Birmingham City Vs. West Brom, Match Report: Second Half Explosion Lifts Baggies Out Of Drop

In a universe where nothing physical is either created nor destroyed, where concepts such as karma and ying-yang have believers around the world, Birmingham City's horrible Saturday performance makes sense. The cosmos needed to even the scales after the Blues won their first trophy since 1963 last Sunday, giving their best performance in recent memory. Today, Alex McLeish's team was horrible, losing at home to West Brom 3-1, and in the process leaving themselves open to being in the drop by the end of the weekend.

In the first half, West Brom shared Brum's putrid form, the sides playing to halftime at 0-0, neither squad threatening the other. In the second half, West Brom struck first, with Youssuf Mulumbu poking the ball over Ben Foster for the opener. Moments later, Jean Beausejour equalized for Birmingham, their only decent chance of the night.

Over the next 20 minutes, Brom would take control of the match. Steven Reid was allowed to carry the ball 30 yards before setting-up James Morrison for a goal from 18-yards out. Paul Scharner was found on a far post run after Brum fell asleep defending a corner. Birmingham City would never show a willingness to fight for the match, practically conceding the game to their relegation-embattled visitors.

If Bluenoses needed something to bring them down from their Sunday high, Alex McLeish seemed intent on giving it to them. He made five changes from the squad that won the club's first piece of silverware since 1963, and while most of those were injury-motivated, the energy the Blues showed reflected a team that lacked focus. Now the team finds itself in 17th place, and if any of Wigan, Wolverhampton or West Ham win, they'll be in the drop.