I think we were alright , looked solid enough, played some nice football particularly in the second half. Our biggest problem however is that the two goals we scored were completely out of character from the rest of the game. We try to walk the ball in to the goal, but when your playing a team like Birmingham (or most of the other teams we have played this season), we need to be pinging the ball into the box and hoping somebody gets on the end of it. I kind of like the way that the manager swaps out a lot of players in the second half, when martins and TDB came off I was wondering what was going through his head but all of the subs came on and made a difference. Defence still scary to watch , but slightly more stable. Particularly in the second half we were driving forward at pace (but then slowing down when we got to the penalty area) , thought TDB and Ngakia , Kone, Martins, Asprilla we’re good at getting the pace going. Rajovic did **** all but score , but he did score with the one decent ball he was given so fair enough.We should be scoring a lot more goals like Andrews as well. I like Chakvetadze don’t know why just get the feeling he is either going to make something happen or do something we will all talk about for years (like punch the ref and head but the goal keeper) Aspilla is looking more like a JP replacement every week , he is a twisty turny tricky mother****er , thought TDB looked pretty tricky as well I think we deserved to win and think we will keep getting better but need to get better at moving to plan B quicker.
1st half was very poor and we were playing very limited football full of mistakes. However 2nd half we were all over them, especially after the subs. Absolutely deserved 3 points and there is nothing better than watching us attack the Rookery in the 2nd half, the atmosphere was fantastic towards the end. It's why we all go!
It was my first match of the season today and a long time coming! It felt very much like a game of two uneven halves: one before the substitutions and one after. The first part of the game was workmanlike enough: lots of possession, recovering the ball well. However we lacked any real creative spark with too many influential players largely anonymous. Our threat seemed to come mainly down the left hand side through Martins whilst the likes of Rajovic, Ince and Louza weren't in the game enough. Meanwhile at the other end we were trying to remain calm on the ball and play out whilst under pressure but there were a few hairy moments still and we appeared to always be only one touch away from a catastrophic error. The substitutions took us up a level going forward: Asprilla, Chakvetadze, Kone, Lewis and Andrews all adding more energy and creativity. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone as all of these are probably more naturally talented and positive going forward than those they replaced (possibly excepting Martins). That and our greater discipline (Brum had all their midfielders and full backs on yellows from fairly early in the game so were always at risk of going down to 10) tipped the balance in our favour. This set-up probably works at home against the better sides in the division. Making sure we take hold of the game, then gradually ramping up the pressure. But there will be times when I'd want to see a better balance between grunt work and creativity from the start. If Kone can play like he did today consistently and for 90 minutes he can be more impactful in the middle than TDB. We can afford to have Andrews overlapping Ince in a way Ngakia is unlikely to. Alternatively, you can afford to have Asprilla instead of Ince if Ngakia is covering. You can get a better balance on the left too with Lewis giving Martins more options on the outside than Morris. Overall a very satisfying return to the office for me. Great to see the positive atmosphere starting to return to The Vic and with good reason.
I quite often watch the opposition channel rather than hive live as the picture and sound on hive live often appears pretty ****, it’s often surprise how reasonable the other commentators are. Was particular impressed with the Coventry commentators who were fairly incensed by the penalty they were awarded against us , and when they missed said justice had been done.
Up there with the most bored I've been at a game for around 85 minutes, but who cares when you have a last 10 mins like that! We looked pretty devoid of ideas, but it's nice we have options on the bench like Asprilla and Georgi who are willing to beat a man and take a risk. I think on balance it was a 0-0 name that we just about shaded, but as others have said, we've earned a bit of luck. Bachmann still looks shaky, but does what he does best with a really outstanding double save. As vital as a goal. We looked a solid unit again, but without much attacking threat from defence. Morris and Ngakia don't give us anything going forward, and Hoedt's long passing wasn't as dangerous. Plan in the first half seemed to be: give it to Martins and hope he does something. Much of a muchness between Rajovic and Bayo for me, but as long as they keep popping up with goals, no complaints from me. Unless we're making chances they might as well not be there, I suppose it's up to the rest of the team and Val to create for them. The players still seem to be working for Val, which is good to see. Pretty enjoyable season so far, much more than recent years anyway.
