Championship
BirminghamBirmingham City0BournemouthAFC Bournemouth8

Birmingham City 0-8 Bournemouth

Birmingham dejected
Blues are second from bottom in the Championship after a humiliating home defeat

Managerless Birmingham City suffered a record home defeat as Bournemouth scored eight goals at St Andrew's.

Brett Pitman put the visitors ahead inside three minutes before Blues defender David Edgar was then sent off for a foul on Callum Wilson.

Wilson and Matt Ritchie made it 3-0 by half-time before the Cherries ran riot in the second period.

Marc Pugh netted a hat-trick and two more from Tokelo Rantie, the first a penalty, completed Birmingham's misery.

In addition, Paul Caddis had a spot-kick saved by Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc with the score at 3-0.

Anything Southampton can do...
Bournemouth's demolition of Birmingham came seven days after neighbours Southampton hammered Sunderland 8-0 in the Premier League
It was the first time that the Cherries had ever scored eight goals in a league game (barring a 10-0 win over Northampton in September 1939 which was expunged from the records after World War II broke out the next day), while they also recorded their biggest winning margin in a league fixture

A week after south coast neighbours Southampton put eight past Sunderland, Eddie Howe's side repeated the feat to register a fourth straight Championship win, a result that lifted them up to fourth in the table.

Blues slip to second from bottom after a wretched afternoon, extending their poor run at St Andrew's to just one win in 25 home matches.

And the nature of their second-half capitulation will be of huge concern to whoever Blues appoint to succeed the sacked Lee Clark as their new manager.

Pitman gave Bournemouth the perfect start, running through unchallenged before beating goalkeeper Darren Randolph, and things got worse for the hosts when Edgar pulled back Wilson and was deemed to be the last defender, resulting in a straight red card for the Canada international.

Pitman missed two further chances before the lead was eventually doubled, as Randolph's attempted clearance fell nicely for Wilson to race clear and net his 10th goal of the season.

Ritchie scored a third to settle the contest before the break, firing in a loose ball after another defensive mix-up, but Bournemouth were hungry for more goals.

Caddis's failure from the spot, following Tommy Elphick's foul on Clayton Donaldson, summed up Birmingham's day and it was to get much worse for the home side, who conceded five goals in the final 27 minutes.

Pugh turned in two crosses from Simon Francis to make it 5-0, before Rantie's brace and Pugh's third sealed a momentous win.

Birmingham City caretaker manager Malcolm Crosby told BBC WM:

"I feel shellshocked. The way we played was embarrassing. I have to take the blame because I picked the team.

"The confidence drained out of the players. They have played badly because we let in eight goals. But those players have got to go out again next week and have to get over this setback. It has been a terrible day.

"I apologise to the supporters. Whoever comes in as manager, I do not think he will have another performance like that."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe:

"We got a great start and the sending-off was a key moment.

"From that moment it was always going to be difficult for Birmingham and we really put them to the sword in the second half.

"The most pleasing aspect was that we didn't showboat. We wanted more goals but we did it in the right way."

Marc Pugh and Callum Wilson
Marc Pugh (left) scored a second-half hat-trick against Birmingham

Line-ups

Birmingham

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1Randolph
  • 15Hall
  • 6EdgarBooked at 7mins
  • 4Robinson
  • 3Grounds
  • 11Cotterill
  • 31Caddis
  • 8GleesonSubstituted forReillyat 45'minutes
  • 12NovakBooked at 11minsSubstituted forArthurat 66'minutes
  • 9Donaldson
  • 10ThomasSubstituted forDavisat 10'minutes

Substitutes

  • 13Shea
  • 14Packwood
  • 17Reilly
  • 21Doyle
  • 22Shinnie
  • 24Arthur
  • 26Davis

Bournemouth

Formation 4-4-2

  • 31Boruc
  • 2Francis
  • 5ElphickBooked at 52mins
  • 3S CookBooked at 29mins
  • 11Daniels
  • 30Ritchie
  • 8ArterBooked at 54minsSubstituted forGoslingat 56'minutes
  • 6SurmanBooked at 32mins
  • 7Pugh
  • 10PitmanSubstituted forRantieat 64'minutes
  • 13WilsonSubstituted forFraserat 71'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Camp
  • 4Gosling
  • 9Rantie
  • 14Harte
  • 15A Smith
  • 19Stanislas
  • 20Fraser
Referee:
Keith Hill
Attendance:
13,837

Match Stats

Home TeamBirminghamAway TeamBournemouth
Possession
Home38%
Away62%
Shots
Home9
Away28
Shots on Target
Home3
Away15
Corners
Home7
Away5
Fouls
Home8
Away12

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Birmingham City 0, Bournemouth 8.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Birmingham City 0, Bournemouth 8.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth) left footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Andrew Surman following a corner.

  4. Post update

    Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Grant Hall.

  5. Post update

    Corner, Bournemouth. Conceded by Grant Hall.

  6. Post update

    Attempt saved. Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Simon Francis.

  7. Post update

    Attempt saved. Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Tokelo Rantie.

  8. Post update

    Marc Pugh (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Callum Reilly (Birmingham City).

  10. Post update

    Attempt saved. Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

  11. Post update

    Attempt saved. Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Andrew Surman.

  12. Post update

    Offside, Birmingham City. Jonathan Grounds tries a through ball, but Koby Arthur is caught offside.

  13. Goal!

    Goal! Birmingham City 0, Bournemouth 8. Tokelo Rantie (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Matt Ritchie.

  14. Post update

    Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Tokelo Rantie with a through ball.

  15. Goal!

    Goal! Birmingham City 0, Bournemouth 7. Marc Pugh (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Dan Gosling.

  16. Post update

    Attempt missed. Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right misses to the left.

  17. Goal!

    Goal! Birmingham City 0, Bournemouth 6. Tokelo Rantie (Bournemouth) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.

  18. Post update

    Penalty Bournemouth. Simon Francis draws a foul in the penalty area.

  19. Post update

    Penalty conceded by David Cotterill (Birmingham City) after a foul in the penalty area.

  20. Post update

    Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by Simon Francis.