Birmingham 0-0 Newcastle: Birmingham were left despondent this evening as their four-season stint in the FA Premiership came to an end in front of their home fans.

They did manage to secure a point against Newcastle but it was not enough with Portsmouth winning at Wigan.

Birmingham had the majority of possession on the day Michael Owen made his comeback for the visitors but lacked a cutting edge.

Michael Owen gave Newcastle - and England - a timely boost by being named as substitute. The £17million striker only restarted training on Monday after suffering a fractured metatarsal on January 31.

Newcastle were unchanged as they went in search of a sixth straight victory that would boost their hopes of a UEFA Cup place.

In stark contrast Birmingham knew they would have to match Portsmouth's result at Wigan or drop into the second tier.

Manager Steve Bruce made one change to the side that drew at Everton with Jiri Jarosik replacing Nicky Butt.

Birmingham made a bright start and Jarosik sent a shot over the top in the fourth minute following a free-kick from Jermaine Pennant.

Newcastle were content to sit back in the early stages and try and hit Birmingham on the break.

Birmingham were having the majority of possession but were finding it hard to test goalkeeper Shay Given.

Pennant was finding space on the right and the quality of his crossing was good. He picked out Heskey in the 37th minute and the striker turned quickly in the area but did not get any real power on his effort and Given made the save.

Newcastle carved out a good chance in the 47th minute when Solano weaved his way into the area but there was no-one on hand to take advantage.

Play switched back down the other end and Heskey flicked the ball on to Pennant only for his effort to clear the bar.

Owen was brought on in the 62nd minute - to the delight of the Newcastle supporters - and replaced Michael Chopra.

Two minutes later the visitors were under pressure when Martin Taylor got a touch to Pennant's free-kick but there was no-one following up.

There was a sense of unease around the ground, though, going into a crucial stage of the game with Portsmouth winning at Wigan.

Pennant was continuing to supply good crosses and picked out Heskey in the 78th minute. But his first touch let him down and Given was able to race out and collect the ball cleanly.

Given then saved superbly from Forssell and then Heskey in quick succession on the stroke of full-time to condemn Birmingham to relegation.