75min: Big tackle from Fox off the pitch on Parnaby who is clearly hurt by it. Not a foul though.
73min: Corner Birmingham. It's partially cleared but the ball finds Benitez in the box and his shot is blocked.
70min: As you may gather, loyal reader, nothing is happening here. Burnley look like they could play all night and not score while Birmingham appear to think a third goal is inevitable.
68min: Burnley sub - Injured Fletcher comes off for Steve Thompson.
66min: Birmingham sub - McFadden off Michel on. Just the one name for Michel - he's Spanish.
66min: Vignal booked for late challenge on Mears.
65min: Burnley sub - Robbie Blake on for David Nugent. Ex-Birmingham man Blake gets rich applause.
Now that hurts: Jack Cork is brought down60min: Birmingham fans are really enjoying their last home game of the season, filling this grand old ground with songs of support - loud ones.
57min: Benitez great break, perfect cross for Larsson whose volley flies two yards wide.
56min: Parnaby yellow carded for a ugly challenge on Burnley's Jack Cork.
55min: Great ball from Vignal puts Jerome through but he fails to shoot and Cort clears. Seconds later Benitez fires wide from 20 yards.
50min: Fox yellow-carded for a two-footed lunge on nice guy Lee Bowyer who is left looking like a blue rug as a result. There might be a bit of 'afters' from the ex-West Ham man now...
48min: Lovely passing from Burnley ends in a great shot from Fletcher that stings Hart's hands from 20 yards.
46min: Steve Fletcher arrows a shot just over the bar. Good start from Burnley.
Two easy: Benitez celebrates Birmingham's second goal HALF-TIME: Birmingham 2 Burnley 0.
41min: GOAL - Benitez nets his first home goal all season from close range after a head back across goal by Roger Johnson. It's Benitez's birthday today as well. A three-goal haul now beckons. Birmingham 2 Burnley 0.
39min: Factoid: Tyrone Mears has just taken his 500th thrown-in of the season - a Premier League record according to the stats men and bean counters. My, how those stats men must be fun to spend an evening with...
37min: Vignal gets a in a miracle clearance from virtually under his own bar but Burnley's sixth corner of the half ends in familiar disappointment.
35min: Burnley's fifth corner of the half causes problems but sees them caught short in defence before McFadden's poor final ball.
34min: Factoid: All of Birmingham's 12 Premier League wins this season have been by a one-goal margin. Thrilling they ain't...
29min: GOAL - Cameron Jerome nudges the ball over the line via Brian Jensen's leg after a brilliant cross from Larsson. Harsh on Burnley. A very scruffy goal that may even have been touched towards Jensen by defender Tyrone Mears. Birmingham 1 Burnley 0.
Goal: Cameron Jerome scores via Mears and Jensen25min: It may have taken nine months but Burnley are starting to look Premier League class. They are now all over Birmingham and winning corners galore but still no real threat to home keeper Joe Hart. City fans helpfully singing 'Going down' to the travelling fans in case they have forgotten. However, Europe beckons Burnley if Fulham win the Europa League by dint of a place in the Fair Play League. That sounds a bit like a school sports day where everybody gets a prize so nobody cries to me.
Coming soon: Hull City players to receive a Crunchie.
21min: Plenty of goalmouth action and Nugent wins a corner for Burnley...that they waste without even getting into the area.
19min: Superb save from Jensen to deny Jerome from close range, the City man scooping the ball up but just lacking enough power.
16min: But wait, here's a Burnley corner...there's a scramble and it's cleared.
Seconds later, the breaking home side win a corner of their own that sees McFadden's cross headed over by Jerome from four yards. There have already been eight goal attempts. What a fiesta of football. I could be in Brazil if I were not ...
14min: Good passing from Brum - they look confident and Benitez up front is a handful - but they lack teeth and the whole match has the air of a friendly.
8min: Great tackle from Caldwell denies Benitez (not Rafa) a clear shot when she's through. City win a corner though, then another but they come to nothing.
Final fling? This could be Joe Hart's last home match for City as he will be going back to Manchester in the summer4min: Haven't noticed 'goal a game for England' Burnley striker David Nugent in the frame for a place a summer trip to South Africa - unless of course he's off on safari.
1min: Lee Bowyer gets on the end of a great cross from Cameron Jerome six yards and heads it wide - that should have been his seventh goal of the season - but they have only scored 17 times at home this term so the Brum faithful are used to not cheering. Burnley, however, concede three goals a game on the road, so something's gotta give.
12.45: We're off...
12.42: At least it's not raining here in the second city and here come the players...it's been a long season and while City can look forward to hosting great sides like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal next season, Burnley will have to change kit at Scunthorpe, get extra police in for the visit of Leeds and/or Millwall and still have to go to Hull.
12.40: Could this be the dreariest or most pointless football match ever played?
Birmingham, firmly established in the Premier League and with nithing to play for except finishing position cash against a Burnley side already relegated and with just four away points all season.
And to think these two came up together last season...
It's a good job the TV cameras are here to bring this jewel in the crown to the masses and show Fabio Capello that Lee Bowyer might even be worth a place in his World Cup squad.
Stranger things have happened...
Graet tackle: Burnley's Steven Caldwell (left) blocks a shot from Birmingham City's Christian BenitezBirmingham: Hart, Parnaby, Johnson, Ridgewell, Vignal, Larsson, Bowyer, Ferguson, McFadden, Jerome, Benitez.
Subs: Taylor, Murphy, Michel, Fahey, Carsley, Tainio, Redmond.
Burnley: Jensen, Mears, Cort, Caldwell, Fox, Cork, Alexander, Nugent, Steven Fletcher, Paterson, Elliott.
Subs: Weaver, Duff, MacDonald, Rodriguez, Blake, Bikey, Thompson.
Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)
source: dailymail