Enjoyed that, battled in an attritional which is easier to watch when you know we haven’t got the quality and a couple of late goals, good fun. Also a quiet laugh to myself when Luther was talking about GT, and gets a round of applause before talking about Scott Duxbury, waiting for the applause and nothing came to an awkward fashion. Well done all.
Brum clearly came for a point a nearly got it. They attacked with 3 only and their full backs never got past the h\w line . Porteas must have given possession away 6 times at least, however he made 2 crucial blocks . Bachman made a wonderful double save . I like the look of Lewis he just has that Premier division aura about him . If we play to our no. 9s strength then I am sure he has plenty of goals in the tank. IMO a 6/10 performance. The clappers live to fight another day So close for the wetters tho ...
John Eustance - “I thought we were outstanding - I think we limited probably the best squad in the league to very little” COG!!
Decent win, enjoyable to watch Watford again. Rajovic had one decent cross put in all afternoon and he scored from it. I wasn’t surprised to see Martins hooked again, he is relentless in trying to shoot every single time rather than whip a ball in which is baffling when we have a giant striker waiting in the box. It was also good to see clear signs of coaching going on - Ngakia and Kone in particular looked much improved today.
Really enjoyed that in the end. Thought the atmosphere was brilliant for a bogstandard 3 o’clock game. Didn’t realise Brum hadn’t lost a game yet, they looked a decent side so even better win. Bachmann saved us the game with a very good double save. Thought Porteous was really poor, shaky defensively and constantly slowed the ball down. Would be nice to have someone else to provide some options there… Rajovic’s header was quality. Awful all game but that is some header. Asprilla, Kone and Giorgi all made a difference off the bench and thought TDB had a good game. Back that up with a win on Wednesday and we’ll be in a fairer position in the league based on our performances I think.
Highlights (goals ) https://www.skysports.com/watch/vid...d-2-0-birmingham-city-championship-highlights Not sure their keeper will be happy with our first !
Not sure he was waiting for applause for Duxbury. But pretty bonkers he put them in the same part of his speech as the two people he had to thank for being there today.
Also thought the Ref was surprisingly brilliant. A lot of ref’s would have bottled the second yellow.
Agree, great performance throughout. Never in the way, didn't let them get away with early fouls, and never seemed to make the game about him. Fair play Keith, even if you are a Luton fan.
Very impressed with Val so far . Has taken a squad with a toxic atmosphere into a team that plays with organisation , discipline and tactical nous, having spent very little in summer and a largely young and inexperienced team. We are missing creativity in midfield especially with Louza not really playing to his best . If we could improve in that area in January we could look a real threat . Of the 15 outfield players who played today , I would say only Ince and Hoedt have played a large number of games at this level along with perhaps Louza who has played 110 games for Nantes and Watford and maybe Sierralta who has played 80 games at a decent level
Agreed. It was a really stupid thing to do by their player though when he was already on a yellow. Totally needless given where they were on the pitch at the time.
Good win, but my word, James Morris is crap - glad this was noticed and he was hooked at half time, nowhere near good enough.
The ref was pretty decent, but taking off the rose tinted glasses he did help us a few times. A couple of times our players gave the ball away cheaply at the back, but soft free kicks were given our way. Plus we had a blatant cynical foul near the halfway line to stop a counter attack which didn't result in a booking, but by that stage Birmingham had already had 2 yellows for similar fouls (and the sending off later on). Pretty sure there won't be many Birmingham fans saying the ref was good!
To be fair, don’t think he gave the Sierralta one as he didn’t give almost the same one for a Brum player against Kone a minute earlier
Very happy with the three points, but how hard is it to put in a decent cross I lost count of the number of crosses which went sailing over everyone’s head! We seem to get in decent midfield positions but lack the final killer pass, sort that out and we won’t have to wait until the 91st minute to score! COYH’s
