VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – PORTSMOUTH vs BIRMINGHAM CITY (REFRAIN)
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Reports By Bazza
Here is Bazza’s report from Tuesday night.
I went straight from work to Will’s place where I met his wife Julie for the first time. I introduced myself and said that yes, I really was the serial killer she thought I was given that Will had met me originally via the blog and therefore the internet. She thinks I’m joking so that’s all right then! 
Chris, Will’s brother had travelled down from Warwickshire for the game and to have a round of golf in the afternoon whilst muggings had to work. We set off for the short journey south to Portsmouth and managed to grab a pie and a hot drink in the ground. Will still cannot get over the fact that I hate Bovril and I settled instead for tea. We found our place in the stands and hoped we didn’t play like we did at the weekend.
What a difference from the events of Saturday? This was an impressive win following what must have been a bitterly disappointing defeat to the same team just three days earlier. Blues made four changes to the Saturday line up with Michel starting in place of Bowyer, Benitez was restored to the starting line up with McFadden demoted to the bench. Out also went Larsson who was replaced by Gardner and Fergusson took over from the rested Stephen Carr as captain, his place in the side being taken by Parnaby. The side had a better balance to it and as was the case at the weekend Blues dominated proceedings from the off with the essential difference that we looked dangerous going forward with Chucho adding that bit of spice that resulted in an early opener for Cameron Jerome in the 14th minute. A lovely touch through to the striker from his partner on the edge of the area gave Jerome the opening which he drilled low just inside the far post to send the assembled throng of noses wild with delight. Not only were we ahead but we were playing some slick flowing football in the middle of the park orchestrated by Michel who looked sure of touch, poised on the ball with an ability to pick a pass that always seemed to be delivered to the feet of a team mate! The stuff of dreams for a Blues side playing on this occasion in the white kit with the red penguin stripe down the front rather than the black strip that was still in the wash from Saturday. Portsmouth for their part were second best in the opening period and were opened up again when Benitez found himself one on one with David James in the middle of the goal with either side to choose to deliver the ball into. He chooses to dribble round the keeper only to be tackled by Hreidarsson. The frustrations of the travelling faithful were tangible as heads went into hands and expletives abounded. Nevertheless, within minutes the little Ecuadorian had made amends when a clever little back heel split the Pompey defence for Jerome to stroke the ball under the body of the diving James for 2 – 0. This score on 42 minutes was the least that Blues deserved and it could have been more such was the superiority that Blues held over their hapless opponents.
The second half was more one of containment of what Portsmouth had to offer which wasn’t a great deal to be honest and Blues should have added to their tally when Fahey delivered a cross too far in front of Jerome having carved Pompey open again. Dann missed a very presentable chance from fifteen yards placing his effort over the bar instead of the top corner and McFadden who came on late for the tiring Benitez almost caught James napping with a fierce shot towards the near post. Despite giving the eyes, James was equal to the save. The Pompey keeper was given a hard time by the noses behind him especially as he mimed the scooping out of a ball from the net just prior to the second half starting. We gave back with interest but the banter did descend somewhat into obscene chants about activities of his England team mate John Terry and what he may have done with James’ wife, sister, mother etc. We also sang ‘we’ll meet again’ and ‘we’ll never play you again,’ ‘Pay up Pompey!’ and many many more but my favourite of the evening was to the tune of the Conga ‘Let’s all have a whip round!’ Chris turned to me and said “Yow know why we know all the words of all these songs don’t ya?” “Why?” I said, “Cos we’ve ‘eard em sung to us so many times!” 
The only blemish of the evening was allowing Portsmouth a consolation goal in the 92nd minute when Kanu, a late Pompey substitute netted an inswinging cross to give us all a nervy last couple of minutes and Pompey, hope their performance did not merit. Fortunately, Blues held on comfortably enough but the margin should have been far greater than it was.
