My little dog, Nellie, fresh from the groomers yesterday woke me up at just before 6 a.m. wanting to go out and so, bleary eyed I descended the stairs to the kitchen to allow her into the back garden for her ablutions while I put the kettle on for a restorative cup of black coffee. I then made for the shower and was soon up and about. It was a cold, foggy start and Nellie, despite the fact that she loves her walk, was in no mood to make an early start so I sipped my coffee and contemplated today’s game. This was it. Top versus second with a great deal at stake. A win for Blues would of course put us 12 points clear of our rivals with a game in hand and you would think that barring a catastrophic collapse of form, the title and promotion back to the Championship would be all but assured. Injuries are taking their toll and it was looking unlikely that Jay Stansfield and Keshi Anderson would play and with Scott Wright out for the rest of the season options are a bit more limited for Chris Davies. Just so you know readers, Will went on record during the trip up saying that it was all mind games and that Keshi would start and Jay would be on the bench. A defeat would still have us six points ahead with a game in hand so it wasn’t as if we would be in a bad position.
It was soon time to set off for Guildford where Will had arranged to pick me up. Other travel companions on this trip included Chris who had come down south to visit his brother, little Will and Will’s mate, Alex and Alex’s son, Joel. The fog of Guildford soon gave way to bright sunshine to greet the first day of Spring. We made good time and made it to the Fan Park at 11.10 in plenty of time for a pint and some food. It was good that Chris was back in the fold following a period on the treatment table after his knee replacements. I’m bound to say as a surgeon by trade, he has recovered well ahead of schedule, a point made by the colleague looking after him this week. Chris had a single crutch with him not only to maintain balance in the interests of safety but it helps in that people stand aside and let you through which is a distinct advantage in a large crowd. The more able bodied in our group went on ahead and I stayed with Chris, walking slowly as I have a bit of gout in my right foot just at present which was making me hobble almost as much as Chris! We lamented about getting old when all these ailments start to bite. We got a seat in the box to box bar and enjoyed a pie and a pint before wandering up to our seats. A sell out crowd greeted us with noise levels to match.
The rendering of “Keep Right On” led by the incomparable Sir Harry Lauder was loud and proud sending a tingle down the spine. Will had said that he would be happy with a draw but for my part I was confident that we could win.
Blues started on the front foot and early on Ben Davies from deep sent a sumptuous diagonal ball to the right wing channel which was beautifully controlled by Ethan Laird. His touch evaded his man marker and a short square pass to Willumsson was pushed on by the Icelander into the inside right channel for Alfie May whose goalbound shot across the keeper was well saved by Will Norris. You could perhaps feel that Alfie could have got his shot off a little wider of Norris but I reckon the keeper was well positioned and so it was good football all round. Blues were all over Wycombe like a rash and another gorgeous ball over the top from Ben Davies was brought down by Kieran Dowell on the edge of the D to put the ball just in front of him. The midfielder made no mistake with an excellent finish into the bottom corner only for the celebrations to be cut short by the linesman’s flag. I was in line with this incident and I didn’t think Dowell was offside which I understand the Tv footage later subsequently showed. Wycombe got away with one there but after constant pressure their good fortune ran out when another fabulous long pass this time from the left foot of Ryan Allsop onto the chest of Taylor Gardner-Hickman whose first time volley was initially saved by Norris but the shot had so much pace on it that it cannoned off the keeper’s forearm and looped up behind him bouncing into the net with defenders and keeper unable to retreat in time to stop it. A deserved lead for Blues after 21 minutes.
