After a bitterly cold week with frost abounding everywhere, it was nice that a more mild morning greeted Nellie and I on our morning walk. It was raining but under the woodland canopy we managed to avoid most of it to be fair. On our return home both Nellie and yours truly were ready for a spot of breakfast and it was soon time to depart for the station at Blackwater to catch the connection to Birmingham New Street from Reading. The connecting train at Reading was over 35 minutes late meaning I would be late meeting up with Chris, Jack and little Seb in Wetherspoon’s for a pint and a bite to eat. As it was the train lost more time and it was 50 minutes late getting in meaning there was no time to order food so had to settle for a steak and ale pie at the ground later. Will and little Will were delayed because junior had a game which didn’t finish until after 11.00 meaning they had to skedaddle quickly to get to the Blues in time and were in no position to pick me up on the way through. In the end they got to the ground before we did. There was no point in our group catching the shuttle bus because with the size of the queue at that stage we would have missed kick off. We got an UBER down as close as possible and walked up the last bit of the Coventry Road.
This week has seen the unveiling of the new ground design and like many I am beyond excited about the prospect. At first, I wasn’t sure about the multiple chimneys which are obviously a nod to Birmingham’s industrial past but once I listened to the reasons for their presence i.e. The requirement for vertical structures to support the roof and steep terracing, elevators, ventilation, fire escapes, event function rooms etc it seemed to make sense and over the week the concept has grown on me and I’m now in the “Ay!” camp. I also like the choice of name, The City of Birmingham Powerhouse Stadium. All we need now is a team worthy of such a world class venue. Another thing you can say about this iconic design is that it ain’t ordinary! It will become one of the most recognised arenas anywhere in the world which will put Birmingham firmly on the world stage. I am so pleased that we haven’t ended up with a spaceship, identikit design so often built nowadays.
Today’s opponents, Norwich have been having a lean time of it recently which has surprised me a little. They have for many years been an established Championship club with odd flirtations with the Premier League but they languish in 23rd place and have recently parted ways with Liam Manning after their miserable start to the season and appointed Philippe Clement as his replacement this week. The Canaries have lost their last seven matches at home which must be some sort of record and Manning lost 10 of his 15 games in charge winning only two. They have garnered only nine points and have clearly been conceding too many goals as a goal difference of -9 will attest. They are also scoring at less than one per game at present. These stats worry me because how many times have Blues faced teams in this sort of situation only to fluff their lines? With a new manager, I expect Norwich to present a stern challenge and Chris Davies will no doubt be telling our lads that nothing can be taken for granted and fast play and application will be required to secure three points. Performances of late have been pretty good with back to back 4-0 victories at home to Portsmouth and Millwall followed by defeat away at Middlesborough 2-1. I felt we were unfortunate not to get a positive return from that game. We certainly created enough chances to have at least drawn if not won the game. Given that Boro are currently second in the league, the signs are encouraging.
Just before kick off there was the usual razzmatazz, fireworks and loud rendering of Keep Right On To The End Of The Road! accompanying the legendary Sir Harry Lauder and drowning out the attempts of the away support to out sing us. A large banner was unveiled at the start of the game at the Tilton. (see inset) Blues got off to a fast start in this one with Demarai Gray testing the Norwich keeper within a minute. Kovacevic saved well on that occasion but was helpless to prevent Marvin Ducksch from opening his account in a Blues shirt. A lovely chipped ball down the left wing by Alex Cochrane was perfectly weighted for Demarai Gray who had the best game he has played this season. A perfect touch from him and a quick incisive ball across the area was snapped up by the German forward from close range with three minutes only on the clock. The Duck should have doubled his tally on ten minutes when he snatched at a ball eight yards out right in front of goal. Instead of bulging the net, the ball ended up over the bar into the Gil Merrick stand! However, it wasn’t long before the score was doubled. A foray down the right by Patrick Roberts into the box resulted in a perfectly weighted chipped cross where a header by Jay Stansfield found the net from five yards to score his ninth in all competitions this season. The way Blues were performing it begged the question as to how many they were going to score.