This was a very good win in the circumstances but before getting carried away with hyperbole, the quality of the opposition has to be taken into account. Portsmouth are bottom of the league for a reason and that is that they have lost 19 of their 28 games to date. They were outplayed by Blues last night which makes the loss to them on Saturday all the more frustrating. As I said in my last report, we lost it rather than them winning it with poor team selection and tactics in contrast to this game when the balance was correct, the ball moved slicker and the tempo was higher and we got in amongst them. I am still concerned that we still at times gave the home team too much space to play out wide especially in the first half and improvement will be needed against a resurgent and continually improving Everton who visit St Andrews on Saturday. We will pay heavily if this area is not tightened up on. There were things nevertheless to be encouraged about especially the performances of Michel, Gardner and Benitez. Jerome was also as excellent as he was awful on Saturday and took his goals well. It was sad to see Parnaby who had had a good game to the point where he limped off injured have to leave the field prematurely. He was ably replaced by Tainio.
Alex McCleish has intimated that we do not have enough firepower to challenge for a Europa League spot and I agree. Whilst the league standing may suggest we are in with a shout I think the realistic view is that we are not good enough yet but I am happy to be proved wrong. We have ten games left and before last night McCleish had set a target of 51 points or a point a game for the remaining fixtures. This may sound cautious but with away games at Sunderland, Blackburn, Manchester City, Vile and Bolton and at home fixtures against Everton, Arsenal, Liverpool, Hull and Burnley, I simply think he’s being realistic. Any more than 51 will be a bonus but I suspect whatever we finish up with will not be enough for a place in Europe. The facts remain that we need a centre forward who can deliver 15 goals minimum, fast wide men and a cover at full back down both flanks. Then and only then may we be able to compete.
KRO SOTV
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – PORTSMOUTH v BIRMINGHAM CITY
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Players, Reports By Bazza
I had to re-type this, the tear stains on the original prevented me from copying it straight over. 
Over to Bazza:
I have found it very difficult even the day after to find the heart and energy to write my report on this game such is the sense of disappointment that I am sure is shared by every Blues fan this morning. Fratton Park is a simple train journey for me even though it still takes an hour and a half. Having arrived at Fratton station and walked to the ground I met ‘Sandwich’ Bill and Alan in the disabled car park who had travelled down from Birmingham after an early start. We must thank the football authorities at this point for putting our game on early despite the length of journey for the away side and their fans when the Fulham-Spurs tie would have been better suited; reminds me of the time when we reached a semi-final against Leeds and the match was played on a ‘neutral’ ground at Hillsborough!
Anyway, moving on Alan and Bill are some of the most long suffering noses I know and I have seen them many times before at away games. Alan, as he usually is, was smoking a fag in the back of the car and as he flicked the ash the slight breeze kept taking it onto Bill’s lap sitting in the front passenger seat with the door open. “Hey!” Bill kept saying flicking the ash off himself “watch what yow’er doin!”
After about the sixth time of asking Bill stood up protesting still but onto the deaf ears of Alan who simply lit up another having seconds before put the last one out. Both these boys are professionals when it comes to smoking which they continued to do whilst we reminisced about previous games against Pompey. “At least they got a roof on the away stand nowadays,” lamented Bill. We had all been at the game about 12 years ago when it rained incessantly and we all got soaked through to the skin. Four cigarettes later (Alan won the gold medal for smoking in the Olympics in 1964 ) it was time to walk round the other side of the ground to our seats. Pompey may have invested in a roof for the old open stand and over-invested in players they couldn’t afford but the investment stopped short at the toilets which remain pretty basic and have been so all the time I’ve been going to Fratton Park. As they say in these parts avoid the heads unless you’ve got to.
Well I’ve put off talking about the game for long enough so here goes; I thought Portsmouth would fly at us and we would have a torrid first twenty minutes. Apart from a weak shot from Belhadj in the first minute they offered very little and in fact Blues were the better side in the first half controlling the midfield in a calm composed manner but offering little threat. Jerome had a snap shot following good set up work from McFadden and Bowyer which was well saved by David James.
McCleish had started with the same formation as for the Fulham and Wigan games which surprised me as it hadn’t really worked at Fulham when the opposition scored our only goal and against Wigan we only won because we were given a dodgy penalty. Despite this I believe that with a half decent striker we would have gone into the break 2 – 0 to the good. As it was it was 0 – 0 and although we hadn’t made our overall dominance count there was little to complain about. I felt we were more than a match for anything they had to offer and would snatch the necessary winner at some stage purely by the law of averages.
