I got away from work a little later than I had hoped and so therefore ran into the inevitable heavy traffic on the car park that is the M25. The M40 also held problems between intersections 11 and 12 with an articulated lorry that had a burst tyre. It was over on the hard shoulder and true it had a wide load but this was deemed necessary to close off two lanes for. I arrived at Baginton to meet up with Chris, Will and Little Jack who were hungry and grumpy. We had intended to go for a curry prior to the game and this we still achieved but this did not prevent Will from ribbing me endlessly about my tardiness ably assisted by Chris fresh from his holiday in France and up for any amount of p**s taking. Little Jack to his eternal credit did protest; “it wasn’t Uncle Baz’s fault since he got caught in traffic.” Will was not slow in disavowing his seven year old nephew of this and made it very clear to him that regardless of circumstance it was all my fault; what chance does this poor child stand of becoming a solid citizen empathetic towards others? Yes, well, enough said!
Fed and watered, parked up and following a short walk to the ground we got in and got to our respective seats. The atmosphere was building although there weren’t many away fans. The original estimates were twenty but there were actually 87 in the end. What did surprise me a little was that there were only 21,747 in the ground for our first ever group game in the Europa League which when you consider the low price of the tickets was disappointing. The teams came out to the Uefa anthem with the Europa League emblem the size of the centre circle fluttering from the efforts of numerous people at its edges. It was a spectacle many of us have waited most of our lives for and it was that moment that reminded me that the trip had been worthwhile and certainly worth putting up with the combined remarks of Will and Chris. 😛
Chris Hughton had rotated his squad as he has to; Myhill continued in goal, with Captain, Steven Carr at right back as ever. Ridgewell reverted to centre half alongside Ibanez making his debut with Murphy restored to left back. There were starts for N’Daw and Wade Elliott in midfield with Nathan Redmond and Jonathan Spector filling the other berths. Rooney and King started up front and it was the latter two players who combined to carve out a glorious chance for Blues after only four minutes. King hurdled a swathing challenge and powered down the right wing. He picked out Rooney at the near post who netted but unfortunately the wrong side of the post. Had he swept the ball across the keeper with his right foot he would surely have scored; as it was he chose a left-footed attempt and the chance was wide. This poor miss was punished a minute later by the visitors when Elderson with a delightful chipped pass to Barbosa in the box was volleyed with vicious swerve and dip wide of Myhill who did well to get his hands to it. However, it was always going away from the keeper and his vain attempt to push it out succeeded only in the ball going in off the bar for 1-0. The raucous atmosphere was subdued and this could not have been a worse start for Blues. It was a beautiful strike and some were critical of Myhill but frankly I feel that is a bit harsh. I bet if Barbosa did that another 99 times he wouldn’t score. It was a wonder strike not dissimilar to the one that denied Arsenal all three points in their game the previous night in Dortmund.
Myhill was more successful with a sharp drive from Hugo Viana that he pushed wide to safety and had to be alert again when from a series of corners, Alan nearly scored but the keeper tipped the attempt over the bar for another. Blues had their moments and Rooney was unlucky to see a glancing header narrowly clear the bar with the unfortunately named Braga keeper, Quim stranded. Redmond attempted to penetrate 😀 when he received a pass from Elliott on the edge of the box and worked Quim with a curling shot. Blues showed enough to suggest that they could score against the Portuguese side it was just a question as to whether we could get enough of the ball against classy opponents and not get caught on the break. Spector and Ibanez were both guilty of poor reverse passes to opposition forwards in dangerous positions and Blues were lucky not to be punished further. However, clear cut chances were relatively few and the side from Portugal went in at the break with a single goal advantage.
Whilst I am sure that Chris Hughton will have told his players to take more care in possession and pass more accurately, there appeared little evidence that the advice had been heeded. Braga are a top side in Europe and they are the top seeds in this competition and it was obvious why. They have quick, clever players with high degrees of technical ability. They retain possession well and pass accurately and move with pace all-round the pitch. Blues were struggling to keep up with them and changes were clearly necessary. Just as Burke and Wood were being drafted in, Blues conceded a second and the game was up sadly. I understand Lima was offside when a routine ball was chipped into the box. Murphy lunged at the ball and managed only to divert it into the path of the Braga player who smashed the ball gleefully into the net. The officials who were abysmal all night failed in their duty and it was 2-0. Despite the incorrect call by the officials, I’m afraid the second strike wasn’t exactly a surprise when it came. Our substitutions did provide more snap to Blues’ play but Myhill again had to be on his guard to prevent Lima and Barbosa scoring again from similar situations that led to the second goal.
