Championship
Burnley
Aug 15, 2015 12.30pm
2
2
HT : 0 1
FT
Birmingham
  • Jelle Vossen 45' yellowcard
  • Michael Keane 51' goal
  • Ben Mee 65' yellowcard
  • Matt Taylor 81' goal
  • Scott Arfield 87' yellowcard
  • goal Jon Toral 10'
  • goal Paul Caddis 63'
  • yellowcard Jonathan Spector 78'

Live Commentary: Burnley 2-2 Birmingham City - as it happened

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Burnley 2-2 Birmingham City - as it happened
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Burnley's first home game of the season was against a Birmingham City side chasing their third win in a row on Saturday lunchtime.

Sean Dyche's Clarets were searching for their first victory of 2015-16, but had to settle for a point at Turf Moor.

Read how an entertaining four-goal game unfolded with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.

2.27pmWe've got to dash off but make sure you click around on site for loads more live action on a busy Saturday in England and across Europe.

2.25pmBoth sides maintain their unbeaten starts to the season and it's hard to say which manager will be happier. Rowett will feel that his side should have claimed three poitns, while Dyche will claim that the penalty should never have been given and that his side were the ones pushing for a winner.

90+5 minFULL-TIME: BURNLEY 2-2 BIRMINGHAM

90+5 minDavis shoots wide for Birmingham and that should be that.

90+3 minCLOSE! So close to a winner for Burnley as Taylor's corner is inadvertently flicked towards goal by Kiefenbeld. It grazes Duff's knee in the six-yard box but somehow goes through and out of play. Birmingham hanging on here.

90+1 minBIRMINGHAM SUB: Jacques Maghome replaces Demarai Gray as FIVE minutes are added on. Plenty of time for a winner.

89 minCHANCE! Taylor fires wide after Sordell couldn't quite get the ball out from under his feet in the box. Burnley looking the more likely to nick this.

88 min

87 minA crowd of 12,430, including 806 travelling fans from Birmingham, are in Turf Moor today.

86 minBOOKING! Arfield into the book for stopping a Birmingham counter-attack with his arm after he slipped in the middle of the park.

85 minSUBS! Both managers make a change, with Paul Robinson taking Cotterill's place for the visitors and Marvin Sordell replacing Jutkiewicz for Burnley.

83 minBurnley go close to moving in front for the first time as a cross from the left just beats Darikwa coming in at the back post. Will we get a winner?

82 minHe might have made the wrong call with the penalty, but you have to credit Coote for his refereeing there. He initially played advantage before bringing play back because Burnley's cross came to nothing.

81 minHe might not have beaten the wall with his first free kick, but Taylor shows off his dead-ball prowess by dipping a fantastic effort in off the underside of the crossbar. Superb free kick.

81 minGOAL! BURNLEY 2-2 BIRMINGHAM (MATT TAYLOR)

79 minThe former Portsmouth man's effort is straight into the wall. Just over 10 minutes left for Burnley to get something out of the game.

78 minBURNLEY SUB: Matty Taylor replaces Kightly and instantly lines up the free kick...

78 minBOOKING! Jutkiewicz does win a free kick this time and Spector is booked for pulling back the strong striker.

77 minDyche is angry on the touchline as Jutkiewicz goes down in the box. Morrison did seem to have hold of the striker's arm, but you never see penalties given for that sort of thing.

75 minBIRMINGHAM SUB: Rowett makes his first change, replacing opening goalscorer Toral with David Davis to shore up the midfield.

74 minCHANCE! Darikwa nutmegs Grounds down the Burnley right before sending a low cross all the way across the penalty area. Somehow it doesn't get a touch in the six-yard box and Birmingham survive.

72 minThe Burnley crowd think that Birmingham's players are going down very easily and they're angry when play is stopped for Donaldson lying on the turf. However, it was a hefty collision with Heaton and the striker has to receive treatment.

69 minHe certainly appeared to have a good reason to argue

68 minCLOSE! Birmingham left-back Grounds shows off some neat footwork in the box after being able to bring the ball down with his chest in the box. His shot is headed for the corner until Duff gets in the way, a crucial block.

67 minBURNLEY SUB: No surprise here as Vossen comes off for Vokes. Can the Welshman have another big impact?

66 minIf Birmingham hold out for victory, it will be the first time in seven years that they've won back-to-back league games at the start of a season.

65 minBOOKING! Burnley left-back Mee goes into the book for clipping Cotterill's ankles.

63 minBurnley aren't happy about it, but it's Birmingham who score the third of the match. The Blues broke well again and Toral laid it into Donaldson, who fell very softly as Darikwa crossed paths with his run. Each replay makes it look harsher and harsher on Burnley. Caddis stepped up and slammed the penalty down the middle.

63 minGOAL! BURNLEY 1-2 BIRMINGHAM (PAUL CADDIS, PEN.)

62 minPENALTY TO BIRMINGHAM! Darikwa brings down Donaldson in the box.

