The FA Cup fifth round game between Derby County and Birmingham City at Pride Park on Saturday Feb 13 2010.
Football fans are not exactly known for their patience, but that was precisely what was needed at Pride Park.
It took 31 minutes and 50 seconds for the first shot to arrive, a long-range drive from Lee Bowyer, 54 minutes had drained by before Jay McEverly - letting loose from much the same position as fate would have it - found the Birmingham City net, a further 19 before Scott Dann’s header breached Stephen Bywater’s defences, and it was not until stoppage time that Liam Ridgewell sent Birmingham into the quarter-finals.
It is tempting to harp on about the Birmingham forwards. After all, their two first-choice strikers have scored just two goals between them since the start of the year - a feat equalled by Phillips in 10 minutes last week - but Derby County’s front line weren’t much better, and this match was instead fought in the middle third between two midfields whose seem to specialise in football best described as attritional. That the three scorers were defenders tells its own story.
With half an hour gone, there had been no chances on goal. Or off it, for that matter. Finally, it came, Bowyer getting his head down and going for goal from well outside the area.
They had played the Dambusters theme tune at the start of the match, and Bowyer’s shot, gathered by Bywater, was the bouncing bomb, chances suddenly coming think and fast.
Within three minutes Christian Benitez had connected with an admittedly weak header, and Jerome had failed in a one-on-one, the goalkeeper tipping his passing shot out for a corner.
Derby returned fire through McEverly, his shot bouncing in front of a prostrate Joe Hart.
It is the nature of his position that Hart’s exceptional save to deny Shaun Barker, whose shot from point-blank range was palmed away, will be forgotten.
Hart has been magnificent this season since his arrival on loan from Manchester City, keeping his team in many a match in which by rights Birmingham would have bitten the dust.
Fabio Capello praised the 22 year-old last week, saying he makes no mistakes. Well, here was a clanger of corking proportions.
Stung into offensive mode, Birmingham drove forward, capitalising when James McFadden’s corner was driven down into the ground by Dann before it found the roof of the net.
Then Phillips, on for Benitez, turned and hit against the post with just minutes of stoppage time left, and Ridgewell tapped it in from two inches out, ensuring that this turgid FA Cup fifth round tie did not go into a replay.
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