The morning after the closure of the summer transfer window dawned and to say that I am excited at the final result of our business is an understatement. Finally, the acquisition of Jay Stansfield from Fulham got over the line for over £12 million plus add ons and was the talk of SKY News transfer programming when all they can normally talk about are the elite few in the Premier League. We now hold the top four transfer records for League 1 surpassing Will Griggs’ transfer from Wigan to Sunderland by a country mile and some! However, our expensively assembled squad brings with it massive expectations and the League 1 title is, it seems, a minimum requirement.
My son, Jonny had not been able to come to football but as his wife was abroad for work and he was on his own coupled with the fact that little Jack was drinking elsewhere in Cornwall with his mates, there seemed an ideal opportunity to take in a game for him. The train was booked and Mrs Bazza dropped us off at Blackwater station for the first part of our journey to Reading. We then found that the train from the hour before was still at the platform and going nowhere because of a track fault. We made an instant decision and commandeered my wife’s car. Despite our best efforts we missed the Reading connection and had to settle for the train an hour later than planned to Coventry which meant Chris picking us up at nearly 13.30 instead of 12.30. We had time to get to the ground before kick off but we might be tight for a pint but we would have to see. The train was absolutely packed and we didn’t manage to get a seat until Banbury. If that wasn’t enough the train lost 13 minutes due to a hold up around Didcot Parkway which meant Jonny and I didn’t alight at Coventry until nearly twenty to two. Chris, Will, Will junior and Seb were waiting for us and we piled into the car.
By the time we had got to St Andrew’s, queued up, been frisked by security and got in, it was ten minutes to go before kick off and we had no other choice but to forego meat and mead and go straight up to our seats. The usual music, fireworks and razzmatazz was waiting for us. Tony Mowbray was guest of honour and there was a resounding cheer and round of applause when his face went up onto the screen; Tony, on behalf of all bluenoses, I hope that you are feeling better following your illness and enjoying your rest and retirement from the game. You will always be welcome at St Andrew’s and we look forward to doing so again in the future. The opportunity was also taken to welcome Jay Stansfield back to the fold following his permanent transfer from Fulham. Due to late registration he couldn’t play in this one but these events electrified the atmosphere aided by a loud rendering of “Keep Right On to the End of the Road” immediately before the start of proceedings.
Blues started on the front foot with an exciting driving run from Cochrane who fed the ball to Emil Hansson who sent over a centre for the onrushing Ethan Laird who timed his volley beautifully. The shot was goalbound but blocked bravely by Will Aimson for the visitors. Hansson’s follow up shot was saved by Sam Tickle. Blues were enjoying plenty of the ball as has been the pattern under Chris Davies but Wigan showed signs that when they got possession, they weren’t going to make a few passes and meekly hand it back to us. It was clear that Wigan were a strong, well organised, physical outfit with threats of their own and needed respect. Matt Smith, Wigan’s stand out player for me, struck a fierce volley following a well worked move which but for a timely block could well have troubled the scoreboard. Fortunately, parity was maintained and after a short period of pressure from the visitors Willumsson picked up the ball in midfield and threaded an exquisite pass through between the back line for Alfie May thirty yards out. The striker took the ball forward a couple of touches leaving the defenders in his wake and calmly side-footed the ball into the bottom corner past the helpless Sam Tickle in goal. It was a beautiful finish but I will confess that I and everyone seated around me thought May was offside by some margin. The Wigan defenders obviously agreed as their protests to the Assistant on the far side attested. However, the picture shows that we were all wrong. May is well onside not miles offside as we all thought. It shows just how quick Alfie May is over a short distance but it was the pass that made the opportunity.
Blues could easily have been two or even three up before the break but good saves from Tickle from Hansson and Willumsson thwarted the home side. Wigan did have a good chance just before the break when a cross from the left was headed goalwards by Hugill which required a smart save from Peacock-Farrell which served to emphasise just how fragile a 1-0 lead is. 1-0 was all we took into the break after a good first period.
