A FALSE dawn can be the cruellest experience in the cold light of day. For a team in Leeds’ position, it could take away their last salvation — hope. How much Leeds lost on top of a match that could have lifted them out of the bottom three will be seen soon enough. But the weakness of their overall effort points to their prospects being grim.

Eddie Gray blamed individual errors in defence and his point was valid. Bryan Hughes took advantage of the slackness at the back to score Birmingham’s first two goals, Mikael Forssell caught Dominic Matteo and Steven Caldwell napping to clinically add a third and Matteo, the Leeds skipper, needlessly conceded a penalty for a foul on Clinton Morrison, which Forssell converted with destructive inevitability.

But at the end of a week that began with that uplifting, if fortuitous, victory over Manchester City it was noticeable that a collective flagging of spirit infiltrated the Leeds players and contributed just as significantly to their demise. This was even before Hughes had scored Birmingham’s second goal.

If Leeds are to escape what increasingly would seem to be their fate, there can be no room for resignation. “That is up to me to get the players to play,” Gray declared. “I expect them to be very disappointed this evening but we have to get over that and work hard next week.

“This was a vital game for us. I expected us to come and win, but we gave away the goals very cheaply. It makes it even more important now that we win our home games and pick up something away.”

They began as though they might pick Birmingham apart. Mark Viduka and Alan Smith, upon whose shoulders so much depends, had City’s defenders dreading the nightmare of Middlesbrough revisited. Five goals were shipped at the Riverside last weekend and here it could — and should — have been two, if not three, in the opening 10 minutes.

Within two minutes, Leeds sent a shudder down Birmingham’s spine. A short throw-in to Didier Domi yielded time and space on the left for him to measure his cross to the near post, where Smith headed the ball down for Viduka, whose powerful volley required a sharp reflex save from Maik Taylor. Viduka, clearly, was in a mood not to be denied.

It was Jermaine Pennant who, soon after, made a telling contribution, charging across midfield and sending a perfect pass from just inside the Leeds half to prise apart Birmingham’s rearguard and give Viduka his chance. The striker still had much to do as he took the ball into the penalty area and he almost trod on it before recovering his balance. Driving past Matthew Upson, he took the ball round the goalkeeper with his right foot before shooting with his left to claim his ninth goal of the season.

But Viduka then missed a chance that came to him on a plate. Pennant fired in a low cross that was blocked by Martin Taylor, but then his attempted clearance was charged down by James Milner, whose low ball across the face of goal arrived so invitingly at the feet of the unmarked Australian that it seemed he could score blindfold. Somehow, from the edge of the six-yard box, he contrived to pull his shot into the side netting.

“Leeds got out of the blocks early and had some really good opportunities and we didn’t start well at all,” reflected the Birmingham boss, Steve Bruce. “We were definitely on edge in those first 20 minutes.”

The visitors’ own breakdown at the back began just two minutes after Viduka’s costly miss. Morrison battled his way to the byline and was rewarded for his perseverance. Stan Lazaridis showed a deft touch as he flicked on Morrison’s low cross and Hughes punished Leeds for their failure to pick him up.

While Leeds were looking to Viduka primarily, and to Smith in the supporting role, Forssell fulfilled a pivotal function for Birmingham. Domi denied him on the line in the final minutes of the first half and then, moments later, it was Paul Robinson who picked the right place to be in. Martin Grainger’s free kick from 25 yards beat the Leeds goalkeeper but came back off the crossbar straight to Martin Taylor, who shot instantly in the only spot Robinson could cover.

As they had in the first half, Leeds started well again in the second, Milner testing Taylor from range before firing wide with a volley. But all of a sudden their effort just drained away and they lost three goals in 14 minutes. First, Lazaridis brought down a long ball into the area and laid it off for Hughes, who ran in at pace and finished sublimely.

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