Birmingham City 2 Newcastle United 2: Bruce laments the missing thousands and City's fallen

Steve Bruce, the only Geordie not dismayed by a late equaliser for the Championship leaders against the team who relegated them from the Premiership last spring, called it the tie that had everything. Everything, that is, except the attendance the relentless drama deserved.

With fewer than 16,500 inside St Andrew's - a quarter of them Newcastle fans - Bruce admitted he had been "shocked" by the thousands of empty seats. But the Birmingham manager's reaction reflected more than a 46-year-old's nostalgia for a time when the third round of the FA Cup was as eagerly awaited as any date in the football calendar.

Bruce viewed the poor turn-out as a consequence of the tidal wave of cash that has swept through the English game's moneyed echelons since the advent of the Premiership. One answer, he ventured, was to make ticket prices less prohibitive, to which end he was prepared to think the unthinkable and suggest a reduction in players' wages.

"That's possibly what it needs," Bruce said. "If we all do it, then fine. We get enough income off television and the rest of it now. Lower the prices and let people back in who want to support football but simply can't afford to.

"People can't afford to pay 30 quid, or whatever, for a ticket. We'll drive away the average working man, and they have always been the game's lifeblood, not the prawn-sandwich brigade."

Popular as such a move might be, if not with the high earners or Gordon Taylor and the Professional Footballers' Association, Bruce will not be acting unilaterally to cut prices and pay at Birmingham. "I'm not going to get into an argument with my board," he said. "It's a discussion everybody has to have."

He will, however, lobby the club's owners on a different matter today. Birmingham's on-loan striker from Arsenal, Nicklas Bendtner, could be out for months after damaging an ankle. With Stephen Kelly and DJ Campbell also limping off, Bruce talked of an "emergency" that would need to be addressed during the transfer window.

Sebastian Larsson, another player on loan from Arsenal, is likely to become a Birmingham player for £500,000. The Swede, thriving on the right of midfield after arriving as a full-back, enhanced his bargaining position with a swivel and volley his namesake Henrik would have been proud to claim as the final goal in a wildly fluctuating contest.

Glenn Roeder's side betrayed inexperience in defence when Campbell put Birmingham ahead following a corner. Newcastle drew level with an equally soft goal by Steven Taylor and, after Radhi Jaidi's first-half dismissal for hauling down Obafemi Martins, they went ahead through Kieron Dyer's third goal in five games.

Dyer is synonymous with freakish accidents, famously coming off worse in arguments with corner flags and advertising hoardings. So he may have felt sympathy for Bendtner, who in Bruce's choice phrase "fell down a fucking hole" in a pitch that was due to be dug up yesterday and replaced by one bought from Wembley.

The Birmingham 10 were also in a hole, yet their spirit never faltered. A mixture of Newcastle's feebleness in the air and Larsson's finishing conjured a vital late goal for the second home game running. Neither club wanted a replay, with its potential for further injuries, but St James' Park will surely muster an atmosphere worthy of the competition.

Goals: Campbell (15) 1-0; S Taylor (40) 1-1; Dyer (54) 2-1; Larsson (86) 2-2.

Birmingham City (4-4-2): Maik Taylor; Kelly (Martin Taylor, 34), Jaidi, Upson, Sadler; Larsson, Johnson, Muamba, McSheffrey; Bendtner (Kilkenny, 72), Campbell (Danns, h-t). Substitutes not used: Doyle (gk), Clemence.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): Given; Solano, S Taylor, Huntington, Edgar; Milner, Butt, Dyer, Pattison; Martins, Sibierski (O'Brien, h-t). Substitutes not used: Srnicek (gk), Luque, Carroll, LuaLua.

Referee: M Dean (The Wirral).

Booked: Newcastle Butt.

Sent off: Birmingham Jaidi (43).

Man of the match: Milner.

Attendance: 16,444.