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By JOE BERNSTEIN
Confusion reigns: Birmingham's Roger Johnson (right) beats keeper Ben Foster to score into his own netAs a result, Liverpool are in the relegation zone for the first time at this stage in the season since
Everton recorded a first victory of the season and had the bonus of sending their Merseyside rivals Liverpool into the bottom three.
David Moyes' side, bottom at the start of play, had some help from Birmingham with their defender Roger Johnson scoring first with an own goal after 54 minutes.
But this was not a lucky victory. Everton were far superior as Birmingham surrendered their 12-month unbeaten home record somewhat meekly.
1984, when Joe Fagan was manager. On the balance of play, the hosts did not deserve referee Phil Dowd to spot a handball - he failed to anyway - by Everton defender Seamus Coleman at 1-0.
'Seamus jumped up and his arm went towards the ball. Having watched it again on video, I feel it was a penalty,' said Blues manager Alex McLeish.
If anything, Tim Cahill's injury-time second for Everton gave the final scoreline a truer reflection of the game. 'was a doubt for the game and I still don't think he looks 100 per cent with his knee. But we couldn't take him off as Birmingham are so strong in the air,' said Everton boss David Moyes.
'To end their great home record is great. It's good for the players to see their efforts translate into a good result. But I am not jumping up and down after one win. I expect lots of wins.'
Flagging: Birmingham's Sebastian Larsson collides with the corner flag after close attention from Leon Osman
McLeish added: 'We are trying to find the right blend up front and I want the strikers to show me more.'It's disappointing to lose the record but now we have to start again. The own goal was a bad one for us. We encourage our defenders to get a head or toe on things rather than wait for a shout, but maybe Roger Johnson wasn't in the right position to deal with the cross.'
source: dailymail
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