Having not attended a game in weeks, it was to be the second in four days. There was more than a frisson of excitement in the air about this one. The ownership led by Tom Wagner’s Knighthead group had had a campaign determined to fill St Andrew’s and success was finally achieved yesterday when it was announced that the place was going to be filled to capacity and for that reason alone I was really excited to be going along to add my voice to all the others present. I just hoped and prayed that Blues would perform and if they could emulate that of Tuesday against Blackburn it promised to be a good day provided of course that the lads took some of the gilt edged chances that they missed earlier in the week! Fingers crossed that it would be alright on the night so to speak.
Network Rail had contrived to make my usual journey as difficult as possible it seems so I had had to work out a different way. I finally settled on catching the train at Farnborough Main to Basingstoke to change for the train back up to Coventry via Reading. Those of you familiar with the geography of the south of England will have realised that Basingstoke is going in the wrong direction but it was the only way I could avoid irksome unreliable bus replacement services between my home and Reading and if anything the journey was slightly quicker.
Mrs Bazza dropped me off at the station, wished me a fond farewell and I’m glad to report the train I wanted was not only running but on time. I was soon heading north in the correct direction following a change of trains although it was touch and go given that Cross Country in their infinite wisdom had decided that four carriages were adequate for the journey up to Manchester when there were several major football games along the route including our own. The train was announced full and regrettably would be unable to embark passengers at Basingstoke. A few passengers did get off however and I’m afraid I opportunistically broke the rules and slid myself on board as did a number of others. The alternative I’d been offered of the slow one to Reading and change there did not appeal as I would have missed my connection and thus rocked up in the Midlands late! All was well in the end and little Jack (designated driver) and Chris were waiting at Coventry to pick me up.
We decided to move straight off to St Andrew’s to secure a reasonable parking spot before the madding crowd assembled and besides it gave us time to get a couple of pints in at The Happy Abode and grab a pie prior to the game, hook up with Will and little Will who had travelled up separately and meet and talk to fellow bluenoses Lee and Richard who were clearly as excited as I was.
As promised, St Andrew’s was full for the first time in a while and the crackle of anticipation and excitement was tangible. The volume was increased by a factor greater than the extra percentage crowd and the rendition of ‘Keep Right On’ accompanying the great Sir Harry Lauder immediately before kick off was spine tingling. Yes, this is what St Andrew’s should be like on match day and what Birmingham City is all about. The match commenced with a full throated roar from the home faithful with a largely unchanged side from Tuesday on the front foot. Blues attempted to play the slick, neat, quick passing football that they’ve clearly been practicing in training but there were one or two nervy moments as Sunderland pressed, catching us in possession a couple of times in the early exchanges. Good covering work cleared up two misdemeanors but Blues were not so lucky on the third occasion on 22 minutes. A pass into Paik Seung-Ho was quickly popped back off towards Marc Roberts but Sunderland’s Jack Clarke nipped in and stealing the ball off the defender’s toe thus burrowing in on goal. A neat right footed finish across Ruddy into the far corner sealed the deal and Blues after a bright start were 1-0 down. The atmospheric bubble was pricked somewhat and Sunderland could easily have been two to the good minutes later when a steepling, hoofed clearance from goalkeeper, Anthony Patterson was miscontrolled by Bielik as it dropped allowing Mundle to steal the ball, roll the defender, desperately trying to make amends, to send a fierce shot towards the same spot for the goal. Fortunately, an excellent save by the diving Ruddy at the expense of a corner limited the damage. Sunderland took control of the rest of the half and were the better side after they had scored.
