Aleksandar Mitrovic carried off as Birmingham hold stuttering Newcastle

Gianfranco Zola is more optimistic about the future of Birmingham City after his side’s 1-1 FA Cup draw against Newcastle United at St Andrew’s. Although Blues are still without a win in five games under his control, the Italian felt his players can be proud of their performance.

“There was some good football but it was important that we got something out of the game. It will give the players a big lift,” he said. “I thought it was our best performance for consistency with the exception of the opening five minutes, when Newcastle scored their goal. This game will improve the quality of the football we can produce and improve the confidence in the team.

“I can say I was nervous on the bench. This is the moment for us to begin as the players understand what I want them to do. I totally believe we should have beaten Newcastle. We had more possession, more shots and looked more dangerous than Newcastle. We didn’t allow them to find their rhythm and create problems. I thought our three midfielders were outstanding and we stopped them playing. I think that was a surprise to them.”

Newcastle, who have not progressed to the fourth round for five years, made heavy work of their task in trying to beat Birmingham. Lacking the services of their leading scorer, Dwight Gayle, who languished on the substitutes’ bench, the north-east club failed to make any real impression and were unable to build on a sixth-minute lead carved out by Daryl Murphy, who notched his first goal since his summer move from Ipswich. The loss of Aleksandar Mitrovic in the build-up to the goal eventually put them out of their stride. The forward sustained a leg injury and was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Newcastle had made eight changes and it was reflected in their performance as they tailed off against a Birmingham side who were level in the 37th minute thanks to Lukas Jutkiewicz. The former Burnley striker could even have sealed the game in the final five minutes but failed with two close-range headers when United’s defence was all at sea.

Newcastle’s manager, Rafa Benítez, said: “To lose Mitrovic so early was a blow. We had the control and were creating. We were dominant and then we gave Birmingham the chance to get back into the game as we lost that control. Obviously, when you have so many players who have not played for a while, to keep the tempo and intensity was not easy. We then had to make the substitutions in an effort to get back into the game.

“I thought Murphy did a great job scoring his first goal for the club. In terms of effort I was pleased for him as well as him scoring a good goal. A replay is not ideal for us or Birmingham but we have to manage as best we can in an effort to progress in what I believe is a massive competition.

“We know what it means to the Newcastle fans and will try to go through despite having to use players who are not playing very often. This is both good for the squad and the team to operate like this.”