King had worked tirelessly and rightly received the accolade as the Blues man of the match at the end of the game. His excellent play, effort, touch and movement were rewarded when good work from Burke led to the winger’s cross shot evading the defenders and Quim, in goal for a simple tap in at the far post. Blues went hooray up and at ‘em backed by the baying St Andrews crowd who had begun to believe that an unlikely point was possible from the evening. The visitors were for the first time rattled and Quim did well to save a fierce shot from King and a glorious curling effort from Redmond that was destined for the top corner at full stretch. Murphy was close with a free kick that skimmed over the bar and hopes were rising. However, with two minutes left Braga broke away with Blues committed and Barbosa tapped in from close range for the killer goal.
Some people felt that Braga weren’t two goals superior to us but I would agree to differ; I think they were. They are a very good side. They won because they kept the ball better, they passed it better, they moved it more quickly and they were far more clinical when their chances occurred. The other thing that tipped the result in their favour was when they scored their goals. On each occasion, the home side were showing signs of coming into the game and the Braga goals dampened down the atmosphere and regained total control. Blues did not perform badly; on the contrary, the side that Chris Hughton fielded last night put in a good entertaining performance (well in the second period they did) but the difference between the sides was better quality in most positions. It is certainly no disgrace to lose to a side of this quality and noses can be very proud of the efforts of our side last evening; they gave of their best, it just happened not to be good enough last night.
On to more pressing matters at Southampton on Sunday; sadly I can’t go; Mrs Bazza has other plans for me which if not carried out, my life is forfeit 🙁
The Good: The game as a spectacle; it was a decent watch. The quality of Braga’s counter-attacking play was excellent as were their goals. Great performances from King, Redmond and Elliott; Burke also contributed greatly when he came on.
The Bad: The officials. There were six of them and they still couldn’t get it right between them. Basic things like throw-ins, goal kicks, corners frequently called incorrectly. It incenses fans of all persuasions. These are meant to be Europe’s best. I am not suggesting that the offside decision, if correctly called, would have changed the result but if Blues had equalised rather than merely pulling a goal back; who knows?
The Ugly: Wade Elliot’s corner in the second half when he kicked the turf propelling the ball directly into the Tilton.
Birmingham (4-4-2): Myhill 7; Ridgewell 7, Ibanez 5, Carr 6, Murphy 7; Spector 5, N’Daw 5 (Burke 60, 8), Elliott 7, Redmond 7; Rooney 5 (Wood 60, 7), King 9. Subs: Doyle, Caldwell, Beausejour, Davies, Asante.
Booked: Rooney, Ridgewell.
Braga: (4-3-3) Quim 7; Ewerton 7, Paulo Vinicius 8, Elderson 8, Baiano 7; Alan 7, Djamal 7, Hugo Viana 7, Helder Barbosa 9 (Paulo Cesar 89 N/A); Lima 8 (Carlos Silva 82, N/A), Nuno Gomes 6 (Leandro Salino 73, 6). Subs: Berni, Mossoro, Merida, Imorou.
Booked: Lima.
Referee: D Aytekin (Germany) 4
I thought all the German officials were poor. Herr Aytekin likes his drama. The histrionic, flamboyant brandishing of yellow cards said it all. Most were for fairly minor offences. I think he thinks he’s some form of Harry Potter. Every time he booked a player I kept expecting him to cry ‘Expelliamus!’ and for the player to disappear in a puff of smoke; ridiculous. There were times when he would signal for a player to get up and at other times get fussy about minor infringements. His linesmen (I still call them that) were awful which didn’t help the man in the middle to be fair.
Attendance: 21,747 (87 away fans)
Baz did you forget the bit when Little Jack pointed out the fact you can’t follow very simple directions. 3rd Exit not 2nd Exit even a seven year old can count to which little Jack demostrated on several accounts.
I think this site has a secret agenda-there is a real atempt to find the most tedious articles ever written.The above is a great example who of someone who thinks he can write but I am afraid the written evidence tells us something else!!!!
Ken Leek – feel free to write articles for us in your ‘superior style’. I’d love to read them, and share them with the world, just as Bazza has. The Joys and Sorrows team are more than happy with his writing.