THE INDIE - SAHA FIRES AS UNITED TURN ON BRUCE
His team were well on their way to their seventh home defeat of the season when Steve Bruce made the innocent mistake of acknowledging the only section of supporters in St Andrew's who cared enough to sing his name. The Manchester United fans had chanted insistently for their former captain to wave at them and, when he did so, the Birmingham City manager was greeted with a barrage of boos from his own fans.
Defeated in the Carling Cup quarter-finals and 19th in the Premiership, after almost four years in charge of Birmingham, Bruce has reached a crisis point. The club's chairman, David Gold, said earlier in the day that Birmingham had no intention of sacking their manager before the January transfer window but if that was the official vote of confidence from the board, then the straw poll on the terraces sounded very different.
Booed off at the end of a defeat inflicted by two goals from Louis Saha, and a first for United from Park Ji-Sung, Bruce's team were never really close to troubling United, who conceded a late header from Jiri Jarosik. The Birmingham manager took his time coming up to speak after the match - Sir Alex Ferguson always had words of advice in times of trouble - but when he arrived at last he was bullish about his relationship with the St Andrew's fans.
The Carling Cup semi-finals may not be quite what the Glazers had in mind when they defined a successful first half of the season as the new owners of United, but for Sir Alex Ferguson any competition will do at the moment. His mid-week evenings next year have already been freed up by United's failure to get past the group stages of the Champions' League but judging by the team Ferguson selected last night it did not appear he wanted any more spare time.
Gary Neville, Mikaël Silvestre, Cristiano Ronaldo, Darren Fletcher and Wes Brown were part of a strong United side that started the match but it was on the substitutes' bench that Ferguson made his intentions plain. Both Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand were there in case of emergency and it was the introduction of the 20-year-old striker after the interval that panicked Birmingham into conceding their first goal within 30 seconds of the re-start.
THE TIMES - SAHA PROVES THAT UNITED STILL HAVE KNOCKOUT PUNCH
Manchester United will still be smarting after their exit from Europe, from their beloved Champions League, two weeks ago. That they are unlikely to win the Barclays Premiership, the second big prize on offer, unless Chelsea collapse dramatically has made it a time of sober reflection at Old Trafford.
Instead of sulking, though, United are trying to get on with the rest of their season as vigorously as they can. They brushed aside Birmingham City at St Andrew’s last night to reach the semi-finals of the Carling Cup and although it hardly bears comparison to the Champions League, it at least keeps alive the prospect of winning silverware. Without a trophy in nearly two years, United cannot be choosy.
It is United’s tenth last-four appearance in the competition. They lost to Chelsea in the two-leg semi-final last season and, strangely, have won it only once. Yet Sir Alex Ferguson, their manager, concedes that it has suddenly taken on extra importance.
United have to win something this season, anything. If they could enter the LDV Vans Trophy, they probably would. "If the opportunity is there in any cup, you have to go for it," Ferguson said. "I felt that we were unlucky against Chelsea last season."
For Steve Bruce, the Birmingham manager, the misery goes on. Although his much-changed side, a reaction to the "pathetic" 4-1 defeat against the other side in Manchester on Saturday, competed well in the first half, they were blown away after the interval. Wayne Rooney, a substitute, did not contribute directly to the three United goals but being there was enough. "I think his presence helped a bit," Ferguson said.
BIRMINGHAM CITY (4-4-2): Maik Taylor — D Johnson, Martin Taylor, M Upson, M Painter — J Pennant, N Butt (sub: J Clapham, 66min), S Clemence, D Dunn (sub: N Kilkenny, 66) — J Jarosik, E Heskey (sub: M Forssell, 83). Substitutes not used: C Doyle, W Pandiani. Booked: Johnson.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): T Howard — G Neville, W Brown, M Silvestre (sub: R Ferdinand, 60), K Richardson — C Ronaldo, D Fletcher, J O’Shea (sub: R Jones, 66), Park Ji Sung — G Rossi (sub: W Rooney, 46), L Saha. Substitutes not used: E van der Sar, P Bardsley. Booked: Silvestre, Richardson.