Those hopes were dashed in three second half minutes when a lucky deflection led to a toe poked effort towards Hart who having appeared to grasp it, had it kicked out of his hands by Scott Dann challenging for the ball simultaneously. The ball flicked up off Hart’s leg to present Piquionne with a tap in from inches out that my arthritic granny could have scored to give Portsmouth the lead against the run of play and on the basis of their performance so far, one they scarcely deserved.
However, how typical this is of Blues. Failing to score when you are on top has cost and will continue to cost them which make their position in the Premier League all the more remarkable having scored only 26 goals all season. Blues were shaken and found themselves two down before they had cleared their heads. Piquionne twisted Roger Johnson inside out when the defender got isolated and a fine cross shot was buried into the bottom corner; oh for a striker of this quality! On came Kevin Phillips and Chucho for Fahey and McFadden and latterly Gardner for Larsson, a change that was made at least 45 minutes too late in my view, in an attempt to salvage the tie.
Ten minutes from the end a corner from Larsson was powerfully headed down towards the bottom corner by Roger Johnson only to be brilliantly saved by James. The rebound was headed in by Ridgewell at the far post but despite the ball being clearly over the line the assistant referee failed in his duty of actually watching what was going on and allowed James to claw the ball back from a foot behind the post. Television evidence shows clearly that the goal should have been awarded; it wasn’t and with that decision went Birmingham’s last chance of Wembley glory.
I rang Will after the game on the train home to get his take on the game from the television perspective. He made several valid observations that the formation meant the team was unbalanced as McFadden is not a centre-forward and Fahey is not a winger. Double Agent Ridgewell was our best player and provided the only width which says it all and I agree wholeheartedly. Larsson was truly dreadful both in the persistent way he kept turning in field instead of staying out wide and as for his set piece deliveries, enough said. Jerome was shocking in thought and movement and gave one of the worst performances I have seen from him. He normally at least works hard despite having the touch of a rapist and other shortcomings but this was a lacklustre performance and we saw little of his much lauded pace. Benitez when he came on showed nice touches but it was too late by then. Phillips and Gardner were introduced too late to have any impact. McFadden held onto the ball too long when well placed and the final ball from midfield generally especially to the players in wide positions was too often badly weighted or misdirected.
Portsmouth didn’t win this game; Birmingham lost it. They have themselves and themselves only to blame. This is such a shame given the season we have all enjoyed to date. One of the highlights was the win at Everton and although I wasn’t present for that one our first half performance was outstanding by all accounts. That day we went with McFadden and Chucho up front together. This may be an option to consider next week if McCleish is going to insist on playing McFadden as a centre-forward. Jerome was so poor it may be time to rest him. The same goes for Larsson; Gardner must be given his chance although he is better suited to a more central role and I really want to see Michel get some game time.
The needs of the squad were brutally exposed if further evidence was needed; two decent strikers and fast specialist wide players. Then and only then we may start offering a threat and win these big games when they present themselves. It has been 54 years since Birmingham last contested a FA Cup Final; it’s 55 now!
KRO SOTV
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – BIRMINGHAM CITY v WIGAN ATHLETIC
Bazza’s latest match report.
——————————————————————————
Will and I were joined for this one by my eldest son, home from University for a few days. We had a pretty clear journey punctuated by the occasional manic exhortation of “TWO!” referring to magpies that I saw on the roadside and in trees. I am ridiculously superstitious when it comes to those bloody birds which have now become so commonplace that you cannot help but see one especially on a Saturday morning. One for sorrow, two for joy and I kept seeing them in pairs all the way up to the Midlands although Will did point out on one of the occasions that a third one was present; three for a girl and as his wife is expecting that may be an omen.
We called in as usual at Will’s brother, Chris’ pub, The Oak at Baginton for a pint before going on to the game. It turns out, whilst touching on the subject of fertility; spring being just round the corner and all that, that Chris’ Border Collie, Jasper (named after Jasper Carrott; he has another Beau named after another well known dog) has been doing what comes naturally and much excitement was in the air as the possibility of a litter from another pedigree Border bitch was in the offing.
Jasper is apparently descended from a winner of Crufts a few generations back so his seed is much sought after! Gail, Chris’ wife assured me that she had personally witnessed the deed being done and I was anxious to establish that the full mating ritual had taken place. For those of you that don’t know when the dog initially mounts that is really only foreplay and he has to turn away from the bitch so that the two animals are facing away from each other. Gail said that this indeed had occurred and the dogs were locked together for at least ten minutes; beats thirty seconds I suppose. Anyway, Gail was off to the vets with the other owner for a doggie scan to confirm or refute the presence of the forthcoming patter of tiny paws.
