Souness's men snatch draw

Blackburn 1 Birmingham 1

Substitute Stern John weighed in with a late equaliser to ensure that Birmingham’s Barclaycard Premiership season ended on a high note at Blackburn.

City were slipping to defeat as they laboured in a seemingly vain attempt to cancel out Andy Cole’s 24th-minute opener.

However, with just seven minutes remaining, John turned up at the far post to head home a Damien Johnson cross and deny Rovers the victory which had looked to be theirs for the taking for much of the game.

It was perhaps fitting that both sides ended the afternoon – and the season - with something to show for their efforts on a day when either might have won it, and both keepers Peter Enckelman and Maik Taylor earned their corn as the game eventually came to life.

Cole’s well-taken opener had deservedly given the home side a half-time lead, but the visitors gradually built up a head of steam and finally made the pressure tell at the death.

With Rovers having taken 12 of the 15 points on offer in their previous five games to fend off the spectre of relegation and City having not won in seven as their unlikely European challenge faded, the two sides ran out with very different mindsets, although with little more than pride for which to play.

In the circumstances, it was perhaps not surprising that the opening action was less than spectacular, and it was as well that both sets of fans had arrived ready to end the season with a party of sorts.

However, the game sprang into life in the 15th minute when City midfielder Stephen Clemence charged upfield and slid the ball into the path of 19-goal striker Mikael Forssell.

The Finn cut inside on to his right foot before sending in a curling shot which required a fingertip save from Enckelman, but more importantly, sparked Rovers into life.

Cole has spent much of the season watching younger men Jonathan Stead and Paul Gallagher claim their fair share of the headlines, but he served them with a timely reminder of his enduring potency on 24 minutes when he accepted Tugay’s slide-rule pass and held off Matthew Upson’s crude challenge before slotting past Taylor.

That in turn seemed to rouse City, and they could count themselves desperately unfortunate not to be back on terms, or even in front, by the time they left the pitch at the break.

Clinton Morrison had seen precious little of the ball in the opening 36 minutes, but when his chance came, he powered a header towards goal from Stan Lazaridis’ cross and was unlucky to see it cannon back off the crossbar.

And his side passed up a glorious opportunity three minutes later when, after Clemence had robbed Steven Reid, Forssell played in Johnson down the right, Enckelman saving well with his feet to preserve his clean sheet.

Rovers emerged after the break determined to kill the game off, and they might have done so had it not been for the efforts of City keeper Taylor.

He managed to turn away a ong-range right-foot effrt from Michael Gray, a low Cole drive from a tight angle and a Tugay curler in quick succession as the home side stepped up a gear.

City boss Steve Bruce knew something had to change and replaced Oliver Tebily and Clemence with Bryan Hughes and John within 12 minutes of the restart, but although his side fored their way back into the game, they were creating few clear-cut chances.

The did just that, however, with 16 minutes remaining when defender Upson got his head to a Robbie Savage corner, but with the goal at his mercy, he glanced his effort harmlessly wide.

However, substitute John made no such mistake with seven minutes remaining when he pulled away from his marker to meet Johnson’s cross and send a downward header past Enckelman’s despairing dive to level.