Fulham 0 Birmingham City 0

Last updated : 03 April 2004 By Footymad Previewer

Taylor was in sensational form to deny his former team-mates a win as he pulled off a string of fantastic first-half saves.

Taylor joined Birmingham from Fulham for £1.5million two weeks ago following a successful loan spell at St Andrews.

And Fulham manager Chris Coleman must have been wondering why he did not add a clause in his contract to stop him from playing in this one after the Northern Ireland international produced a fine display.

On 19 minutes Barry Hayles was presented with a gift free header from Sean Davis' deep free-kick. But as he headed goalwards Taylor reacted to palm away brilliantly before Martin Djetou headed wide.

And on 38 minutes Taylor was Fulham's nightmare again as he stopped Steed Malbranque's stinging drive - and then managed to keep out Luis Boa Morte's follow up.

Things didn't go well for Birmingham who came into this clash hoping to close in on the fourth Champions League spot and welcomed back Robbie Savage to the starting line-up.

The midfielder returned from suspension for the Blues, and on the back of another controversial incident after a midweek bust-up with Hungary while on international duty with Wales.

However, Savage was fired up as always and almost gave the visitors the lead.

On six minutes the Birmingham midfielder charged down Sylvain Legwinski in the Fulham half and, as the ball appeared to ricochet off his arm, he hit a fierce 20-yard drive against Edwin Van der Sar's bar.

Previous meetings between the two sides have proved to be fierce battles with 18 yellow cards and five reds dished out in the last three Premiership clashes, and another six were added to the equation on this occasion.

Savage was at the centre of everything for City and it was only a matter of time before he was cautioned.

After clashing with Malbranque, Savage grabbed the Fulham midfielder by the scruff of his neck for a quiet word. Both players were booked but fortunately for referee Riley that was the end of the confrontation.

Second-half penalty appeals were just about the most fans had to shout about as two incidents in quick succession called man-in-the-middle Riley into action.

Birmingham fans were screaming for a spot kick on 69 minutes as Damien Johnson's cross appeared to be blocked by the hand of Zat Knight.

As the referee waved away the appeals, Fulham broke away, and were shouting for their own penalty claim.

Boa Morte burst into the penalty area and appeared to go down under the challenge of Stan Lazaridis - but again Riley waved play on leaving the Portuguese striker screaming at the ground in frustration.

Clinton Morrison almost found Mikael Forssell on 52 minutes but Knight made a vital interception to deny him his 17th league goal of the campaign.

The game was lacking creativity and more often than not supporters were on their feet challenging free-kick decisions rather than applauding their sides' good play.

Bryan Hughes took it upon himself to try and inject some life into the Birmingham side as he teased the Fulham defence down the left flank, but unfortunately his team-mates were not on the same wavelength.

On 68 minutes Fulham boss Coleman introduced Brian McBride to the picture in a bid to add to his side's flagging firepower. The sale of Louis Saha has had a visible effect on the Cottagers as Boa Morte almost single-handedly tried to produce something in the front line.

Unfortunately the game drifted towards a goalless draw and Fulham boss.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Maik Taylor – He denied his former team-mates several times with outstanding saves and was the main reason the match ended goalless.