On to less exciting things such as the game; we arrived near the ground and whilst walking up Arthur Street, Will told me I had to go back as I had trod on three pavement covers in a row and that was unlucky and I had to do it again. You see readers with me it’s magpies, with Will it’s paving slabs or covers. So back I went, trod on two and avoided the last. The relief on Will’s face was that of the dying man in the films when the victim is released into paradise to meet his maker. I couldn’t in all conscience let Will be tortured for the whole match worrying that we were going to lose because I’d stepped on three paving covers now could I?
OK that’s enough preambles what about the game? Well on the way home…………….. No seriously, the reason I’m telling you all this was that the game was non-descript to say the least. Some said it was absolutely abysmal but I don’t subscribe to that view; I thought it was simply dreadful! To be honest it was a game of two halves with Blues easily the better side in the first. Actually they played some pretty decent stuff in the first period and should have been comfortably ahead at the break. Scott Dann crashed a header against the bar from an excellent inswinging free kick from Larsson and missed the target with two other headers that he really should have done better with. Ridgewell, who had one of his best games this season, supplied Jerome with a glorious opportunity having got in behind the Wigan defence but the striker tried to take a touch and we all know how that was going to end; a first time side foot would surely have been the better option but the chance was gone.
Chris Kirkland made a brilliant point-blank save from McFadden from another Ridgewell delivery and it looked as if Wigan were going to hold out until half time. With seconds of the half remaining a cross from Fahey was only cleared back to him in the corner of the box. Mario Melchiot stabbed out a foot at the ball which was no longer there as it had been toe poked away by the midfielder who promptly hit the deck. I have to say that the excellent referee, Anthony Taylor gave the penalty immediately and it looked a sound decision from where I was. However, the replay on MotD showed virtually no contact and if there was, there certainly wasn’t enough to ground the player. I cannot condone this and for any Latics fans reading this; this is not that way I want my team to win football matches but sadly your team have been harshly done to on this occasion. Mind you, it was not as bad as ‘le plongeur extraordinaire,’ David Ngog at Liverpool who did a double pike twisting somersault with tuck to win his spot kick. McFadden dispatched the kick into the bottom corner sending Kirkland the wrong way. The lead was deserved most definitely however, the manner of it was not.
The second half was truly dire as Blues went off the boil and allowed Wigan the majority of the play although most of the time they played in front of our customarily well marshalled defence. Hugo Rodallega provided the only scares to be thwarted by a great save from Hart midway through the half and near the end shot two inches wide of the post with Hart beaten when well set up by Victor Moses. Stephen Carr tweaked a hamstring late on and had to be replaced by Gardner at full back instead of coming on for the disappointing Larsson. Kevin Phillips came on for McFadden and missed Blues best and only chance of the second half in the final seconds when having nicked the ball out wide and cut in past two desperately retreating defenders took the shot on when a square ball would surely have sealed the argument once and for all. The only other action of note was a scything tackle by Ridgewell on McCarthy which took out the Wigan player, the corner flag and the assistant referee who was lucky not to be blinded by the flag pole which pierced his forehead. The challenge looked far worse than it actually was and I’m glad to say that the referee who was excellent all afternoon did not overreact. Steve Bennett, the fourth official on this occasion ran the line for the final few minutes.
This was not a game for the connoisseurs of the beautiful game but it moves Blues onto the magical 40 points; a fantastic achievement with the squad we have. Well done to the players and Big Eck and his management and coaching staff. They have a real chance to achieve their best finish in the top flight since 1956. As for Wigan, I am afraid to say they are the poorest team I have seen at St Andrews this season but that is not to say they are necessarily that bad. They have a real struggle on their hands but I suspect that there are another two teams in this league worse that Wigan who along with Portsmouth will be playing their football in the Championship in August. Wigan should have enough firepower with Rodallega, Scotland and Moses at the DW to ensure their safety.
Back at The Oak, I understand that the scan was inconclusive and another examination is therefore required. It seems we don’t have to call Jasper, ‘Jaffa’ just yet!
