Birmingham City 3 Sheffield Wednesday 0: Palmer makes impression but Premier test proves a bridge too far for the Owls

The Owls were simply unable to cope with the pace and power of Premier League players and the quality of their own defending was a major concern.

It was a bridge too far and, in truth, the Owls were flattered by their fifth-round status after beating the lesser lights of Southport, Northampton Town, Bristol City and Hereford United to get this far.

New manager Gary Megson had played no part in the Cup run until this game but even Jose Mourinho would have struggled to get the Owls into the last eight.

Apart from adding an extra £200,000 into the pot, the only positives from the game came from the performances of Liam Palmer and Reda Johnson and the unity of the fans.

Midfielder Palmer, 19, has still not started a league game for the club while the jury has been out on defender Johnson since his arrival last month from Plymouth Argyle.

Both players showed the qualities needed to get the club moving back up the League One table. Whether they have enough quality around them remains to be seen.

For a few minutes – only a few minutes – the Owls had looked confident and were taking the game to the hosts.

But any optimism was ripped apart as Birmingham showed just how easy it is to score against the Owls with only five minutes gone.

Lee Bowyer collected a pass at the far side of the area and the former Leeds midfield player picked out winger Beausejour unmarked 10 yards out.

It was too good an opportunity to miss – where was Mark Reynolds? – and the Chilean winger fired home the goal to silence the Wednesday supporters in front of him.

Although things were soon to get worse, the Owls might have levelled when a clever back heel by Clinton Morrison set up Neil Mellor in the area. It took a quality challenge by Roger Johnson to turn the ball wide.

Wednesday conceded the second in the 18th minute and the goal was another bitter pill to swallow.

Defender Michael Morrison should easily have been able to stop Obafemi Martins but mis-timed his tackle and allowed the striker through on goal.

Seconds later, Martins was somersaulting through the air in celebration and Morrison was punching it in frustration.

A rash tackle by James O’Connor on Alexander Hleb ended the Birmingham winger’s afternoon and has cast a doubt over his availability for the Carling Cup final. It was not a dangerous challenge but, possibly, one that smacked of frustration.

Defensively, the Owls were a shambles at times with players switching off or reacting far too late.

Megson hauled off Reynolds but, to be fair, it could have been any one of the back four at that stage as all were playing so badly.

Even Reda Johnson stood by and watched to give Roger Johnson a free header at a corner and Michael Morrison allowed Cameron Jerome a near-post chance that rolled just inches wide.

Substitute Richard Hinds came out from the cold and played at right-back with Tommy Spurr switched back to his preferred left-back position.

The Owls enjoyed a decent spell of possession towards the end of the first half but Birmingham could have gone into the interval leading 3-0 if substitute David Bentley had been less selfish.

Bentley surged clear down the Birmingham left but shot wide rather than squaring the ball to Jerome unmarked in the centre of goal.

Megson took off both Michael Morrison and O’Connor at the interval which said everything about their first-half performances.

Mark Beevers replaced Morrison at centre-back and Palmer joined loanee Isaiah Osbourne in the middle of the park.

Osbourne’s passing was inconsistent. When it was bad, it had Megson scratching his head in dismay, when it was good it found holes in the opposition’s rearguard.

Once again, there was a brief spark from the Owls at the start of the second period but nothing that lasted.

Birmingham scored a third in the 53rd minute when goalkeeper Nicky Weaver failed to hold a corner under pressure from Bowyer and the loose ball was rammed home by Murphy.

Reda Johnson headed over the bar as the Owls began to gain a foothold, albeit a vastly belated one, in the final 20 minutes.

His overall performance was praised by Megson who said the defender had gone from looking like a ‘bomb-scare’ to one who could have Premier League credentials.

But it was Palmer who emerged with even greater credit for the Owls and the young midfielder may soon be looking back on this game as a major stepping stone in his playing career.

“I feel I am ready to play but there are a lot of experienced players in this squad – which I think is the best in our league,” said Palmer afterwards.

With victory in the bag, the home side slipped into cruise control towards the end. That allowed the Owls some breathing space but still they were unable to forge a route to goal.

Having waved farewell to the FA Cup, the Owls visit second-placed Bournemouth in the league tomorrow night.

Left dreaming of days when Wembley became a bore

AT the start of the season, the majority of Sheffield Wednesday supporters had no interest in a trip to Wembley.

They will not be going in the FA Cup after this result but, rest assured, nearly all would relish a ticket for the League One play-off final.

The Owls have lost far too many league games to think that automatic promotion is any longer possible. Yet that was the target this season.

Now, even play-off qualification will be a tall order and, whisper it, but there is a growing threat of relegation.

Saturday’s game at Birmingham City offered a brief reminder of better times.

Nearly 4,200 supporters made the journey down rainswept motorways to the ‘Second City’ and the Owls could have taken far more.

A request for 3,000 extra tickets had been rejected by the home club which is strange considering the complaints about low attendances in the FA Cup.

The venue for the game, St Andrews, is actually smaller than Hillsborough. However, ground size counts for nothing if you do not have a good enough team.

The Owls had been here five times since relegation from the Premier League in 2000 so the stadium was not the attraction.

What made this occasion special was the 11 years they had waited to watch a fifth-round FA Cup tie again.

During that time, the likes of Crewe Alexandra, Gillingham, Scunthorpe United and Swindon Town have all sent the Owls tumbling out of the FA Cup.

There has hardly been anything to get excited about. Maybe a third-round replay at Manchester City four years ago – but that is more or less it.

So a fifth-round tie against any Premier League club, never mind one that has spent two of the last four seasons in the Championship, made a refreshing change.

It was also an opportunity to forget about recent problems in the league.

The Owls have lifted the FA Cup three times and lost in three finals.

When they last reached the final, in 1993, Wembley had started to become a bore!

For the Football Association switched the semi-final against Sheffield United to the national stadium and the Owls also played Arsenal there in the Coca-Cola Cup final.

There was a replay in the FA Cup final, too, which made a total of four appearances at Wembley in the space of just a few months.

Back then, of course, no-one imagined that it would take so long to get back there again.

There has been a trip to Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium for a League One play-off final in 2005 but a return to Wembley remains on the wish list.

From start to finish on Saturday afternoon, the club’s supporters sang their hearts out.

Not even a poor performance from their side could dampen the enthusiasm. Unlike in the league, they had not turned up ‘demanding’ a victory.

When Birmingham scored for the third time and put the game out of reach, there was a heart-warming rendition of the Monty Python classic ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’.

And as the clock ticked down to the final whistle, chants of ‘It’s Just Like Watching Brazil’ were tongue-in-cheek to the extreme.

But, at least, they could see the funny side. Sometimes, if you do not laugh, you might cry.