61 min

60 minA pair of excellent crosses from either wing by Cotterill and Gray, but neither finds a man in blue with the hour mark seconds away.

58 minThe momentum has completely switched at Turf Moor. Burnley are all over Birmingham at the moment and the crowd are right behind them as Keane heads over from a Jones corner. Birmingham just need to slow things down a bit.

56 minSHOT! Careless header straight to Arfield from Kieftenbeld and the Burnley man takes aim straight away, fizzing a swerving effort close, but not on target.

53 minSAVE! Birmingham look to restore their lead quickly as Donaldson gets in behind and fires a shot across goal that Heaton keeps out. Moments earlier, Cotterill went down in the box, but Coote didn't think that there was enough contact.

51 minRowett won't like this one bit. First, Cotterill gives away a cheap free kick on the right and then Birmingham defend the set piece poorly. Kightly's cross is flicked on by Vossen at the near post before reaching an unmarked Keane at the back stick to head home from a couple of yards.

51 minGOAL! BURNLEY 1-1 BIRMINGHAM (MICHAEL KEANE)

50 minCLOSE! Birmingham have started the second half well and go close to a second as Kieftenbeld's shot goes just wide.

48 minLooking at the first-half stats, you'd think that Birmingham were the better side - they had more possession (59%) and more shots on target (four to Birmingham's two), but that just wasn't the case. A perfect away performance from the visitors so far.

46 minKICKOFF! The visitors get us back underway. No changes from either manager at the break.

1.33pmSTAT: When leading at half time last season, Birmingham went on to lose just one of 16 games. Big ask for Burnley to turn this around.

1.30pmMake that 2-0 to Everton as Lukaku scores his and the Toffees' second. *starts crying*

1.28pmWill Dyche make a half-time change at Turf Moor? Vokes made an impact off the bench last week and Jutkiewicz and Vossen have both struggled so far against the Blues' backline.

1.26pmIn the early Premier League game, it's also 1-0 to the visitors as Everton lead Southampton thanks to Romelu Lukaku's header. Unfortunately I've put him on the bench in fantasy football this week :(

1.24pmIf you're only just joining us here on SM and want a quick recap of the opening half, click here for our half-time report.

1.22pm

1.20pmIt's Birmingham who deservedly lead at the break then. Toral's snapshot from 20 yards caught out the hosts and they've never really recovered since.

45+3 minHALF-TIME: BURNLEY 0-1 BIRMINGHAM

45+1 minTwo minutes of added time at the end of the first half. Burnley don't deserve to be level, but can they grab an equaliser before the break?

45 minBOOKING! The easiest booking Coote will give all season as Vossen slides in and wipes out Cotterill, who was looking to start a counter-attack.

43 min

41 minThat's Birmingham's fifth shot of the game, so they've already equalled their total from last week. This has been some first-half performance from Rowett's charges.

40 minSAVE! What a hit this is from Gleeson! A bouncing ball reaches the Birmingham midfielder and he can't turn down the tempter from at least 30 yards. His dipping volley is on target and has to be tipped over by Heaton.

36 minSAVE! Darikwa's cross looks like it's behind the play, but Kightly has held his run and nods the ball towards Jutkiewicz. He does well to turn the ball goalwards on the volley, but his effort is too close to Kuszczak, who makes another easy save.

33 minIncidentally, Cotterill was a standout player for the Blues last term and picked up where he left off by scoring the Championship's first free-kick goal of the season last week against Reading.

31 minOFF THE POST! Birmingham go so close to a second as Cotterill comes in from the right and curls a left-footed effort against the post with Heaton beaten. Unlucky.

31 minKightly seemed to clearly foul Caddis in the box, but Coote waved play on and the ball was fed back to Mee. His deep cross reached Jutkiewicz, but the striker's acrobatic volley was instantly blocked.

29 minDonaldson with some good hold-up play again, chesting it down for Cotterill, whose ambitious effort from 30 yards is high and wide. Birmingham aren't seeing loads of the ball, but they look good when they do have it.

26 minThere's been several stray passes from the home side and the crowd is getting a bit restless at Turf Moor. Remember, they haven't scored once in their last four home league games.

23 minBurnley continuing to see plenty of the ball, but they just can't break the visitors down. It was outlined before the match how much Birmingham have improved defensively under Rowett and you can see that on show today.

21 minDarikwa's inventive outside-of-the-boot cross is headed towards Jutkiewicz until Kuszczak pounces forward and punches the ball away from danger.

20 min

18 minThis time it's Birmingham with a corner that Cotterill delivers. It's headed more up, than away and Gray is hanging around on the edge of the box. He takes on a first-time volley and can't get it anywhere near the target.

15 minA corner for the home side, but Jones's inswinger is headed clear by Toral, who is affecting the game at both ends of the pitch.

13 minCHANCES! A couple of openings for Burnley to equalise as both Boyd and Jutkiewicz warm the palms of Kuszczak with efforts that were fairly comfortable for the former Man United keeper.

12 minCompletely out of the blue, that. Burnley had had 70% possession in the opening 10 minutes.