KRO SOTV
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – DERBY COUNTY vs BIRMINGHAM CITY
Like many supporters of the Royal Blue the expectations of a positive result from this encounter were high in my mind but that did not hide the nagging doubts that any away tie in the FA Cup brings regardless of the opposition. We had of course negotiated tricky ties against Forest following a replay and the Daddy of them all Everton whom I have to say I did not expect to get past at Goodison. After all that we couldn’t fail at Pride Park could we?
The 147 miles from home to a potholed muddy car park near the ground went without hitch. I travelled up alone for this one since Will had failed to get his act in gear in time to get a ticket before they were sold out. I rang him having just enjoyed a truly delicious hot roast pork bap with sage and onion stuffing; yes proper meat! I had a pint in my hand and was among the faithful throng and said to Will that I could not believe that he was not with us instead of being at home romancing his wife. “She wo’ appreciate it Will” I said “Sod off Baz” came the rather disgruntled reply. I promised to keep him posted although he was going to be sitting by the radio all afternoon; logic eh? He may as well as come to the game if he was going to ignore his missus anyway!
Blues were back to the eleven that have served us so well over the last four or so months and for the first twenty–five minutes appeared to control the game well although there were no clear chances for either side. The poor weather had clearly taken its toll on the Derby pitch and the surface was in poorer condition than the one we have got used to at St Andrews. This made it difficult for the Blues to get their passing game together and may explain the greater use of the longer ball into channels and onto the pacy Jerome. Derby did play a high line encouraging this ploy presumably to squeeze the midfield and stifle Bowyer and Fergusson. These tactics started to pay off in the last 15 minutes of the half when Blues got sloppy and began to give the ball away cheaply. Derby were working very hard and gave us all a reminder of what it is like to play Championship football week in week out with an industrious, in your face, attritional performance which began to pay off with threatening crosses into the Birmingham box. The game plan appeared simple to get it wide, get it in and fight for the scraps.
It took half an hour for the first chance on goal when Bowyer getting his head down and going for goal from well outside the area. The shot lacked the power to trouble Bywater but the keeper needed to be mindful of the bumpy pitch which could have taken the shot in. This effort seemed to act as a catalyst for further chances as they came and went in a flurry. Christian Benitez connected with a weak header that was gathered easily and by far the best chance of the half fell to Jerome when his strike partner put him clean through for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. His side-footed effort was well saved round the post for a corner but Jerome should have scored. This was for me a defining moment in the game because I believe that if this goes in Blues go on to win this match comfortably instead of the heart stopping event it became.
Derby buoyed by their fortunate escape grew in confidence aided by sloppy play from Blues to create one or two chances of their own just before the break. Stephen Pearson drilled a fierce shot into the chest of Hart standing at his near upright in the first half after a neat exchange of passes with Michael Tonge and then Shaun Barker was denied by an exceptional point blank save from the keeper that was cleared finally by Dann. Blues were lucky to get away with this and shouts of ‘wake up’ could be heard among the large contingent of away fans.
Like many, I had hoped that McCleish would get Blues refocused following what had been a careless, complacent and sloppy 15 minutes that a better team than Derby would undoubtedly have exploited. Unfortunately, the stuporous torpor continued and Blues allowed Derby too much play. Derby are what they are; a below average Championship side but they were working their socks off and were first to every ball at this stage and deservedly took the lead on 55 minutes. From a remarkably similar position to Bowyer in the first half, McEveley hit a highly speculative shot from over thirty yards across Hart who appeared to have it covered. He seemed to go down too early so when the ball kicked up wickedly off the pitch (I’ve seen ploughed fields flatter that this) over him into the roof of the net. Alex McCleish said in one of his interviews after the game that it looked like we were going out of the Cup and for the 18 minutes that followed the goal so did I. Derby’s tails were up now and they continued to harass our midfield. Changes were needed and they duly came on 65 minutes when the disappointing Benitez was replaced by Kevin Phillips and Fahey came on for the ineffective Larsson who had not had one of his better games. This seemed to wake Blues up and Derby started to defend deeper. However, we were not really threatening Derby’s rugged defence but corners and free kicks were stating to happen more. On 73 minutes there was salvation. McFadden’s in-swinging corner was won by Scott Dann whose powerful downward header squeezed in at the foot of the post despite the presence of a defender on the line. The 5,500 Blues fans erupted the previously taunting home fans silenced. The game was opening up now and both sides went full bloodedly for the win. Derby were now under the greater pressure as fatigue began to get the better of their valiant midfield still led by the classy Robbie Savage who, whatever we all may think of him, is a cut above anything else Derby currently have in their side.
