Liverpool 2 Birmingham City 2:Desperate times called for desperate measures at Anfield tonight as David Ngog's con artistry yielded a penalty equaliser for Liverpool after the homeside were rocked by Birmingham City.

Liverpool looked devoid of ideas in the second half as they chased the game something from the game, having gone in at halftime 2-1 down after Christian Benitez and Cameron Jerome overhauled Ngog’s opener.

The Frenchman got Liverpool off and running with a brilliant finish seconds after being denied by Joe Hart in the Birmingham net but, despite dominating the rest of the half, Liverpool were caught cold by a Benitez header and a thunderous strike frm Jerome.

The homeside were nowhere near as cohesive in the second period and Ngog duped referee Peter Walton into awarding a penalty against Lee Carsley, whose lunge was reckless but not illegal. Substitute Steven Gerrard did the honours from the spot for the point.

"This is a shame for the game," said Blues manager Alex McLeish afterwards. “He conned the referee and got his team a penalty. Peter Walton is a good referee but he got that one wrong. If it hadn’t been for the penalty, I thought we’d have gone on to win it.”

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was quick to point out, however, that his side had 67 per cent possession and over 25 shots on goal.

Carsley branded it an "an embarrassing case of cheating" but Liverpool still stay seventh, 11 points behind leaders Chelsea having played the same amount of games and Birmingham stay 15th, two points above the relegation zone.

Of all Liverpool's young imports, Ngog has looked the most likely to make the breakthrough this season, and his balance and clever control were soon in evidence.

The France under-21 striker gave Liverpool a 13th-minute lead. Johnson surged down the right, cutting between two defenders before crossing for Ngog who saw his first effort blocked by Hart.

The ball flew to Kuyt only for Hart to again get his legs in the way, but when Albert Riera hooked it back in Ngog made no mistake with a fierce a close-range volley into the roof of the net.

Teemo Tainio limped of two minutes later, former Everton midfielder Carsley coming on in his place.

Liverpool had been cruising, but Birmingham struck back with an impressive set-piece, and once again Liverpool's susceptibility in the air was evident.

James McFadden fired a free-kick into the area and Roger Johnson headed back across goal where Scott Dann nodded on for Benitez to head past Jose Reina from close range.

Hart touched over a Javier Mascherano drive, and Daniel Agger saw a low shot following a corner kicked off the line by Carsley as Liverpool tried to hit back.

A minute from the break Riera, who had appeared to be on a solo bid to score from outside the box at almost every opportunity, suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury, and Gerrard was brought into the fray as a substitute.

His arrival was met with huge cheers from the Kop, but the home crowd was silenced within seconds as Birmingham took the lead.

Jerome shook off the attentions of Mascherano to lash a swerving 35-yard effort into the top corner.

The confidence Liverpool had shown in the first half hour evaporated and, with the crowd's anxiety growing, errors in possession increased.

Gerrard saw a low header hit Hart's left-hand post from Johnson's cross from the right as Liverpool at last produced some sustained pressure.

McFadden was booked for a foul on Johnson, the Scot being substituted soon after to be replaced by former Red Gregory Vignal.

Liverpool then got their lifeline in the 71st-minute. Ngog did well to get to the byline and went sprawling to the turf as Carsley came in with a sliding challenge, even though the Birmingham man's leg did not touch the Liverpool youngster.

Carsley and Ngog exchanged views and pushes, and referee Walton booked both before Gerrard stepped up to drill home the spot kick.

Liverpool then lost Benayoun with a hamstring complaint, Ryan Babel coming on. Gerrard fired over a cross for Ngog to hit wide at the near post before sending an 18-yarder just wide.

With nine minutes left Alberto Aquilani finally made his Anfield debut as a substitute for Lucas.

The visitors were forced to defend desperately in the final minutes but they clung on valiantly for a point.