The second half started much better for Blues and gradually cranked up the pressure on the visitors forcing the away side into their defensive shape. Finally, just before the hour mark, Tyler Roberts darted into the penalty area to fire a shot at Patterson. There was a shout for a penalty for handball which I confess I couldn’t see from where I was. It made no difference as referee, Steve Martin waved away the protests but Tyler’s shot was parried into the the path of Andre Dozzell who was unlucky to see two follow up efforts cleared off the line as the ball ping-ponged back and forth. The ball broke to Jordan James eight yards out and this time Blues were not to be denied as the Welsh international gleefully accepted the chance slotting home with a side foot effort. The home crowd erupted and the noise was deafening. Sunderland must have known at this stage that they were up against it and Blues continued to pile on the pressure. The introduction of Juninho Bacuna made a big difference as Blues superiority at this stage, started to tell. Having been fouled out on the left wing the substitute got up quickly, grounded the ball and played a clever ball through the inside left channel to the alert, Jay Stansfield who outpaced his man to get his shot off towards goal. A fortuitous deflection off a defender steered the ball into the path of Miyoshi, tantalisingly between keeper Patterson and defender, Leo Hjelde who were powerless to stop the Japanese midfielder from toe poking home from close range. The turnaround was complete, the crowd was ecstatic and St Andrew’s was rocking. Sunderland did have a flurry towards the end and although goalscorer, Jack Clarke caused a moment of concern driving towards the box with inadequate closing down to produce a shot from 20 yards straight at Ruddy, the game was up and Blues saw the game out for a vital and in the end deserved win on the strength of the send half performance.
The Good: I was going to say the obvious, namely the result and the second half performance but this accolade has to go to Jack and Chris who came back to Coventry station when I missed my train and took me for another pint rather than have me wait on a cold platform for an hour. That is true friendship; one of the very good things in life.
The Bad: The antics of Jobe Bellingham geeing up the Sunderland fans and I am pained to say feigning injury after a tackle when he got breathed on. I’m sorry but he is a professional footballer with a burgeoning career thanks to the efforts of Birmingham City. A little respect would not have gone amiss and I’m certain his brother and parents would not have approved.
The Ugly: On the way out of the ground, a Sunderland fan put his head above the fence separating our fans from theirs and mouthed obscenities and made gestures. A rapid fist into the middle of his clock from a Blues fan on the other side taught him the error of his ways. It was not nice nevertheless and frankly there is no call for such behaviour from either party.
Birmingham City: John Ruddy 7, Ethan Laird 7, Cody Drameh 7, Marc Roberts 6, Krystian Bielik 6, Jordan James 7, Andre Dozzell 6, Kojo Miyoshi 8 (Siriki Dembele 64, 7) Paik Seung-Ho 7 (Juninho Bacuna 66, 8) Jay Stansfield 7 (Lukas Jutkiewicz 89, N/A) Tyler Roberts 6 (Siriki Dembele 66, 7)
Subs not used: Neil Etheridge, Lee Buchanan, Gary Gardner, Ivan Sunjic, Emanuel Aiwu, Keshi Anderson.
Goals: James 59, Miyoshi 80.
Yellow cards: Paik 30, Laird 60, Bielik 71, James 75.
Sunderland AFC: Anthony Patterson 7, Trai Hume 6 (Luis Hemir Semedo 86, N/A) Daniel Ballard 6, Luke O’Nien 7 Leo Hjelde 7, Dan Neil 7, Romaine Mundle 7 (Abdoullah Ba 70, 6) Jobe Bellingham 7, Pierre Ekwah 7, Jack Clarke 8, Mason Burstow 6 (Nazariy Rusyn 70, 6)
Subs not used: Nathan Bishop, Timothee Pembele, Adil Aouchiche, Jenson Seelt, Chris Rigg, Caden Kelly.
Goals: Clarke 22.
Yellow cards: Bellingham 14, Ballard 55, Ba 72, Hume 80.
Referee: Stephen Martin 6: Most of us, I suspect tend to find something to have a pop at the referee about especially if he appears to not give decisions the way of one’s respective team and this occasion was no different. After reflection, I thought Mr Martin refereed this game even handedly and in a torrid atmosphere when things did get a bit feisty at times, he kept a lid on things by booking players at appropriate times. I did feel that he bottled out of giving a second yellow to a Sunderland player in the second half although I personally don’t mind frankly. I don’t like seeing players dismissed unless they commit a real shocker since in the main dismissals spoil games and overall this was a good one so I’m prepared to leave it there.
Attendance: 27,449
Bazza KRO
Another interesting read and informative. After a great weekend none of us could have imagined Tony Mowbray’s current predicament. Hopefully he will return and carry on the confidence building he has with us supporters.