McLeish Enjoyed Wembley Win

Alex McLeish watched his side win the Carling Cup against Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday and took great delight that his side had been branded massive underdogs to lift the cup.

Substitute Obafemi Martins sealed the victory for Blues when he pounced on an 89th-minute gift after a mix up in the Arsenal defence.

Arsenal had been overwhelming favourites to pick up the trophy after a six year wait, Birmingham weren`t given a hope of defeating the challengers to the Premier League title.

But defender Laurent Koscielny and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny didn`t seem too aware of that as they allowed Martins to secure Birmingham's first major trophy since 1963 and send the travelling army of Bluenoses absolutely mad.

Birmingham led with a header from striker Nikola Zigic but Arsenal levelled matters through Robin van Persie and everyone thought that an Arsenal victory was then a certainty.

'It feels like the greatest ever (moment), in terms of personal achievement, when you consider the team we were up against,' McLeish told the television cameras after the game.

'We weren't given a prayer today and I said myself that Arsenal would win nine times out of 10. But we believed. It was a titanic performance.

'We had a gameplan and managed to get our noses in front, that gives you a great chance.

'We thought if we could keep in it for as long as we could we'd get the quick guys on who can win it for us (Martins and Cameron Jerome).

'We didn't deal with the equaliser well. Roger Johnson could have let it run out for a throw-in but he kept it in play. Too many of us were out of position and Robin van Persie's movement for the goal was magnificent.

'But no doubt you need a little bit of luck - and we deserved it today.'


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