Big Eck made the last of his substitutions on 82 minutes when McFadden got the hook for the oncoming Craig Gardner. This was to prove decisive. In time added on, a free kick given away by a tiring Derby defender was lined up by Gardner. He fired it in but I’m unconvinced he caught it as cleanly as he would have liked. The ball nevertheless came fast at Phillips standing round the penalty spot. The little fox in the box controlled it swivelled and sent a shot off in the direction of the goal in one flowing, instinctive movement only for the ball to thump against the foot of the post. What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion. The ball ricocheted across the goal spinning as it did so but agonisingly slowly. Unhindered the ball would undoubtedly have crossed the line to complete a truly brilliant strike but with two defenders nearby it would probably have been cleared. Liam Ridgewell who seems to be making a habit of being on the far post when needed lunged at the ball and from two inches crashed the ball into the net for the winner. The roar from the Blues fans was tangible and the fat bloke next to me hugged me like a long lost cousin; a dramatic end to a full blooded, no quarter given cup tie. There was still time for Joe Hart to redeem himself from his misjudgement earlier. Robbie Savage, of all people, cracked a wonderful thirty yards volley which dipped viciously and was destined for the top corner before Hart dived acrobatically to get both hand to the ball to send it over the bar to safety. It only remained for Phillips, Jerome and Gardner between them to play keep ball in the corner for the win. Another tricky tie negotiated for Blues. Derby will feel they deserved a replay and I have much sympathy with that view. They will claim that they had periods in the game when they were the better side but this is illusory. Savage, Tongue and Commons were excellent for Derby with our old player being the pick. However, despite their hard work and laudable unsettling of their Premiership opponents, they were never really good enough to hold on once they had got ahead. They were undone by the fact that they failed to defend two set pieces properly and that will cost you whatever level you are playing at.
Derby: Bywater 7; Hunt 7, Barker 7, Buxton 7, McEveley 8; Tonge 8, Green 6, Savage 9, Pearson 7; Hulse 6, Commons 8
Birmingham: Hart 6; Carr 7, Johnson 7, Dann 9, Ridgewell 8; Larsson 6 (Fahey 64 7), Ferguson 8, Bowyer 7, McFadden 6 (Gardner 82 6); Jerome 6, Benítez 6 (Phillips 65 
Referee: Martin Atkinson 7
Attendance: 21,843 (amazed that for a local derby with a quarter-final place at stake that Pride Park wasn’t packed. We did our bit though! )
Man of the Match: Robbie Savage worked tirelessly all afternoon and is still a stand out player despite the ravages of time. I enjoyed the incident when he inadvertently kicked the ball into the nether regions of the assistant referee in the first half. He behaved impeccably despite enormous provocation from the Blue Army and he only reacted once when he gestured towards us by rubbing his fingers together in response to “there’s only one greedy bastard!”
KRO SOTV
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – WEST HAM UNITED vs BIRMINGHAM CITY
Filed under: Blues News, Match reports, Matches, Reports By Bazza
On a bitterly cold night at Upton Park, David Gold got his wish for his new team to triumph over his old employees but the result can hardly be described as a “whack.” Much has been said by the two Davids in the days leading up to this one. We are of course all well versed in the playground antics of our former owners but now that they have moved on to a ‘bigger’ club their musings have been brought to higher national attention; after all, West Ham are a club that registers on the wider media Richter scale than the ‘little’ team from Small Heath in the nation’s second city.
