£6m Fowler's debut goal gives Manchester City full points

Manchester City 1

Fowler flicked home Ali Benarbia's cross 19 minutes from time to seal a 1-0 Barclaycard Premiership win over Birmingham at Maine Road yesterday.

"I know how desperately Robbie wanted a goal. But that was a terrific finish - a half-chance at best," said Keegan.

Overall it was a dismal game which saw two glaring misses from Nicolas Anelka and a last-gasp horror from Birmingham substitute Geoff Horsfield.

With his team hoping for some return from their efforts to increase their five-point advantage over third-from-bottom West Ham, Horsfield found himself clear in the box.

He dribbled round Peter Schmeichel but with the goal at his mercy then touched the ball with his standing leg, found only fresh air with the shot and fell flat on his face.

With home games to come against fellow strugglers West Brom, Sunderland and West Ham, Birmingham's fate is in their own hands although they will have to do without Robbie Savage for two matches after the combative Welsh midfielder picked up his 10th booking of the season when he took a free-kick too quickly on the edge of the home area.

City also paid a price with the dismissal of Niclas Jensen for two bookable offences.

MAN CITY: Schmeichel, Sommeil, Wiekens, Distin, Wright-Phillips, Benarbia, Foe, Horlock, Jensen, Fowler (Jihai 80), Anelka.

BIRMINGHAM: Bennett, Kenna (Devlin 74), Upson,Cunningham, Clapham, Damien Johnson (John 84), Savage, Clemence, Lazaridis, Morrison (Horsfield 59), Dugarry.

Referee: M Messias (N Yorkshire).