Blues should have had a penalty when he was put through by a delightful ball from Stansfield. Shane Duffy clearly tripped the striker but Mr Backhouse refused Blues appeals. I was in line with the incident and it was a stone wall penalty. However, football has a habit of defying logic when with their only threatening foray forward Norwich pulled one back. A good move down the right gave the visitors excellent field position and the cross into the box caused havoc. Beadle parried the cross to prevent the tap in but the ball found its way to Mathias Kvistgaarden who from around the penalty spot made no mistake. The two goal margin was restored just before half time when another whipped inswinging cross from Demarai Gray from the left flank was kept in play at the far post by Patrick Roberts. His tap back was met by Tomoki Iwata with a header that Kovacevic blocked. However, Ducksch was once again to grab his second and Blues third with a tap in from close range. 3-1 was the very least Blues deserved.
The second half was more of the same with Blues on the front foot. The visitors were second best to everything and a sloppy pass in midfield was seized upon just inside our half by Demarai Gray who fed a lovely pass through to Jay Stansfield. His marker, Harry Darling seemed to hesitate and that fatal pause combined with Jay’s pace saw the Blues talisman clean through with the centre-back trailing in his wake. A delightful chip lob over the advancing Kovacevic saw the ball strike the underside of the bar and in for 4-1. Three consecutive home games with four goals in each; 1958 the last time that happened! It was so very nearly five soon after when a thunderbolt from Tomoki Iwata from thirty yards clipped the post. I was right behind the shot and I thought it was in when he struck it but a slight swerve robbed us of goal of the season. Norwich for their part did have their moments particularly later on. Beadle had to make two smart saves within a minute from a flicked header by Emiliano Marcondes from a corner from Kellen Fisher and a volley from Shane Duffy from Kenny McClean’s cross from the right. Despite being outplayed and outscored, Norwich did show some spirit and fight which augers well for them going forward under their new coach. However, defensively they were poor and disorganised and that is where they need to improve and quickly. You could argue that we made them look worse than they are but they aren’t bottom but one for no reason.
The Good: Another excellent performance from Blues and for the third consecutive home game, four goals. It could have been more in truth.
The Bad: Public transport; the train from Reading was nearly forty minutes late and it lost time from then on meaning that I got to New Street at twenty to two instead of ten to one. This led to us missing the festivities due to start at two-thirty. On the way back the shuttle buses couldn’t get up St Andrew’s Road because of the traffic. We walked; it was faster and the first shuttle that left failed to overtake us.
The Ugly: Norwich City’s garish pink kit! Why didn’t they play in canary yellow and green? I noticed that none of their fans were wearing the pink regalia! Can’t say I blame them!
Birmingham City: James Beadle 8, Alex Cochrane 8, Christoph Klarer 8, Phil Neumann 8, Tomoki Iwata 9* (Bright Oseyi-Samuel 88, N/A) Patrick Roberts 8 (Lewis Koumas 90, N/A) Tommy Doyle 9, Marc Leonard 8 Demarai Gray 9 (Keshi Anderson 72, 6) Jay Stansfield 9 (Lyndon Dykes 88, N/A) Marvin Ducksch 9 (Kyogo Furuhashi 72, 6)
Subs not used: Ryan Allsop, Jack Robinson, Eiran Cashin, Kanya Fujimoto.
Goals: Duksch 3, 44, Stansfield 21, 54.
Yellow cards: Neumann 15.
Norwich City: Vladan Kovacevic 6, Jack Stacey 5 Shane Duffy 5 Harry Darling 5 Kellen Fisher 6 Kenny McClean 6 Mirko Topic 5 Jovan Makama 7 Mathias Kvistgaarden 7 (Emiliano Marcondes 60, 6) Oscar Schwartau 6 (Amankwah Forson 73, 5) Josh Sargent 5 (Errol Mundle-Smith 88, N/A)
Subs not used: Jakov Medic, Pelle Mattsson, Ruairi McConville, Daniel Grimshaw, Jacob Wright, Tony Springett.
Goals: Kvistgaarden 33.
Yellow cards: Makama 30, Stacey 35.
Referee: Andrew Backhouse: 6; denied Blues a clear penalty for a foul on Duksch but otherwise he officiated the game well.
Attendance: 28,080
Bazza KRO
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