Beale’s got away day Blues again

Clarke 22

MICHAEL BEALE admitted Sunderland’s travel sickness has to stop or their play-off hopes are doomed.

The Black Cats tossed away a half-time lead and you have to go back to Boxing Day for their last win on their travels.

Boss Beale said: “We’ve got some big away games and without improving our away form, it’s going to be difficult.

“Our away form all season has been nowhere near good enough. There’s a lot for us to work on.”

For Terminator Tony Mowbray it was a case of ‘I’ll be back’ as he sealed another win against the last two sides to sack him.

He followed up the midweek victory over Blackburn with a poke in the eye for the club who axed him in December.

The Blues boss said: “Never mind me, it’s the points that are important.

“Their goal knocked our belief a bit. The message at half-time was, ‘You will score and if you get one, this place will take off and you’ll get a second’ and that happened.”

Jack Clarke’s 15th goal of the season set the Black

Cats on their way and the lead would have been doubled but for a brilliant one-handed save from John Ruddy to deny Romaine Mundle.

But when Jordan James levelled for Birmingham from close range on the hour, things began to look ominous for the visitors.

And so it proved in the 80th minute when Koji Miyoshi sent the sell-out St Andrew’s crowd wild with a real poacher’s goal.

Ruddy made a crucial stop in added time to keep out a stinging Clarke shot and Beale said: “He made some fantastic saves.”

BIRMINGHAM: Ruddy 8; Drameh 6, Bielik 7, M Roberts 6, Laird 6; Dozzell 6, Paik 5 (Bacuna (66) 6); T Roberts 6 (Dembele (66) 6), Miyoshi 7, James 7; Stansfield 7 (Jutkiewicz (90) 4) SUNDERLAND: Patterson 7; Hume 6 (Semedo (87) 4), Ballard 7, O’nien 7, Hjelde 5; Neil 7; Ekwah 7, Bellingham 8, Mundle 6 (Ba (70) 5), Clarke 8; Burstow 7 (Rusyn (70) 5) STAR MAN: John Ruddy – Several key saves from the goalkeeper played major part in another crucial win for Birmingham.

Steve Martin 7