIER lEAGuE ArsenAl boss Arsene Wenger has described two-goal hero robin van Persie as a mixture of club legends Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. Van Persies double in the 3-0 victory over Tottenham means the Dutchman (pictured) has seven goals from as many games as he adapts to his role at the top of Wengers new 4-3-3 formation. Wenger, when asked about Van Persie stepping into the boots of his predecessors, said: He is a mixture. He is less of a runner than Thierry Henry and he is not completely Dennis Bergkamp because he plays higher up the pitch. He is the kind of player, with the type of game we play, who is vital because when you play the ball to his feet his first touch is perfect and that allows others to join in. Robin in mix to be legend index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html