FA PREMIER LEAGUE Birmingham 1 Everton 1:WHEN ENGLISH football lifted its ban on foreign imports in 1978, Birmingham City signed a member of Argentina's World Cup-winning team, Alberto Tarantini. He was not a success. His first training session had Jim Smith, then the manager, asking anxiously "What's the Spanish for 'run'?" Tarantini lasted less than a season at St Andrew's.
Alex McLeish is having better luck with another Argentinian, Mauro Zarate. The 21-year-old striker, signed on loan from Al-Sadd of Qatar, could prove to be the catalyst in keeping Birmingham in the Premier League. Zarate's fourth goal in four games brought Birmingham a point on Saturday after Everton, under pressure for much of the second half, had threatened to steal a win against the run of play.
The free-kick with which Zarate beat Tim Howard seven minutes from the end came straight from the David Beckham school of dramatic art. The ball was curled over Everton's wall and found the top left-hand corner of the net. "I saw a congregation gathering around the ball and I know that at a given moment a few people fancy themselves to pop it over the wall and into the top corner," McLeish said. "But it very rarely happens and I made sure David Murphy got word I wanted Zarate to take the kick. I had seen him on DVDs doing this."
McLeish's side are now only two points above the bottom three, albeit with a superior goal difference, and their four remaining fixtures will demand a greater degree of consistency than they have achieved so far.
Against Everton's tightly-knit defence James McFadden and Mikael Forssell, who was replaced at half-time with a twisted ankle, struggled for a glimpse of goal. For a side hoping to deprive Liverpool of fourth place Everton gave a muted display and afterwards manager David Moyes said he would like to be able to give some of his players a breather.
A bad miss by City's Liam Ridgewell and a double save by Tim Howard kept the match goalless, though not for long. In the 78th minute Lee Carsley picked out Yakubu Ayegbeni with a precise short cross from the left-hand byline and the Nigerian's header was diverted past Maik Taylor by Joleon Lescott, the centre-back's ninth goal of the season. "It was a cruel blow to go behind," said McLeish. At least Zarate soothed some of the bruising.
Guardian Service
