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Page last updated at 14:11 GMT, Sunday, 1 March 2009

Sheff Utd 2-1 Birmingham

Danny Webber
Webber recorded his fourth league goal this season

David Cotterill's controversial late penalty gave Sheffield United a win against second-place Birmingham that moves the Blades up to fifth.

Darius Henderson appeared to be in an offside position when he nodded Gary Naysmith's left-wing cross into the path of Danny Webber to prod home.

Chris Morgan put David Murphy's cross into his own net as the Blues levelled.

But Radhi Jaidi was harshly adjudged to have pushed Craig Beattie and Cotterill stepped up to slot the winner.


Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell:
"I thought we deserved to win as we were the better side.

"I don't think anybody in the top eight believes they haven't got a chance for automatic (promotion).

"It's about belief, you've got to believe are you good enough to want to play here, to win things and to try and get promotion.

"I thought they showed they have the ambition and belief to play here and the belief and ambition to win and now they have to have the belief and ambition to go and get promotion, it's there for them if they want it."

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish:
"The officials have had a bad day, there has got to be better quality than that from officials, just the same as you ask for better quality from some of the players.

"I haven't seen the offside decision, but there is nobody that I've spoken to that said it wasn't, so I have to take their word for that.

"But I saw the penalty decision, which was absolutely ludicrous, if that's a penalty then the referee has got to give 20 penalties in a game.

"We feel hard done by, we've had one penalty this season and some teams have had 15 or 16. It's unbelievable."


Sheff Utd: Kenny, Naughton, Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Cotterill, Montgomery, Stephen Quinn, Halford (Bromby 79), Henderson (Beattie 72), Webber (Ward 77).
Subs Not Used: Lupoli, Howard.

Booked: Montgomery, Stephen Quinn, Naughton.

Goals: Webber 44, Cotterill 83 pen.

Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Carr, Jaidi, Queudrue, Murphy, Sinclair (McSheffrey 70), Carsley, Fahey, Bouazza, Bent, Costly (Jerome 46).
Subs Not Used: Doyle, Martin Taylor, Johnson.

Booked: Bouazza, Carr, Carsley.

Goals: Morgan 74 og.

Att: 24,232

Ref: Lee Mason (Lancashire).



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