I was awake early to a dark, dank morning. 05.30 to be exact because of a certain little Cockerpoo puppy, four months old and a new recruit. We haven’t had a dog for a while now since our beloved Welsh Terrier, Dilys died at the age of nearly 15. We had got out of the routine that comes with owning a dog especially one so young. She is as you would expect enchanting with mannerisms and playfulness that melt the heart of even those made of stone. Our new recruit’s name is Nellie and she was just alerting me to the fact her bladder was full and she needed to void. I let her out while Mrs Bazza slept on and made a cup of coffee for myself since the prospect of returning to bed was a pipe dream. I settled down to my coffee and ordered my train ticket while Nellie suitably relieved went to sleep in her woolly bed. Around 07.00, I took a hot drink up to Mrs Bazza. Dawn was breaking as I headed for the bathroom for morning ablutions. Showered and dressed it was time for another cup of coffee and thoughts turned towards today’s match. Blues have had a good month so far with four straight wins against Blackpool, Stockport, Barnsley and Exeter. Today’s game was to be our fifth in only 14 days. Fortunately, we appear to have good squad depth and the news that Willum Willumsson and Lyndon Dykes are recovered from their recent illnesses and Cochrane is making good progress from a nasty laceration to his foot we have the resources to hopefully keep our run of wins going. Lee Buchanan has come back into contention and although not quite ready for a full 90 minutes, his inclusion at this busy stage of the season is welcome.
It was soon time to get down to the station for my train from Blackwater to Reading. It was on time as was the connection. This is where the good news ended. Once again a mere four carriages of rolling stock to serve a major arterial route to the north-west meant a cramped, hot and uncomfortable journey stood up in the doorway hub. The reserved seating was cancelled leading to one or two aggressive individuals getting stroppy and there was one guy who threatened another with violence if he didn’t move. Several people chirped up and said they would be prepared to bear witness to what this man had said and he back peddled pretty rapidly complaining that he paid all this money yadda yadda to comments like “haven’t we all!” from the rest of us. The collapse of stout party disappeared up the carriage. I stayed on the train until New Street since Chris and Little Jack were both occupied helping Chris’ daughter and Jack’s Mum, Emma move house. They were intending to join me at St Andrew’s later. The train was held up along the way and I got to New Street 25 minutes late but caught the shuttle bus from Smallbrook Ringway to the ground easily enough. The hot curry and chips at the Quirky Indian kiosk at the fan park was very welcome on what was a chilly afternoon. I caught up with the others at the turnstiles 15 minutes before kick off and after the now usual fireworks and razzmatazz the game got underway.
The eventual 2-0 score line suggests a comfortable enough win but it could and should have been by a much wider margin. Blues were all over Bristol Rovers in truth but credit must go to the visitors’ resilient rearguard and midfield who spent much of the afternoon chasing around after the hosts particularly in the first half when in a one sided contest Blues repeatedly got into good field positions only to fail to deliver the final ball accurately enough into the box allowing last ditch defending to prevail rather than goals.
Blues were on top from the off and could easily have scored with their first attack. A whipped ball from Keshi Anderson from the right was attacked in front of goal by Alfie May but the striker’s connection wasn’t solid enough to find the mark and the ball was across the target to safety. Anderson was causing The Gas a lot of problems and he burrowed into the box and went down under a challenge. Hopes for a penalty were dashed as a corner was awarded. It was from this set piece that Blues took an early lead. Willumsson’s whipped delivery was headed clear to the edge of the box where Lee Buchanan met the bouncing ball on the volley to rifle a fierce left footed shot past Griffiths in the Rovers goal for 1-0. Blues kept up the pressure on Rovers who struggled to string more than a couple of passes together because of Birmingham’s press. Alfie May went close to doubling Blues lead and from another corner Krystian Bielik’s glancing header took a coat of paint off the far post with the Bristol defence rooted to the spot. Late in the half another shot from Alfie May from just inside the box was blocked by Connor Taylor who seemed to instinctively move his arm towards the ball (we’ve all done it) and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Alfie May picked up the ball and walked towards the spot as Rovers protests were being waved away by the official. This was a ploy, I suspect to take pressure off the actual taker, Jay Stansfield who could place the ball, step back and take the kick without having to wait which is the point of the conceding team’s protests if the truth be told. It worked; a ‘no messing’ right foot shot to the keeper’s left as he stumbled the wrong way put Blues in a commanding position before half time.
In the second half Blues continued their onslaught and frankly failed to make the best of opportunities they created. Davies, Iwata and Stansfield all had decent opportunities to score but were blocked or wide but the best chance fell to Alfie May who was unfortunate to see his snap volley blocked on the line by James Wilson with Griffiths well beaten. Jukey came on a substitute on 78 minutes and nearly scored in stoppage with a stooping header from a Willumsson cross but Griffiths saved well at the foot of the post. The Gas were comprehensively outplayed in this fixture so much so that there was much mirth and irony from the away fans when they registered a shot high over the bar just before the final whistle. Another three points, one point off top with a game in hand. Consolidate at Crawley please lads.
The Good: The performance. We started well and never let up. The other thing that was really good were the Bristol Rovers fans. They supported their team throughout and belted out their famous ‘Goodnight Irene’ with gusto. They were very funny with self-deprecating, gallows humour. My particular favourite was near the end when a rare shot that went hopelessly over the bar was greeted by “how s**t must you be, we’ve just had a shot!” I laughed out loud.
The Bad: The conversion rate from the chances we created; 26 attempts, 2 goals. It’s baffling. Week in week out Blues are so superior to the opposition that it is bemusing that they don’t score more goals given the personnel they have.
The Ugly: The stupid machismo from the moron on the train. For a middle aged man he should be totally ashamed of himself.
Birmingham City: Ryan Allsop 7, Krystian Bielik 7 (Taylor Gardner-Hickman 78, 7) Christoph Klarer 7, Ben Davies 7, Lee Buchanan 7 (Ethan Laird 66, 7) Paik Seung-ho 7, Tomoki Iwata 7, Keshi Anderson 8 (Marc Leonard 85, N/A) Willum Willumsson 7, Jay Stansfield 7 (Luke Harris 78, 7) Alfie May 7 (Lukas Jutkiewicz 78,7)
Subs not used: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Ayumu Yokoyama.
Goals: Buchanan 6, Stansfield 38 (pen).
Yellow cards: None
Bristol Rovers: Josh Griffiths 6, Joel Senior 7, Connor Taylor 7, James Wilson 7, Clinton Mola 6, Michael Forbes 6 (Chris Martin 52, 6) Kamil Conteh 7, Jamie Lindsay 6, (Grant Ward 66, 6) Shaq Forde 7, Luke McCormick 6 (Promise Omochere 73, 6) Gatlin O’Donkor 6 (Isaac Hutchinson 66, 6)
Subs not used: Taylor Moore, Scott Sinclair, Bryant Bilongo.
Goals: None
Yellow cards: None
Referee: Sebastian Stockbridge 7: I thought Mr Stockbridge contributed to the game in letting it flow and keeping the cards in the pocket. Yes, there were one or two incidents that many didn’t agree with but I think he got both penalty shouts right. It wasn’t a dirty game and after all; now is the time of year to be jolly!
Attendance: 26,459
Bazza KRO
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