Birmingham 1 Newcastle 1: Michael Owen eased some of the pressure on Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan by rescuing a precious point in a nervy Premier League relegation battle with Birmingham at St Andrews.

England coach Fabio Capello watched Owen show his predatory instincts in front of goal as he levelled matters 10 minutes into the second half with his seventh goal of the campaign.

James McFadden had given Birmingham a deserved half-time lead but it was a different story after the break when the Magpies looked the more menacing.

Owen's strike earned Newcastle only their third point from the eight Premier League matches since Keegan returned to Tyneside and it was enough to keep them above Alex McLeish's side in the battle to stay in the top flight.

Newcastle were disjointed and barely posed a threat in the opening 45 minutes despite Keegan playing Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins together for the first time.

Birmingham were well worth their interval lead with McFadden a constant menace after being restored to the starting line-up and Fabrice Muamba impressing in the centre of midfield.

But the visitors were transformed after Keegan's half-time pep talk and they dominated proceedings and caused the home defence all kinds of problems.

It needed home goalkeeper Maik Taylor to make some crucial saves to keep Newcastle at bay.

However, Owen was not to be denied and after 55 minutes he grabbed an equaliser with his seventh goal of the campaign.

Taylor again did well to parry away a low drive from Martins but Owen was the first to react to the rebound and clipped it into the corner of the net.

Newcastle defender Steven Taylor was booked for bringing down McFadden before Maik Taylor pushed aside a stinging drive from Jose Enrique.

The visitors finished the stronger and Maik Taylor had to be alert to keep out a shot on the turn from Martins, with Birmingham's only offering in the closing stages a long-range drive from substitute Mauro Zarate.