Sometimes, no matter what you do, life deals you a hand where bluff all you like, you know you are going to have to fold. Today was one such day. Like many professions, medicine is plagued by regulations,checks and balances that simply cannot be avoided. Since I first qualified in 1977, I have watched said regulations increase in number inexorably. One of them is ‘mandatory training’ which I know is imposed on a lot of other people in different spheres but it doesn’t stop it being a ball ache given that it is a requirement, like it or not, must be repeated every year, regardless of its actual value to the individual and of course, it’s a lucrative wheeze fully supported by the government because it’s a quango that can be taxed! Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I decided it would be a good thing to combine my annual bore fest with a game. I discovered that there was a day course to get the necessary training out of the way at the Birmingham Midlands Institute in St Margaret’s Street in town.
Therefore, I thought I would get the train up to New Street early, go to the course which finished about five o’clock, walk down to St Andrew’s taking in a bite to eat and a pint on the way, meet up with the gang, watch the match, get Chris to drop me off at Coventry for the last train where I could pick up a lift home from Mrs Bazza at Reading. Seemed like a plan to me which was all arranged until Chris announced he couldn’t go to the game after all as it was his wife, Gayle’s birthday and he valued certain body parts! My only alternative was getting a lift with Will but it was touch and go that he would be able to attend so I looked at my third option which was to get the last train back from New Street. I don’t normally mind the walk up to town but not if time is tight. The last train was 10.04 pm and logistically it simply wasn’t worth risking missing it when you ask the question; what could possibly go wrong? Reluctantly, I had to admit defeat and accept that I wouldn’t be watching the game, at least not in person. Irritatingly, I was committed to the course and so I decided to go and do what I had to and catch the train straight back home to get in in time for kick off on the SKY red button.
As many of you that are kind enough to read by blog articles know, I tend not to report on games that I haven’t been to and many of you will have seen the game yourselves so you don’t need to to describe the action in detail but I will add some observations. What an awful goal Posh’s opener was on 16 minutes. Sunjic was robbed of the ball just outside the visitors’ area, a fast break with Blues backing off resulted in a well placed pass to Jack Marriott who poked past the onrushing Etheridge. Poor defending all round. Peterborough who can’t buy a gaol away from home (only six before tonight all season) were ahead. We looked clueless despite the fact that Peterborough kept coughing up possession and then on 34 minutes a long pass into the right inside right channel was picked up by Hogan who beat his defender and laid it on a plate for Jutkiewicz and although closed down by two defenders should have equalised bang in front from eight yards. Poor though Peterborough looked they nearly doubled their lead on 40 minutes but for a good save at the near post by Etheridge. The football from Blues was summed up by a pass from Etheridge to Mendi which was behind him and went out for a throw in! Nothing to recommend the play in the first period.
The second half was a bit better with the introduction of Bela for Pedersen and Gardner for Sunjic but having come close to equalising on 65 minutes, Peterborough were awarded what looked a soft penalty converted by Jonson Clarke-Harris. Will thought it was a penalty and he would have had a good view from where he was sitting. The SKY pundit in the form of Kris Boyd also thought it was a fair call so I defer to their judgement. The game was up or so I thought. Substitutes, Bela and Jordan Graham were causing problems down the left but we still didn’t trouble Benda in the Posh goal. Then out of nothing we eventually scored on 85 minutes from a well taken volley from the edge of the area from Gary Gardner. The ball came out to him from a headed clearance and he volleyed the ball straight back towards goal. It nestled in the bottom corner. I had no hopes it would get better than that when Bela broke down the left to give Hogan a glancing header into the far corner three minutes later; 2-2! We had a couple of chances to complete the turnaround including a glorious cross onto Jukewitcz’s head with the sort of chance he would bury from only six yards. A corner resulted so I can only assume a defender must have got a block. Frankly we should be grateful for an unlikely and lucky point in the end. A win would have been daylight robbery.
The Good: The fight back; why did it have to take 85 minutes before we showed the necessary urgency?
The Bad: The overall performance; it was very poor.
The Ugly: The mood of the crowd had we lost as we deserved to!
Birmingham City: Neil Etheridge 6, Maxime Colin 5, Teden Mengi 5, Marc Roberts 5, Krystian Pedersen 4 (Jeremie Bela HT, 7) Ryan Woods 4, Jordan James 5 (Jordan Graham 76, 6) Ivan Sunjic 5 (Gary Gardner 60, 6) Scott Hogan 6, Lukas Jutkiewicz 5, Onel Hernandez 5
Subs not used: Connal Trueman, George Friend, Jobe Bellingham, Tate Campbell.
Goals: Gardner 85, Hogan 88.
Bookings: None.
Peterborough United: Steven Benda 6, Mark Beevers 6, N Thompson 6, Frankie Kent 6, Bali Mumba 6, Jack Taylor 6, Oliver Norburn 6, Harrison Burrows 6, Kwame Poku 8 (Sammie Szmodics 86, N/A) Jonson Clarke-Harris 7 (Josh Knight 86, N/A) Jack Marriott 6 (Callum Morton 61, 6)
Subs not used: Jorge Grant, Joseph Tomlinson, Joe Ward, Will Blackmore.
Goals: Marriott 16, Clarke-Harris 65.
Bookings: Kent 45.
Referee: Oliver Langford; 5: I thought he was a little lenient with some of the cynical fouls committed by Posh defenders when they were coming under pressure but otherwise he refereed the game well. Blues can have no complaints about controversial decisions because apart from the penalty which I still reckon was soft, there weren’t any.
Attendance: 16,380.
Bazza KRO
I thought it could not get any worse than under Zola but this was a dire performance,only positive we did not give up like before.