Game #4724
Aston Villa
Monday, 16 September 2002
Lost
15th (-6)
Last 5: 🟥 🟩 🟥 🟩 🟥
Premier League
Attendance: 29,505
Birmingham City
St Andrew's
Birmingham City
3-0
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | None
MATCH SUMMARY
Villa suffer one of the most embarrassing nights for many a year as the selection, formation, approach and application are confused as is proving typical under Graham Taylor whilst poor refereeing and a lack of understanding of the rules of the game hand Birmingham a deserved win.
KEY MAN
Villa and Darius Vassell contest the offside decision that ruled out their equaliser before the referee misinterpreted the rules to let Enckelman's 'own goal' stand, Monday, 16 September 2002.
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MATCH TIMELINE
Monday, 16 September 2002
🟨 | 27’ Booking, Alpay Özalan
🥅 | 31’ Goal, 0-1, (Birmingham City), Clinton Morrison
🕒 | HT Birmingham City 1-0 Aston Villa
🔁 | 46’ Sub off, Marcus Allbäck, Sub on, Dion Dublin
🔁 | 46’ Sub off, Juan Pablo Ángel, Sub on, Darius Vassell
💥 | 57’ Darius Vassell scores but is incorrectly ruled offside by referee Elleray
🟨 | 66’ Booking, Gareth Barry
🥅 | 77’ Goal, 0-2, (Birmingham City), Referee Elleray contrary to the rules deems a throw in to be a Peter Enckelman o.g. despite the ‘keeper having not touched the ball
🥅 | 83’ Goal, 0-3, (Birmingham City), Geoff Horsfield
🕒 | FT Birmingham City 3-0 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Villa had now lost 10 Premier League games in 19 under Graham Taylor, winning just five, and had failed to score in the league for the fourth time in six League games this season.
This latest defeat however, despite the form of the team under Graham Taylor, was totally unexpected and represented Villa’s first reverse against their neighbours in over 15 years.
The major talking point however was referee David Elleray’s decision to allow a goal that wasn’t.
Olof Mellberg took a throw in with the intention of passing the ball back to ‘keeper Enckelman however Enckelman, for unknown reasons, failed to connect with and allowed the ball roll past his foot and into the net.
As such the ball hadn’t been touched from the throw-in and was officially a dead ball. Therefore no goal could be conceded without another player’s touch - whether Enckelman’s or another.
Elleray however either misinterpreted the rules or misread the passage of play - he would never admit either - and erroneously awarded a goal to Birmingham.
Interestingly in the excitement few recall anything other than the error that wasn’t from Enckelman (although it would be better if he had put his foot through the damn thing) with the real mistake - Elleray’s seemingly forgotten misapplication of the rules.
On the night however, despite a questionable offside decision ruling out a Villa equaliser, Graham Taylor’s side put in a performance of little quality that had become the norm over the previous six months and Birmingham, nearly two decades in the making, recorded a deserved win over their more decorated neighbours triggering scenes of jubilation.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Birmingham City
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: ❌
League Cup Winners: 🏆
Last Trophy: 1962-63
FIXTURE HISTORY
Birmingham City
Previous 5 vs. Birmingham: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 2002-03 |
Matchday | #10 |
League Game | #6 |
Manager Game | #23 |
Monday, 16 September 2002
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Graham Taylor | 🏴 | Worksop, 2002-2003
Referee: David Elleray | 🏴 | Harrow, 1986-2003
Kick off: 8.00pm
HT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Score: 🟥 0-3
FT Result: 🟥 Lost
Last 5: 🟥 🟩 🟥 🟩 🟥
MANAGERIAL RECORD
Graham Taylor | 🏴 | 2002-03
GAMES | WINS | DRAWS | LOSSES | POINTS PER GAME
🕒 23 | 🟩 | 6 🟨 | 5 🟥 12 | 1.00
Villa Career Form:
Relegation
Graham Taylor | 🏴 | 2002-03
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: David Elleray | 🏴 | Harrow, 1986-2003 🆘
Previous 5: 🟩 🟥 🟨 🟥 🟩
Last Match: 🟩 27 April 2002, Villa 2-1 Southampton, Villa Park.
Cards: 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨
David Elleray, despite never admitting the catalogue of errors he perpetuated in the game, would never referee a Villa game again.
