Birmingham run riot vs Spurs

Birmingham brought Tottenham Hotspur back down to earth on Saturday as three Mikael Forssell goals saw off Carling Cup winners Tottenham at St. Andrews. Jermaine Jenas was able to grab a late consolation.

Spurs given a lesson

With just seven minutes gone, Liam Ridgewell's header from Gary McSheffrey's corner found McFadden who centred for Forssell to head home from close range.

Spurs came close to equalising before the break when a shot from Dimitar Berbatov struck the post.

But Juande Ramos' side struggled to produce anything like their performance last week.

After the break, McFadden and Forssell again looked sharp.

Spurs keeper Paul Robinson had to be at his best to deny Scot McFadden from the edge of the box.

Then, Forssell's volley was acrobatically tipped over by the England man.

But after Kaboul had tried an ambitious 35-yard drive, Birmingham extended their lead.

Larsson's wonderful curling free kick left Robinson with no chance as it rocketed in to the top corner.

Just five minutes later it was 3-0 when Forssell slotted home the rebound as Robinson was forced to react to Didier Zokora's slip up.

Spurs did test Brum keeper Maik Taylor but first Berbatov, then Keane, were denied.

Forssell wrapped up his hat-trick when McFadden beat Chris Gunter to find the Finn who completed the rout with ease.

England midfielder Jenas scored late on but it was little consolation.

Teams

Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Kelly, Jaidi, Ridgewell, Murphy, Larsson, Johnson, Muamba, McSheffrey (Parnaby 70), McFadden (Zarate 84), Forssell (Jerome 84). Subs Not Used: Doyle, Nafti. Booked: Johnson. Goals: Forssell 7, Larsson 55, Forssell 59, 81.

Tottenham: Robinson, Hutton, Zokora (Gunter 73), Kaboul, Chimbonda, Malbranque (Keane 46), O'Hara, Tainio (Jenas 46), Huddlestone, Berbatov, Bent. Subs Not Used: Cerny, Lennon. Goals: Jenas 90.