It was a tale of two Cities, but for Joe Hart, regarded by some as the future of English goalkeeping, the bemused expression as he hovered awkwardly around the players’ tunnel before kick-off yesterday was indicative of what was always going to be an afternoon of confusing emotions.

Under the terms of his season-long loan from Manchester City to Birmingham City, having been released by Mark Hughes in order to gain experience, Hart was ineligible to play against his parent club yesterday. The ideal result for him was probably a high-scoring draw, but instead the 22-year-old saw Maik Taylor, 16 years his senior, come in and keep a clean sheet, while at the other end Shay Given produced a series of excellent saves, including one from James McFadden’s penalty, to claim the man-of-the-match award.

“Shay Given played very, very well and we’re pleased that he did,” Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, said. “He saved the penalty and there were other key moments when he kept us in the game and allowed us to take something from it. He has been an outstanding goalkeeper for most of his career.”

At 33, Given should have years ahead of him at the highest level, which may lead Hart to wonder if his long-term future lies away from Manchester. But the immediate priority as he returns to training this morning will be to persuade Alex McLeish that he deserves to regain his place away to Liverpool next Monday, having conceded a poor goal to Michael Turner against Sunderland last week before seeing Taylor perform so well yesterday.

“It’s a long season,” McLeish, the Birmingham manager, said when, having talked up Given’s performances, he was asked about the possible repercussions for Hart. “Joe Hart has done well for us and there’s a possibility that he will go to the World Cup at the end of the season. The performance level he has given us has been good, but ultimately goalkeepers get judged on how few mistakes they make.”

Taylor was aided by the unyielding commitment of his Birmingham team-mates, in particular Roger Johnson and Scott Dann, whose performances showed that they are adapting well to the demands of the Barclays Premier League. Johnson showed his commitment to the cause by throwing his body in the way of a shot by Wayne Bridge with five minutes remaining and was winded for his trouble, though he got little sympathy from some of his team-mates, as McLeish explained.

“I thought the big fella was in a life-threatening situation, the way he went down, but the lads on the bench were having a right good laugh about it,” McLeish said. “They’ll give him some stick about that.”

McLeish was less amused by Barry Ferguson’s red card for a second bookable offence, blocking Pablo Zabaleta’s throw-in with his hand in the sixth and final minute of stoppage time. “It was silly,” McLeish said. “Barry should have known better. He has apologised to the lads, but it’s a pity because we don’t have him at Liverpool next Monday now.”