David Elleray
CARDS
Villa
🟨 🟨 🟨
Birmingham City
🟨 🟨 🟨
TEAM NEWS
Graham Taylor names an unchanged line up.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 27.66 |
Oldest Player |
LB Steve Staunton | 🇮🇪 | 33.68 |
Youngest Player |
RB Jlloyd Samuel | 🏴 | 21.48 |
MANAGER
Graham Taylor | 🏴 | 2002-03
Aston Villa
GK Peter Enckelman | 🇫🇮 |
LB Steve Staunton | 🇮🇪 |
CB Olof Mellberg | 🇸🇪 |
CB Ronny Johnsen | 🇳🇴 |
CB Alpay Özalan | 🇹🇷 | 🟨 |
RB Jlloyd Samuel | 🏴 |
RB Ulises de la Cruz | 🇪🇨 |
M Gareth Barry | 🏴 | 🟨 |
M Mark Kinsella | 🇮🇪 |
CF Juan Pablo Ángel | 🇨🇴 | 🔁 |
F Marcus Allbäck | 🇸🇪 | 🔁 |
MANAGER
Steve Bruce | 🏴 |
Birmingham City
GK Nico Vaesen | 🇧🇪 |
LB Martin Grainger | 🏴 | 🟨 |
CB Darren Purse | 🏴 |
CB Kenny Cunningham | 🇮🇪 |
RB Jeff Kenna | 🇮🇪 |
M Aliou Cissé | 🇸🇳 | 🟨 |
M Paul Devlin | 🏴 | 🔁 |
M Robbie Savage | 🏴 | 🔁 |
M Damien Johnson | 🇬🇧 |
CF Stern John | 🇹🇹 |
CF Clinton Morrison | 🏴 | ⚽ | 🔁 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 CF Dion Dublin | 🏴 | for CF Marcus Allbäck | 🇸🇪 | 46’ |
🔁 F Darius Vassell | 🏴 | for CF Juan Pablo Ángel | 🇨🇴 | 46’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | M Paul Devlin | 🏴 | (CB Darryl Powell | 🇯🇲 |)
🔁 | M Robbie Savage | 🏴 | (M Bryan Hughes | 🏴 |)
🔁 | CF Clinton Morrison | 🏴 | (CF Geoff Horsfield | 🏴 | ⚽ |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Stefan Postma | 🇳🇱 |
M Lee Hendrie | 🏴 |
F Stefan Moore | 🏴 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Ian Bennett | 🏴 |
W Stan Lazaridis | 🇦🇺 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 2/11
Homegrown: 2/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 6/16
Homegrown: 5/16
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 6/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 9/16
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Not reported
UNAVAILABLE
Not Recorded
Player Positions:
GK : Goalkeeper
CB, D, B : Centre Back, Defender, Back
FB, LB, RB, WH : Full Back, Left Back, Right Back, Wing Back, Wing Half
M, CH, LH, RH : Midfielder, Centre Half, Left Half, Right Half
W, OL, OR : Winger, Outside Left, Outside Right
F, IF, IL, IR : Forward, Inside Forward, Inside Left, Inside Right, Second Striker, False 9
CF : Centre Forward
Match Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not reported
LEAGUE TABLE
MATCHDAY PROGRAMME
MATCHDAY QUOTES
"Enckelman didn't know the rules of the game.”
Graham Taylor.
"They'll talk about this game for another 16 years."
BBC Commentator John Murray.
*BBC Sport*
Monday, 16 September, 2002
*Blues humiliate Villa*
Birmingham crushed their city rivals in a fiercely competitive and eventful derby at St Andrews.
Villa’s embarrassment was compounded by a horrendous mistake from goalkeeper Peter Enckelman that gifted the Blues their second goal.
The visitors, who fell behind to a first-half strike from Clinton Morrison, had looked in contention until Enckelman miskicked a throw-in from Olof Mellberg, allowing it to roll into his unguarded net.
Referee David Elleray ruled that the Finn had made faint contact with the ball and signalled a goal.
The error killed the game off as a contest and substitute Geoff Horsfield went on to give the scoreline an even more convincing look, again courtesy of a Villa error, this time from defender Alpay.
Villa gave a starkly different performance in each half.
They were awful during the first 45 minutes as Birmingham, with Robbie Savage and Aliou Cisse superb in the centre of midfield, dominated.
Villa boss Graham Taylor started with Mark Kinsella the only recognised midfielder included in his 3-5-2 formation.
And the visitors struggled to keep possession, allowing their hosts a succession of chances.
Cisse and Geoff Kenna both had good chances before Morrison put the Blues ahead in the 31st minute.
Mellberg failed to clear a punt into his box and Morrison stretched forward to slot home from seven yards.
Birmingham continued to dominate for the rest of the half and it was no surprise when Taylor made changes at half-time.
Yet it seemed hard on strikers Marcus Allback and Juan Pablo Angel, who endured a paucity of service, to be replaced by Darius Vassell and Dion Dublin.
Saying that, Villa were vastly improved during a second half in which they looked the more likely side to score.
Taylor was livid when Vassell was ruled offside before netting in the 57th minute.
And the former England manager was both angry and bemused when Birmingham extended their lead in the most bizarre of circumstances.
Mellberg took a throw-in from the left touchline and Enckelman shaped up for a routine clearance.
But he missed the ball with his kick, allowing it to roll under his foot and into the net.
The visitors still looked in shock when Horsfield, on for goalscorer Morrison, stole the ball from Alpay near the edge of his own box and drove forward before shooting low past Enckelman.
Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. With thanks to Trinity Mirror. Digitised by Findmypast Newspaper Archive Limited. All rights reserved. Source: British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)