MAURO ZARATE, a World Cup winner with Argentina Under20s, scored two sublime goals to secure a precious victory for Birmingham in their quest to escape relegation.

But the 21-year-old striker’s precocious talent, along with Birmingham’s magnificent effort, was overshadowed by referee Rob Styles’s decision to send off defender Franck Queudrue for a challenge inside the penalty area on Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari. That a gentle arm on the shoulder as the Zimbabwe international charged into the box should result in a penalty early in the second half was bad enough, though justified. Queudrue was culpable for his misguided effort to make up for allowing Mwaruwari to get in behind the defence. But the authenticity of Mwaruwari’s theatrical fall was dubious and Radhi Jaidi might have been able to make a tackle.

Styles, well behind the play, was in a poor position to adjudicate and the red card he issued appeared to be harsh. Elano tucked away the penalty kick to Maik Taylor’s left and the referee felt the full force of the crowd’s displeasure. The incident must have stayed on his mind, for he awarded Birmingham an outrageous penalty when Zarate dribbled in from the right, crossed the ball low to the near post and Sebastian Larsson flicked it on towards Gary McSheffrey.

The Birmingham midfielder and City defender Sun Jihai made a seemingly innocuous shoulder-to-shoulder challenge and Styles, incredibly, pointed to the spot again. McSheffrey converted to Joe Hart’s right and Birmingham sealed the win they deserved, albeit via farcical circumstances. “The referee got it completely wrong, I have never before seen anything like it,” said Sven-Göran Eriksson, the Manchester City manager. “But we should blame ourselves because we gave away the ball too easily and it’s not good enough to play football as we did today.”

Birmingham were superior in almost every facet, though they might have fallen behind early on when an incisive pass by Elano, perfectly measured for Mwaruwari, yielded a quick chance for the City striker. Jaidi managed to apply just enough pressure to throw his aim, however, and his shot struck the post. Larsson’s crossing ability hauled Birmingham into the game and twice in rapid succession he panicked Richard Dunne into elementary errors. The City captain managed only to get a glancing header on to a delivery from the right by Larsson and McSheffrey should have done better with a left-footed volley that he smashed well over the crossbar. Another cross by Larsson was volleyed high by Dunne, barely to safety.

A corner kick by McSheffrey into the centre of the box had been met earlier by a solid Jaidi header and only Elano on the back post saved City. Sun Jihai volleyed another cross by Larsson close to Hart’s goal, before a corner kick, only half cleared, came to Queudrue on the edge of the penalty area and the defender’s bicycle kick forced Hart to make a save.

But Birmingham’s relentless pressure paid off and Zarate demonstrated his class. Dunne made a mistake again, managing only to touch a ball by Quedrue on to the Argentinian, who flicked the ball over the goalkeeper with his left foot and inside the far post, an exquisite finish.

Early in the second half he produced another when Taylor’s long kick was headed by Mikael Forssell to McSheffrey who laid the ball off to his right. Zarate, on loan from Qatari League side Al-Saad, rifled his shot past Hart into the bottom corner of the net from 20 yards, this time on his right. “Zarate was superb entertainment and he’s a fantastic young prospect,” said Birmingham manager Alex McLeish. “The commitment shown by the whole team made this a deserved win.” Significant, too, in the battle for survival.