THE GUARDIAN - SAHA AND UNITED PILE ON AGONY FOR BLUES
Despite a disastrous start to the season home fans have remained remarkably supportive of Steve Bruce, though the Birmingham manager last night risked compromising that relationship when his extraordinary decision to acknowledge chanting Manchester United fans, whose side were leading 2-0 at the time, prompted a chorus of boos.
Previously Birmingham supporters have voiced their disapproval at the team, and not the manager, though the response to Bruce's ill-advised gesture was inevitable. It was notable that the former Manchester United defender chose not to repeat his faux pas when the visiting fans goaded him again midway through the second half.
By then Sir Alex Ferguson's side had already secured their place in the semi-finals after the introduction of Wayne Rooney at half-time sparked a three-goal burst that broke Birmingham's resistance and kept alive United's best chance of winning silverware this season. Louis Saha scored twice while there was also a first United goal for Park Ji-sung, much to Ferguson's delight.
The United manager has won the League Cup only once during his illustrious reign at Old Trafford, though gone are the days when he could dismiss this competition as irrelevant. With Chelsea tightening their grip on the Premiership and United's European campaign coming to an early end, the domestic cups have taken on increased significance for Ferguson.
Not that he felt the need to name his strongest team against a Birmingham side still smarting from Saturday's mauling at Manchester City. Edwin van der Sar, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rooney all started on the bench. A sense of foreboding immediately gripped St Andrew's, though the England international's introduction proved merely a distraction, paving the way for Saha and Park to exploit Birmingham's fragile defence. "I thought we maybe should have had a couple of goals in the first half but in the second half we had a great start," said Ferguson. "I felt probably bringing Wayne on, the presence of him helped."
For home fans, however, the sight of United plundering goals at will was far easier on the eye than the image of Bruce waving at the travelling supporters located in the far corner of the ground. "Brucie, Brucie give us a wave," demanded United fans, who could not have expected that the Birmingham manager, given his team's travails, would oblige. Remarkably he did, although he later sought to defuse the incident. "I have been here for four years as a manager and two years as a player," the Birmingham manager said. "The Birmingham fans know what I think of this football club."
THE TELEGRAPH - SAHA ENJOYS STROLL IN PARK
Manchester United may be out of Europe and unlikely to catch Chelsea in the Premiership, but the most likely of two remaining routes to their first trophy for two seasons was kept very much open last night when they romped to an uncomplicated victory to reach the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.
Two goals from Louis Saha confirmed United's passage, with Ji Sung-Park collecting his first for the club in between. Since drawing against Everton, United have scored nine goals in three successive victories, but for Birmingham this latest defeat only represents another worrying moment in their steady decline.
Birmingham were creating openings but over-deliberation cost them dear, as highlighted by an incident when Jiri Jarosik broke clear but hesitated and Wes Brown was able to intercept.
Heskey was unfortunate not to open the scoring in the 42nd minute, however, when he turned Silvestre but was denied by a diving save from Howard.
The move gave the team languishing 19th in the Premiership some optimism hope, but it proved short-lived. Within 37 seconds of the restart, United were ahead. Maybe the half-time introduction of Rooney had a psychological effect, though he was not directly involved when Ronaldo crossed from the right and Saha slid home only his second goal of the season.
After Rooney had sent a bicycle kick wide, United extended their advantage with a wonderful goal, and his first in a red shirt, for Park. The South Korean exchanged passes with Saha before striking a 15-yard drive beyond Taylor.
United's vocal fans called for their former favourite, Bruce, to give them a wave. That he responded did not go down well with Birmingham's frustrated supporters.
Ferdinand was introduced to strengthen a defence that had been rarely tested, and then Kieran Richardson was booked for halting Butt.
Birmingham were undone again in the 63rd minute, when Neville cut in before delivering the perfect ball to Saha, who took one touch before driving the ball fiercely past Taylor.
Birmingham did score, but by the time Jarosik deflected Jermaine Pennant's header beyond Howard, in the 75th minute, it was too late.