Blues could and should have scored again just after when from a cross by Dowell, the ball alighted at the feet of Alfie May at the far post. His square pass to Willumsson was flicked back toward Iwata whose precise shot towards the bottom corner was agonisingly stopped by the outstretched leg of Joe Lowe on the line. Any elevation of the shot would surely have registered a 2-0 score line. The rebound was sliced wide by Ben Davies to the groans of the home crowd but the ball came at him awkwardly and quickly and the chance was very difficult. Frankly, Wycombe didn’t land a glove on us in the first half but they did have a shot right at the end of the half when striker, Fred Onyedinma struck a shot high and wide of the top corner. It would have been daylight robbery had it gone in but it showed that Wycombe did offer a threat and could not be taken lightly. Just on the stroke of half time, Iwata plays a ball towards Dowell who under pressure plays a first time volley into the right wing channel for the speedy Ethan Laird to run onto. The wing back gets to the ball first in front of the chasing Xavier Simons. The defender puts in a reckless challenge that looked awful from where I was sitting. The referee obviously agreed brandishing the red card for an early bath for Simons. There was still time for another chance for Blues as Paik Seung-ho unleashed a 30 yarder which Will Norris parried and was fortunate to see the parry evade the onrushing Dowell and bounce off to safety as the half time whistle blew. In truth a 3-0 or 4-0 score line would not have flattered Blues.
The second half was a little less energetic from Birmingham as they sought to largely control the game, move Wycombe around, tire them out and look to provide a killer second goal should the opportunity arise. Wycombe showed a bit more than they had in the first period and did their best to load the box, swing the ball in from set pieces, play the ‘Hail Mary’ ball from deep as things got more desperate as the time ticked down. They even brought on the partially fit top scorer, Richard Kone with 15 minutes left but it counted for little in the end. Wycombe never really threatened but a second from us would have taken any jeopardy, albeit slight, out of the equation. Blues after 12 minutes added on hung on for a more comfortable win than the score suggests.
The Good: Beating our nearest rivals. Twelve points clear with a game in hand with 14 games. Surely the title is ours? It is ours to lose, that is for sure.
The Bad: If I’m critical at all, it has to be the finishing in the first half. Better finishing and Blues are over the hills and far away in the first half. I suppose the offside decision against Dowell for his disallowed goal; I thought he was onside at the time.
The Ugly: Simons tackle on Laird for which he was rightly dismissed. It was a horrible challenge; he was never getting to the ball and it is fortunate that Ethan wasn’t badly injured.
Birmingham City: Ryan Allsop 8 (Bailey Peacock-Farrell 90+3, N/A) Ethan Laird 8 (Krystian Bielik 83, N/A) Ben Davies 8, Christoph Klarer 7, Alex Cochrane 7, Paik Seung-ho 6, Tomoki Iwata 6, Kieran Dowell 9, Taylor Gardner-Hickman 8 (Emil Hansson 63, 7) Willum Willumsson 7, Alfie May 7 (Lukas Jutkiewicz 83, N/A)
Subs not used: Luke Harris, Grant Hanley, Alfons Sampsted.
Goals: Gardner-Hickman 21.
Yellow cards: None.
Wycombe Wanderers: Will Norris 6, Jasper Pattenden 6 (Jack Grimmer 67, 6) Joe Low 7, Caleb Taylor 7 Daniel Harvie N/A (Adam Reach 9, 6) Josh Scowen 7, Xavier Simons 4 (SO 45+2) Gareth McCleary 6 (Richard Kone 75, 5) Cameron Humphreys 6 (Luke Leahy 67, 6) Fred Onyedinma 6 (Sonny Bradley 45, 6) Daniel Udoh 6
Subs not used: Franci Ravizzoli Beryly Lubala
Goals: None
Yellow cards: Kone 90+8.
Red cards: Simons 45+2.
Referee: Ben Toner 7: Credit where credit is due. I thought the man in the middle had a good game. He controlled the play well, kept the flow going particularly in the first half. He was absolutely right to send off Simons for his dreadful challenge on Laird. Despite this incident, he didn’t allow the game to descend into an undisciplined scrap as a sending off can so often lead to. The proximity to half time may have helped but nevertheless, credit has to go to the officials. The referee is not to blame for the incorrect call by his assistant for Dowell’s disallowed effort. Whilst it was tight it wasn’t correct but the referee has to trust in his linesmen in the absence of VAR.
Attendance: 27,522
Bazza KRO
Kev Addition
I was in the Tilton corner, not been there before but besides the pylon for the floodlights, it was a decent view.
I agree with Bazza’s synopsis. We look like champions elect. Another 8 wins and we’re up, regardless of what Wrexham do. Obviously if they drop points it will mean we need less.
Here’s our view and a video of CD celebrating after the game.
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