Manchester City continued to struggle for goals Saturday as manager Roberto Mancini again endured criticism from the home crowd following a goalless draw with Birmingham in the English Premier League.
A dull first half at City’s Eastlands stadium was punctuated by just one real talking point as Carlos Tevez saw a goal canceled out for handball, a decision that led to a booking as he took his protest too far.
The introduction of Gareth Barry at the expense of Tevez late in the second half drew boos from fans and shouts of “you don’t know what you’re doing,” which only increased in volume at full-time.
Tottenham, meanwhile, got back to winning ways at White Hart Lane as it recorded a comfortable 4-2 defeat against Blackburn.
Gareth Bale headed in a Rafael van der Vaart corner to give Spurs the lead. Roman Pavlyuchenko missed a penalty but was not to be denied as Bale’s darting run and cross presented him with the straightforward task of nodding a second from close range.
Peter Crouch then profited from some poor Rovers defending to put the game beyond doubt from close range after the break, leaving it to star man Bale to grab the final goal for Spurs before Ryan Nelson netted a consolation for Blackburn.
Elsewhere in the EPL, Owen Coyle’s Bolton secured a 3-2 victory over Wolves and struggling Wigan claimed a massive three-point haul at home to West Brom, with Victor Moses netting the decisive goal.
West Ham and Blackpool played out a goalless draw that saw both sides create, and squander, a plethora of chances. Carlton Cole was perhaps the guiltiest party as he hit the post from just a couple of yards out.
It was a similar tale of poor finishing at St James’ Park as a hard-working Fulham team left England’s North East with a point following another goalless stalemate with Newcastle.
