Boro no match for Birmingham

Stewart Downing sliced into his own net to put Birmingham on the way to a 3-0 victory which took them above Middlesbrough in the Barclays Premier League.

Mikael Forssell then added a second and Gary McSheffrey converted a late penalty to give the Blues a deserved victory at St Andrews.

Undermined by shaky defending, Boro never really found their stride and when they did create chances, Maik Taylor stood firm in the Birmingham goal.

After a slow start, Birmingham began to come into the game after a Sebastian Larsson free-kick forced George Boateng into an awkward clearance over his own bar.

Mark Schwarzer had a moment of alarm in the Boro goal when he lost the ball under pressure from Fabrice Muamba but recovered.

But there was nothing the Australian keeper could do as Birmingham claimed the lead after a McSheffrey free-kick in the 22nd minute.

Julio Arca was booked for a clumsy challenge on Cameron Jerome on the right and McSheffrey's resulting set-piece was diverted past Schwarzer by Downing.

Forssell turned in the second from close range after Jerome flicked a Larsson corner across the face of goal.

Forssell found the net again early in the second half but the Finn was ruled offside from a McSheffrey header.

Birmingham were awarded a spot-kick after Robert Huth and Fabio Rochemback combined to bring down McSheffrey in stoppage time. McSheffrey coolly finished the job with the last kick of the game.