View from the South – Birmingham City vs Watford

Baz is back, here is his first VFTS of the season.

————————————————————————

Well the big day had finally arrived; the first day of the season and it was a home fixture against Watford. I have to confess that I had no great optimism for the outcome from this one despite the purge of a number of personnel over the summer and the acquisition of a number of young, energetic and enthusiastic players. Will met up with me in Guildford just after 10.30 and we called in for a welcome all day breakfast bap at a well known tax dodging establishment before proceeding up the M25/M40 towards Baginton to meet up with Chris and Little Jack who turned out to be away in Spain with his paternal grandparents. We necked a couple of pints at Chris’ pub and whilst there, Chris regaled us with a story about his daughter’s partner who comes from Finland. Whilst on holiday he caught a pike fishing and immediately cooked it and ate it as is a Finlander’s wont.

I discovered that if you catch a pike you shouldn’t eat it straight away since it tastes like mud! I have this on the greatest authority from Chris who assures me that this is the case as he claims he can remember eating mud when he was a kid and pike freshly caught is what it tastes like. He said that you have to purge the fish by putting it in your bath and keep refreshing the water before you eat it! I’ve clearly led an unfulfilled life but I’m happy to live and learn! Anyway after such an enlightening story it was soon time to set off down the A45 to the ground. It was good to be back in the Royal George for all the pre-match atmosphere and the scenery behind the bar!

I called in at the shop to acquire a new away strip. I have to say I’m a little disappointed with the latest home kit as I feel we’ve done the penguin style to death in recent times. The queue was three times round the shop and frankly I couldn’t be bothered to wait. I guess that’s something that will have to wait for another time. Just before we got to the pub our mate Rob called and asked when we were getting to St Andrews and he announced that Lucky Stan (Rob’s Dad) was coming to the game! Lucky Stan is a legendary character who hasn’t attended many games at Blues but those that he has have resulted in victory for our great and glorious lads and yes he was present on 27 February 2011.

Before the game kicked off, there was a minute’s silence in respect of the late Christian Chucho Benitez who tragically died this week. It was beautifully observed by fans on all sides of the ground.

Blues started very brightly and could well have been ahead as early as the third minute when Green was only just beaten to the ball from Adeyemi’s through pass by Almunia in the Watford goal. The visitors realised very early on that they weren’t going to stroll to victory like they did on their last visit to St Andrews and were looking rattled by Blues early pressure. As so often happens however, the deadlock was broken in Watford’s favour and against the run of play after 11 minutes. The move leading to the goal was neat, slick and clever between Deeney and Forestertieri which saw the former slide the ball coolly across Randolph into the far corner of the net; a beautifully taken effort demonstrating the cruelty of football. Watford did create some pressure for a couple of minutes after going ahead and Randloph had to be at his best to fist away Abdi’s out-swinging corner with attackers waiting for any slip up.

Blues recovered their composure and gradually gained the upper hand and Watford were lucky not to concede the equaliser on the half-hour. Watford defender Abdi was relieved to see his misdirected header arc over his goalkeeper only to bounce inches past the post as Birmingham pressed increasingly as the half entered its final stages. However, Blues had Randolph to thank in preventing a further goal for Watford when he pushed away a fierce free-kick from McGugan from 25 yards.

Watford started the second half at a higher tempo than the first and were soon on the front foot following a brilliant run from the impressive wide man Anya. He beat two defenders only to be stopped by the excellent Randolph whose clearance was completed by Eardley. Following this the Blues defence was rarely troubled and came so close to the equaliser they so deserved on 65 minutes when Elliott’s drive deflected off Angella’s head only to strike the top of Almunia’s crossbar with the keeper beaten. Blues should have scored after 80 minutes when Bartley managed a clear header from a corner for the only time the solid Watford rearguard was found wanting. The effort dropped agonisingly wide and by such margins are football matches won and lost.

The kitchen sink went in in the last 10 minutes plus the extra 6 added on by Mr Tierney largely for blatant time wasting by Watford as they clung on desperately at the end. The result was harsh on Birmingham; they certainly deserved at least a share of the spoils but Watford took the only real good chance they created and we missed ours. Blues played very well despite the defeat and with a little better run of the ball could well have won this game. Randolph looked assured in goal and I thought Burn had an excellent game as the central defender in a back three in contrast to his iffy showing in pre-season at Oxford. Eardley stuck to his task as wing back as did Ferguson on the opposite flank although he did look lost in the system at times. Robinson and Bartley were solid enough and looked well organised. Elliott gave the ball away too frequently at the start of the game but he improved as the match progressed. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about Adeyemi who to my mind represented the one player who did not have the best game. I hope he doesn’t become the Mullins of 2013-14; it is only the first game and hopefully he will improve. Novak, Shinnie and Green all worked hard and there was plenty of endeavour but better choice of pass or run would have rewarded their respective efforts at times.

Overall there was plenty to be positive about and if this Blues side continue to play like this they will collect plenty enough points to secure a comfortable mid-table berth in the first instance; as for anything more, it remains to be seen. Finally, the atmosphere at St Andrews this afternoon was the best I have experienced for a long time. Nearly 19,000 attended this match; hopefully this will continue to increase since this young Blues side looks to be worth supporting. As for Watford, they are a good team with quick, clever players. They are easy on the eye with good pace and fluid movement. They rode their luck defensively but held on and I suspect they will repeat this 1-0 win several times away from home over the next nine months. I expect them to be in the top three come May and in all probability will go one better than last season and find themselves in the Premier League

The Good: The overall performance which was excellent in terms of effort, commitment and quality. If Blues play this well for the rest of the season, a mid table finish which is the best I’m expecting is assured.

The Bad: The result; Blues deserved better. A draw would have been a fair outcome.

The Ugly: The antics of some of the Watford players hitting the ground like they’d been shot became tiresome. This is something they need to cut out of their game since a less lenient referee will be waving more yellow cards than came out in this game. Watford are a good team and don’t need to do this. They will achieve promotion without such dubious tactics.

Birmingham City: Randolph 8, Eardley 7, Robinson 7, Bartley 7, Burn 8, Novak 7, Elliott 6, Shinnie 6, Adeyemi 5, Green 6 (Allan 74, 7), Ferguson 6 (Burke 80, 6)

Subs not used: Doyle, Mullins, Arthur, Reilly, Lee.

Booked: Robinson (43); Burn (66), Adeyemi (70), Novak (85)

Watford: Almunia 7 Angella 7, McGugan 7 (Battocchio 67, 7), Forestieri 7, (Fabrini 67, 7); Doyley 6, Faraoni 7, Anya 8, Abdi 7, Iriney 7, Cassetti 6, Deeney 8.

Subs: Bond, Ekstrand, Acuna, Pudil, Smith.

Booked: Battocchio (68); Abdi (80)

Referee: P. Tierney (Lancashire): 6 Overall the referee and his officials did well but by the time Mr Tierney began to take a firmer line with some of the time wasting tactics it was too late. Correctly he ruled play on following obvious dives from a couple of Watford midfielders but declined to apply the sanction of a yellow card. He did punish four of our players for violent challenges and all were correct so no complaints.

Attendance: 18,830