Blues were disrupted early on at the start of the second half when a heavy challenge left Ethan Laird on the floor in obvious pain. It was clear that he was not going to be able to continue as he hobbled disconsolately off the pitch to be replaced by Alfons Sampsted. Luke Harris also appeared slightly lame and his place was taken by Scott Wright. Blues appeared to lose rhythm for a few minutes and it was during this phase of the game that Wigan capitalised. In a foray forward Aasgaard was given far too much room on the edge of the area and this allowed a low strike at goal. However, it was straight at Peacock-Farrell and the keeper got his hands to the ball but allowed it to slip between them and then his legs and so on across the goal line. On the balance of play in the first quarter of an hour of the half, the equaliser was deserved and perhaps Blues would rue the missed opportunities earlier.
Further changes introduced Ayumu Yokohama and Lyndon Dykes to the fray. Wigan also made a raft of changes as their players clearly tired with evidence of cramping up and frequent visits to the floor to seek medical attention. The cynical might suggest the this was an attempt to slow down Blues’ high tempo game but I genuinely believe the chasing they had had to do in the first half and how hard they worked to get back on terms was beginning to tell. They had burned through all their subs by the 70th minute and a further injury to one of their players resulted in them being down to ten for the final quarter of the game.
Blues smelt blood and laid siege to the Wigan rearguard who stubbornly resisted. A series of corners and free kicks coupled with their defence being pulled back and forth exhausted their energies further. It depended on whether we would run out of time like we did against Reading. Wigan’s hearts must have sunk when nine minutes added was announced and it was in the very first of these that Blues finally broke the Latics resistance. A short corner taken by Marc Leonard to Paik Seung-ho was crossed into the box and after a desperate scramble Christoph Klarer attempted a back heel towards goal. The ball ricocheted to Scott Wright positioned on the corner of the six-yard box. The debutant needed no further invitation to hammer the ball high into the net as St Andrew’s erupted with delight. Wigan’s valiant rearguard action was finally breached and Blues managed the remaining time to see out the win but not without a final scare which required a well timed sliding tackle from Klarer on the dangerous Aasgaard who threatened to equalise again at the death. One hundred plus minutes played and it was time to celebrate.
The Good: The performance, especially in the first half when Blues should perhaps have been further ahead than just the one goal. The atmosphere inside St Andrew’s with a near capacity crowd. The noise when the winner went in was something to relish.
The Bad: The train journey both up and back. The overcrowded carriages due to the fact that only four were provided by Cross Country was unacceptable given the price of train tickets which are about to rise again! The unreliability meant that Jonny and I arrived over an hour later than we wanted and we had no time to get food or drink before kick off.
The Ugly: Peacock-Farrell’s howler for their goal. This is two weeks running that he has been responsible for the goal conceded to the opposition. I understand the modern need for a goalkeeper to be adept with his feet but his primary role is to stop the ball going in his net. Letting a shot straight at him go between his legs is not up to standard.
Birmingham City: Bailey Peacock-Farrell 5, Ethan Laird 7 (Alfons Samsted 51, 6) Krystian Bielik 8, Christoph Klarer 7, Alex Cochrane 7, Paik Seung-ho 7, Willum Willumsson 7 Taylor Gardner-Hickman 6 (Marc Leonard 61, 7) Luke Harris 6 (Wright 52, 7) Emil Hansson 7 (Ayumu Yokohama 74, 6) Alfie May 7 (Lyndon Dykes 74, 6)
Subs not used: Ryan Alsop, Ben Davies.
Goals: May 18, Wright 90+1.
Yellow cards: None.
Wigan Athletic: Sam Tickle 6, James Carragher 6 (Steven Sessegnon 45, 6) Jason Kerr 6, Will Aimson 6, Luke Chambers 6, Babajide Adeeko 6 (Jensen Weir 61, 6) Matt Smith 7 (Scott Smith 70, 6) Siko-Amari Thomas 6, Thelo Aasgaard 7, Dion Rankine 6 (Callum McManaman 70, 6) Hugill 6 (Dale Taylor 60, 6)
Subs not used: Andy Lonergan, Toby Sibbick.
Goals: Aasgaard 66.
Yellow cards: Tickle 69, Kerr 82, Maloney 86, McManaman 90+3.
Referee: Sunny Singh Gill: 7; Mr Singh Gill had a good game I thought. He refereed the game fairly, played the advantage as much as he could and stood no nonsense with time wasting in the second half, adding 9 minutes on at the end which turned into 11 as a result of us scoring.
Attendance: 27,136
Bazza KRO
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