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NEWCASTLE, England (AP) - Newcastle edged 10-man Birmingham closer to the relegation zone with a 2-1 victory over the League Cup winners on Saturday.

Birmingham’s troubles started in the 35th minute when Liam Ridgewell used his arm to clear the ball in a goalmouth melee, earning himself a red card and conceding a penalty that was converted by Shola Ameobi.

Steven Taylor then made it 2-0 seven minutes later, heading home from a corner curled over by Joey Barton.

Lee Bowyer pulled a goal back on the stroke of halftime with a deflected shot, but Birmingham failed to find an equalizer after the break.

However, the margin of victory would have been far greater had it not been for City keeper Ben Foster, who made stunning saves from Peter Lovenkrands, Nile Ranger and Kevin Nolan twice to keep his side in it to the whistle.

Victory took mid-table Newcastle to 44 points and left Birmingham on 39 - just 16th in the table.

The game kicked off with both sides knowing a win would effectively end their relegation fears, and equally aware that a draw would not be the worst result. And for much of the opening 45 minutes, the game reflected that.

There was little action of note as defenses dominated with Ameobi and Lovenkrands seeing little of the ball at one end and lone striker Cameron Jerome, his physical battle with Taylor aside, finding himself equally underemployed.

But the end-of-season feel evaporated in an explosive final 10 minutes of the half.

Newcastle launched a sustained assault with Stephen Carr clearing Ameobi’s header off the line and Foster pulling off a fine save to keep out Fabricio Coloccini’s follow-up. The Argentine reacted first to head over Foster, only for Carr to intervene once again.

However, as the ball fell toward Nolan, Ridgewell nudged it clear with his arm and referee Chris Foy pointed straight to the spot before producing a red card.

Ameobi waited patiently while Ridgewell made his feelings clear, and then calmly tucked the penalty into the bottom corner for his ninth goal of the season.

Foster made fine reaction saves to deny first Lovenkrands and then Nolan, but there was nothing he could do to keep out Taylor’s towering 43rd-minute header, which Sebastian Larsson could only help into his own net.

But Newcastle contrived to hand the visitors a lifeline on the stroke of halftime when Coloccini misjudged a long clearance to allow Cameron Jerome in.

The Argentine and Taylor got back well to halt the striker’s progress, but when he fed the ball to Bowyer, his shot ended up in the back of the net via a deflection off Coloccini.

Full-back Jose Enrique fizzed a 35-meter drive just wide of Foster’s right post within two minutes of the restart as the Magpies attempted to kill off the game, and Ameobi headed over seven minutes later when he might have done better.

Further chances fell to the home side, but Newcastle had already done enough to secure the points.

Labels: 10man, Birmingham, Newcastle, SportsTicker

WEMBLEY, England (AP)—Obafemi Martins scored in 89th minute winner after a blunder by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny, giving Birmingham a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the League Cup final for its first trophy since 1963.

Szczesny and Koscielny both went to stop Nikola Zigic’s header in the penalty area and the ball landed at the feet of Martin, who slid it into the net.

“I think it was my second touch,” said Martins, who joined Birmingham on a six-month loan from the Russian club Rubin Kazan last month. “I think this is the easiest goal I’ve ever scored in my career.”

Zigic, at 6-foot-8 the Premier League’s tallest player, had put Birmingham in front with a header in the 28th minute. Robin van Persie of Arsenal evened it 11 minutes later with a volley.

Birmingham won the 1963 League Cup final. Its victory Sunday left Arsenal searching for its first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.

Birmingham is battling relegation from the Premier League, two points above the drop zone. Arsenal is second behind Manchester United.

“It’s an achievement when you consider who we were up against,” Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said. “We weren’t given a prayer by the pundits and the bookies but we believed today. It was a titanic performance by the players.”

Arsenal has lost three finals since 2005. That lack of success, manager Arsene Wenger said before the match, had placed “a weight on the team.” Wenger hoped the final would show how far his club has matured, but Arsenal was sluggish and struggled to impose itself.

Labels: Arsenal, beats, Birmingham, final, league

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP)—United States midfielder Alejandro Bedoya is set to have a trial at Premier League club Birmingham this week.

The 23-year-old Bedoya has spent the last two years in Sweden with Orebro SK.

He told Orebro’s website that the trial “gives me a chance to see where I stand compared with some of the best players in the best league in the world.”

Bedoya, who will spend a few days with Birmingham later this week, has played seven times for the U.S. national team.

Labels: Bedoya, Birmingham, Midfielder, trial

NEIL RICHARDS STATS European Football Writer=

LONDON (SE) - West Ham United have all the incentive they could ever want to beat Birmingham City at Upton Park on Sunday.

Victory would lift the Hammers above the Blues and out of the relegation zone \2013 and would exact some measure of revenge on their Midlands rivals for the League Cup semi-final defeat last week.

West Ham were just 11 minutes away from a place in their first Wembley final since 1981 before Birmingham hit back to level the tie on aggregate and then won it with an extra-time goal from Craig Gardner.

And let’s not forget that West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold used to occupy the same positions at St Andrew’s before selling up to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung, with whom they have had a less than amicable relationship.

All those factors, however, are mere sideshows compared to the all-consuming quest for Premier League survival \2013 something that West Ham feel is well within their reach following Wednesday night’s 3-1 win at Blackpool.

Robbie Keane, who was snapped up on loan from Tottenham on transfer deadline day, marked his debut with a goal and Victor Obinna scored twice to follow-up his hat-trick against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup at the weekend.

West Ham are looking to become only the second team since the Premier League was formed in 1992 to avoid being relegated after being bottom of the table at Christmas.

“It would be a massive achievement for us,” captain Scott Parker told West Ham TV. “I think we’re good enough to stay in this league but we need to prove that and win games.

“It would be massive for everyone in there because it has been difficult at times this year, on and off the field. Sometimes it’s not been easy.

“We’ve made things difficult ourselves but all we can do is stay together and try to win football matches.

“We’d defy history if we could stay up so it would be great.”

The league table would make for even grimmer reading for Birmingham had they not battled back from two goals down to snatch a point when these two teams met in November.

“We know they’re a great side, they’ve got quality players who maybe have not been playing to their maximum so far,” first-team coach Peter Grant told Sky Sports News. “They’ve added to that with the likes of Robbie Keane who I had the joy to work with up at Celtic, so they’ve got top, top quality players and we’re going to have to be at our best to get a result, that’s for sure.”

Birmingham twice fought back from a goal down to earn a valuable point with a 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Wednesday, but they have won only once in their last nine league games.

Alex McLeish’s side are still waiting for a visa for their new signing, Obafemi Martins, the Nigeria striker who has joined on loan from Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan until the end of the season.

“We want him back as soon as possible,” McLeish said. “We will try and get him back for the West Ham game and will take it to the wire.

“If he is back on Saturday, we will include him in the squad. We just need to get the red tape sorted.”

Striker Cameron Jerome and midfielder Barry Ferguson are both doubtful for Blues with ankle injuries. Roger Johnson will have a late fitness test on a calf problem and Curtis Davies is standing by to make his debut should the central defender be ruled out.

Labels: Birmingham, CityWest, preview, SportsTicker, United