They fielded an attacking line up with Mido and the returning Carlton Cole up front aided and abetted by Scott Parker and Diamanti. Blues made some changes with Phillips, Fahey and Gardner coming into the starting line up making a diversion from the side that had done so well for us over the last three months. Blues settled into the game after an initial opening flurry from the hosts and Cameron Jerome had a chance following a nice move but placed his shot wide from eight yards. This was to prove costly. Phillips had a searing 25 yarder tipped over by Green; Diamanti tested Hart with a fierce shot from wide and Scott Dann made a brilliant block from Cole’s fierce shot on 32 minutes which probably represented their best chance of the half. The contest was fairly even with Blues in control for the most part after the early exchanges and the board had been put up for a minute of time added on when Scott Parker’s pacy scurrying run at the heart of our defence was brought to an abrupt end by Dann’s outstretched leg. This resulted in a free kick 25 yards out and a yellow card for Dann. I had a premonition as Diamanti lined up the kick. I remember he came very close with a similar effort at St Andrews in our meeting with the Hammers there and we were fortunate to escape as the ball took paint off the crossbar. This time however, we were not so lucky and the Italian’s beautiful curling strike flashed past the despairing Hart into the top corner for a lead West Ham didn’t deserve on the balance of play but it was a goal to grace any match and would have beaten any keeper in the land. It was to be the last kick of the half.
The second half presented very few chances for either side and West Ham were resolute and more solid in defence than they had been in the first and were clearly in no mood to allow their opportune lead to be nullified by their in-form opponents. Blues played some nice stuff in midfield with Fergusson imperious again and Gardner making frequent pacy runs down the right making the letter our best player by far on the night. However, Blues could not find the killer ball or opening to trouble the Hammers defence. Michel came on for the tiring Bowyer and on 67 minutes McFadden came on for Fahey in a clear attempt to freshen the impetus in search of the equaliser. Just as the first half free kick had been the telling moment of the first period, this innocuous replacement was to be the turning point of the second. McFadden had barely stepped onto the pitch when Ridgewell found himself facing two West Ham attackers on the overlap one of whom was Faubert who found himself at the by-line. McFadden, not yet in tune with the game, realised the danger too late to help his colleague and the result was a clipped cross from Faubert to the stooping Carlton Cole who cleverly got across Johnson to head into the bottom corner; 2 – 0 and game over. This was a pity for I am sure that five minutes later and the goal doesn’t get scored because the cross doesn’t come in because the cover would have been there; a very nice finish nevertheless. West Ham held on comfortably after that and a couple of half chances which fell to Phillips were snuffed out by the uncompromising defenders. Upson clearly handled at one point but it was one of those nights when nothing ran for us and decisions like that were never going to go the way of the boys in blue.
Blues did not play badly but were undone by two key moments especially the free kick in the first half. I think it would have been a different outcome had the score been 0 – 0 at half time as it should have been. A couple of West Ham fans told me after the game that Birmingham should have been 2 – 0 to the good before Diamanti scored. It would appear that our chances were better than they looked to me from the poor viewing position I had for the princely sum of £35 last night. Unfortunately, we missed the opportunities we created and they took two of the three they carved out during the game; the other was the block by Dann of Cole’s shot. That was the difference between the sides in what was a decent game and on that basis West Ham deserved their three points. Well done Hammers, Bravissimo Zola even if your Chairman thinks you are paid too much!
On the way back to Upton Park station with Will and his brother Chris who had travelled down from the Midlands to join us, Will asked; “Hey Baz, ‘ow do yow know if yow’ve got frost bite in yower feet?” I said “when yow take yower socks off, if yower toes come with them yow’ve got frost bite!” It was freezing cold in the stands and icy underfoot; probably as chilly as the relations between the respective boardrooms? A man walked past us in the queue with his two little girls who were wearing our colours and was overhead to say “Ah well sweetheart you can’t win every game you know.” Indeed you can’t and that is one of life’s lessons and so is the fact that there is always the next game (unless you’re a Portsmouth fan possibly. ) Derby in the Cup; let’s not have a repeat of this disappointment there please Blues. West Ham are a decent side with good players and no disrespect to Derby County but such quality is not clearly visible in their squad. The Blue Army expects!
KRO SOTV
-
Partners
-
Polls
Loading ...
-
Recent Posts
- Birmingham City v Everton Brief Post Match Thoughts
- Birmingham City v Everton Preview
- Blues Play the Balancing Game
- VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – PORTSMOUTH vs BIRMINGHAM CITY (REFRAIN)
- St Andrews Tannoy Sytem – Give Your Feedback
- Post Portsmouth Musings!
- Who’s going to be the top marksman?
- VIEW FROM THE SOUTH – PORTSMOUTH v BIRMINGHAM CITY
- Nail Biting Blues!
- Portsmouth v Birmingham City – FA Cup preview
-
Other Stuff