10 minThe Blues were clinical last week and they're doing it again at Turf Moor. Kuszczak's long kick is nodded into the path of Toral from Donaldson and the on-loan Arsenal man makes it two goals in two league games for the Blues with a crisp low volley with his left foot. Fine finish.

10 minGOAL! BURNLEY 0-1 BIRMINGHAM (JON TORAL)

9 minThis time Coote does blow for a foul after Morrison tangled with Jutkiewicz on the edge of the box. Kightly takes it and it's a comfortable save for Kuszczak.

7 minOne thing Birmingham will want to do today is create more shooting opportunties for the likes of Clayton Donaldson. In the 2-1 win over Reading, the Blues mustered a league-low five attempts on goal, including blocked shots.

5 minPENALTY APPEAL! Shouts for a penalty from the home fans as Mee's floated cross towards Jutkiewicz is plucked out of the sky by Kuszczak. The striker probably wouldn't have got to it, but Spector clumsily bundled over his man and that could have easily been given.

4 minCaddis's ball down the right bobbles harmlessly out of play. The ball has barely been in either final third so far as the two sides feel each other out in the middle.

1 minRight-back Tendayi Darikwa is making his home debut for the Clarets and he's just got a warm round of applause from the home supporters for nicking the ball away from Jon Toral and coolly redistributing the ball.

0 minKICKOFF! Today's referee David Coote gets us underway, with Burnley starting the match.

12.29pmHere come the two sides out of the tunnel. The sun has broken through the clouds in Lancashire and the pitch at Turf Moor, unlike at Brentford, looks lovely.

12.28pmBirmingham were supposed to travel to Brentford in midweek, but the Bees have been allowed to postpone the match to relay their pitch, which was cutting up badly after just one game of the new season.

12.27pmOne man who can't play for the home side today is Rouwen Hennings. The German striker joined the Clarets yesterday, but he hasn't received international clearance yet. He could feature at Ipswich Town on Tuesday, though.

12.25pmPREDICTION: Righty ho, five minutes until kickoff at Turf Moor. I fancy this game to be a 2-0 home win and you can hear more of my thoughts from the Sports Mole Sofa earlier this week below.

12.23pmBurnley will be glad to return home today, but they haven't scored in any of their last four league games at Turf Moor. If they fail to break down Birmingham, it will be the first time in their history they have gone five home league home without scoring. The longer they go without scoring, the more nervy they are likely to get when a chance presents itself.

12.21pmBy the way, if you fancy following the lunchtime game in the Premier League as well, open this link in a new tab to join my colleague Barney Corkhill.

12.20pmBirmingham have gone 12 games without keeping a clean sheet against Burnley, but just look at how much the Blues have improved since Rowett came in last year.

12.18pmH2H: Burnley have won just two of their last nine home matches against the Blues, but one of those victories was their last meeting at Turf Moor when Danny Ings scored twice in a 3-0 win en route to Burnley's promotion in 2014.

12.16pmLuckily we don't have to endure Birmimgham's ghastly away kit today. They're in their traditional blue colours.

12.14pmBurnley's defeat at Port Vale was one of several shocks in the first round of the League Cup in midweek. Dyche made just four changes for the match against the League One side and had the likes of Vokes, Vossen, George Boyd and Michael Kightly in from the start. He'll be looking for a big response today in what is Burnley's first home game of the season.

12.12pmAs mentioned above, Birmingham are going for three wins in a row today after recording back-to-back 2-1 wins over Reading and Bristol Rovers in the league and Capital One Cup respectively. Today's game will be a sterner test than those two games and Burnley start the game as favourites, despite drawing at Leeds and then losing to Port Vale in the Cup.

12.10pm

12.09pmLike Dyche, Gary Rowett names the same side that started the Blues' first league game of the season against Reading. Rowett made eight changes for the midweek League Cup tie against Bristol Rovers, but reverts back to his first-choice XI for the trip to Turf Moor.

12.07pmBIRMINGHAM XI: Kuszczak; Caddis, Spector, Morrison, Grounds; Gleeson, Kieftenbeld, Cotterill, Toral; Gray, Donaldson Subs: Legzdins, Eardley, Robinson, Thomas, Maghoma, Shinnie, Davis

12.05pmSean Dyche goes with the same XI that started last weekend's opener at Leeds United. Sam Vokes would have been hoping for a start after scoring the Clarets' late equaliser at Elland Road, but Dyche sticks with Jelle Vossen and Lukas Jutkiewicz in attack.

12.03pmBURNLEY XI: Heaton; Darikwa, Duff, Keane, Mee; Boyd, Arfield, Jones, Kightly; Vossen, Jutkiewicz Subs: Gilks, Ward, Sordell, Vokes, Taylor, Jackson, Anderson

12.01pmHeeellllo hello! This week's 12.30pm kickoff in the Championship again involves Burnley as they host Birmingham City at Turf Moor. There's plenty to get through between now and kickoff, so let's get right to it...
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