The Birmingham Derby: Two days to go

The Birmingham derby remains one of the msot passionate and fiercley contested in the country. When Blues meet Villa, emotions run high and drama unfolds.

Here, Rob Wildey looks back at some of Blues’ better moments at Villa Park in recent years.

STERN JOHN RESCUES A POINT AT THE DEATH – FEBRUARY 2004

Blues went into this game on the back of a three game unbeaten run against Villa which included four wins. For an hour, it seemed as if that record was about to be bought to an abrupt halt.

With Villa leading 2-0 courtesy of goals from Darius Vassell (21) and Thomas Hitzlsperger (47), Steve Bruce’s Blues looked dead and buried.

With half an hour remaining, Mikael Forssell pulled one back for Blues. But despite their huff and puff, they carried very little threat of an equaliser as Villa defended astutely.

Juan Pablo Angel missed a sitter which would have given his side the points.

But in the dying embers, Kenny Cunningham’s hopeful punt was flicked on by Forssell. Clinton Morrison latched on to it and his shot was parried by Thomas Sorensen. The ball fell nicely for Stern John who rifled the ball into the net in the 94th minute.

BLUES WIN FIERCE DERBY – MARCH 2003

The first thing that springs to mind when you think back to this game is the Dion Dublin head butt on Robbie Savage which earned the Villa striker a red card.

Yet this game has so many other memories – good ones if you are of the Blue persuasion.

The game was evenly contested for 70 minutes but Villa, still reeling from Dublin’s dismissal, fell behind to a Stan Lazaridis header.

And before anyone had caught their breath, Geoff Horsfield added a second thanks to some shambolic goalkeeping once again by that legend Peter Enckleman.

Late on, the hosts were reduced to nine men after Joey Gudjonsson’s horror tackle on Matthew Upson. But in truth, the game was already over. The Dublin and Savage debacle lingers on to this day but it will never overshadow what was another derby win for Bruce’s Blues!

VILLA DUNN FOR – DECEMBER 2004

This game remains a fond memory most notably because it was the last time Blues won at Villa Park.

Blues haven’t half had some luck with Villa goalkeepers down the years and this game was no different. Clinton Morrison gave Blues the lead after his shot squirmed under Thomas Sorensen in the 9th minute. The shot was harder to let in that it was to save but somehow the Dane failed to stop the effort.

David Dunn gave Blues a second – which they were to take into the interval – after he converted Damien Johnson’s cross.

Villa were booed off at the break but improved in the second half and threw the kitchen sink at Blues. Gareth Barry had the ball in the net but saw it ruled out for hand ball – he was also booked.

Two minutes into injury time, Villa finally made the breakthrough as Barry collected a long pass and cut inside before finishing.

But Blues held on to record a victory and keep their unbeaten record against Villa in the Premier League alive.