Birmingham 1-3 West Brom: League Cup hangover for Blues as Roy Hodgson claims first win as Baggies boss

Roy Hodgson continued his unbeaten run as West Bromwich Albion manager and picked up his first win since taking over after a dogged display against League Cup winners Birmingham City.

Three goals in 11 minutes livened up a dreary Midlands derby as Youssuf Mulumbu stabbed home before Jean Beausejour turned in Lee Bowyer’s cross to tie the score moments later, but James Morrison’s volley from the edge of the area restored the lead for the Baggies before the midfielder teed up Paul Scharner for an easy header after 70 minutes.

Alex McLeish had made five changes from his Wembley-winning XI, with David Bentley, Obafemi Martins, Cameron Jerome, Curtis Davies and Jean Beausejour all coming in; Nikola Zigic, Sebastian Larsson and Barry Ferguson were the more notable absentees.

West Brom were without midfielder Graham Dorrans, who turned his ankle in training on Friday, with James Morrison filling in, but there was no place for Carlos Vela, the on-loan Arsenal man who scored twice in recent weeks to grab precious points, in the starting line-up.

Outside the ground before kick-off the merchandise vendors were celebrating the League Cup win with an array of commemorative scarves, T-shirts and horns for sale, but the away side threatened to spoil the party with a confident early start.

Chris Brunt, the goalscoring captain, came close with an early header that was all too close to Ben Foster, before the tricky Jerome Thomas slalomed past Stephen Carr and had Curtis Davies at full stretch to prevent him from firing off a shot at the edge of the area.

The Blues found it difficult to break through West Brom’s solid shape, with Youssuf Mulumbu and Paul Scharner snapping at the heels, but chances were sparse in a first 25 minutes that lacked penetration from either side, with Birmingham guilty of wasting two corners, but a David Bentley free-kick required a brave head from Abdoulaye Meite as it needed just a nick to be steered into the back of the net.

It took a disastrous pass from Scharner for McLeish’s men to muster a chance from open play, but after Jerome intercepted a sloppy ball from the Austrian he could only steer his effort wide of goal from just outside the area.

At the other end West Brom did their best to make the simple as difficult as possible, with Thomas great at dribbling but disastrous at picking out a pass as he collected a Brunt ball and twisted past Davies but dithered before trying to pick out the open Morrison in the box.

Better was to come from the home side, however, who grew in confidence before the break and a clever Beausejour cross was met by the diving head of Cameron Jerome, but the striker’s effort crept narrowly wide of Carson’s far post.

That was the last chance of a first half that lacked finesse in the final third and failed to live up to the billing of a derby game, with both sets of supporters cheering more out of obligation than thanks to the football served up.

The second half saw a swift turnaround in fortunes, however, when substitute Peter Odemwingie capitalised on a defensive mix-up to send through Mulumbu as Birmingham failed to clear their lines, with the midfielder stabbing the ball over Foster and into the back of the net just seconds into the half.

But the lead was to be short-lived as the Blues broke and found Lee Bowyer in the box, with the former Leeds man sending over a perfectly weighted cross for Beausejour to tap in – barely a minute after Mulumbu had opened the scoring.

And more drama would come as Liam Ridgewell and Scharner grappled on the ground, earning both a yellow card, with the pair sensibly shaking hands, before Bentley almost scored direct from a corner, with Scott Carson on hand to tip it wide.

Just minutes later and the third goal of a remarkable start to the second half went in as Steven Reid raced down the flank and crossed to the edge of the area, a ball which Davies woefully dealt with and allowed Morrison to belt it in on the half-volley.

Birmingham were incensed soon after as Bowyer appeared to be pulled down in the area by towering defender Jonas Olsson, who definitely had a hand on the midfielder’s shoulder before he hit the ground.

Both managers then made changes, with Thomas coming off for Gonzalo Jara and Beausejour replaced by Kevin Phillips, but it was another substitute who should have lashed home moments later as Odemwingie pounced on Brunt’s thumping shot against the post, yet the Nigerian lashed over, perhaps not realising how much time he had.

But the Baggies were able to make it three on 71 minutes as a short corner was played to Morrison, who wonderfully picked out Scharner at the back post, with the midfielder heading back towards goal, beyond the palms of Foster and the desperate attempts to clear.

It could have been even better for the away side as Brunt came close to lobbing Foster after the goalkeeper denied Odemwingie, while Scott Carson was on hand to save a shot from range and preserve the margin and a thoroughly deserved victory.