| Birmingham City | Middlesbrough | ||
| Wilson | 79′ | Wing Assombalonga |
37′ 82′ |
| Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
59% 15 4 2 11 |
Possession Shots On target Corners Fouls |
41% 8 5 4 11 |
Britt’s Wing Man breaks down Brum
As has been the case a few times of late Boro travelled to St. Andrews to face yet another of their former Managers. Monk’s cash strapped and impoverished Birmingham is in stark contrast to his Boro excesses but have been punching above their weight all season yet show no signs of falling away. His partnership with Clotet seems to be of the Clough and Taylor variety, together good but separately questionable. To get a squad like Birmingham’s challenging for the Play Offs when they were relegation certainties when he joined is great credit to GM.
Boro would be facing another old boy in Jutkiewicz and also two former coveted targets in Maghoma and Jota out on their flanks. Garry Monk would definitely be without David Davis and Omar Bogle but Kristian Pedersen was available after an ankle injury. Flint’s Hamstring and Shotton’s knee were the main selection headaches for TP and there were still lingering doubts over the fitness of Ayala which could determine whether we went with a back three or conventional back four.
Birmingham hadn’t scored in their last three games against Boro having lost all of them whilst interestingly TP had also won his last three games against the Blues. Boro hadn’t lost in their last four visits to St. Andrews giving the game a sense of nervy “inevitability” for Boro fans pre kick off compounded by the fact that Birmingham had only lost one of their last eighteen home Championship games.
Team news saw that Ayala’s mystery “knock” was deemed not serious enough and able to start alongside Batth (in for Flint) with Fry and Friend also lining up. Wing got a berth in midfield with Howson, Besic and Saville; Clayts presumably would be the protector in front of the back line. Up front was Hugill on his own and new boy VLP was on the bench along with Downing, Tav, Britt, McNair and Fletcher which gave TP attacking options should things go pear shaped. Monk went with his usual starting eleven due mainly to limited resources rather than tactical wizardry with Juke leading the line with Evans.
Boro got proceedings under way as the game saw a steady start from Boro. Not much to get excited about at either end with the biggest cause of angst caused by Jutkiewicz getting free from Clayts who redeemed himself. On eight minutes Wing won a corner taken by Saville which saw a few Boro attempts from Fry and Hugill but the Blues cleared their lines. The ball was being routinely processed up and down the pitch with Maghoma and Jota busy for the Blues but nothing to really threaten either Keeper with quarter of an hour now gone. Batth had to intervene to keep Jutkiewicz at bay as Birmingham nearly prised open the Boro defence. Birmingham then had a series of attempts to get the ball into the Boro box as the home side suddenly increased the tempo and Ayala was forced to cut out danger from Maghoma.
Boro broke next with Ayala clearing his lines and finding Saville in the box with a trademark “Pulis Hoof” who played in Hugill with a nodded downwards header who spectacularly sliced, missing Lee Camp’s goal and was rewarded for his ludicrous error by being metaphorically wiped out by Tony Pulis in the body of Harlee Dean seconds later. Batth conceded a free kick as Ref Graham Scott whistled for an infringement just outside the Boro eighteen yard box which Jota lined up to hit which fortunately went over Randolph’s goal. Lewis Wing responded for Boro by playing in Hugill for our best chance of the game but the West Ham loanee was just behind it and couldn’t get enough on it.
Once again seconds later Hugill was clattered into again this time Morrison leaving Hugill on the deck much to Friends chagrin with the Ref. Boro were having the better of the game now as increasingly the Blues were resorting to roughing up our lone striker. The more niggly they got the more the Red shirts increased their hold on the game. Besic was next to earn a Boro free kick resulting in a yellow card for Kieftenbeld as the home fans started to vent frustrations claiming Boro were making the most of the home sides robust challenges.
A melee in the Blues box saw a few shots that saw Hugill “score” but the Ref denied that it crossed the line despite agonising protests from the Boro camp and the 1,300 travelling army. Again Boro came forward as we could sense nervousness in the Birmingham defence with Saville winning the ball but hacked at (albeit him lying on top of it) with the Ref awarding another Boro free kick and hostilities towards the Official this time from the home fans intensifying Things were now heating up with Boro now looking by far the livelier as Birmingham were looking more and more shall we say looking “resolute”.
With Birmingham now well and truly rocking and both Wing and Saville were enjoying a positive role supporting Hugill. It was an unfamiliar Lewis Wing red boot that met the end of a low Dael Fry cross with a left footed shot sliding in at the far side of the box which had probably fortuitously eluded Saville on its trajectory to put Boro deservedly one goal up on thirty seven minutes. George (Saville) paid a price for his efforts during that build up and was left flat on his back but recovered after some treatment.
Birmingham clearing their heads and got back on the front foot by earning a free kick out wide Jota delivered the set piece towards Morrison which was met initially by Friend but with the ball returning straight back it was met by Ayala and then eventually cleared away by Fry. Batth felt the force of Juke as Friend was also simultaneously battered by Adams giving Boro a deserved free kick and crucially time to take the sting out of this mini Birmingham revival.
A high kick from Ayala on Jutkiewicz had the home fans howling yet again but we breathed a sigh of relief as Graham Scott was seemingly content to just get on with things. Friend then was called into action again blocking an effort then the follow up from Gary Gardiner was hit from distance but never really troubled Randolph as it went out for a goal kick. The first half petered out and Boro went in with a deserved lead and a performance which was uplifting after some very dour efforts of late. Hugill had a few chances and probably should have netted at least one, Saville looked more like a three million pound midfielder as oppose to a three hundred thousand pound midfielder of late as he progressed in the right direction towards his price tag. Wingy was simply, Wingy, except that he had left his black boots back on Teesside but not to worry as those Red ones seemed to be working just as well.
No changes for Boro at half time, Birmingham got the second half under way with ex Makem and Villain Craig Gardiner coming on in place of his younger brother Gary as they started attacking immediately needing an alert George Fiend being equal to their early assault. A lame penalty claim went up from the home fans but was ignored by Graham Scott as the game had recommenced a little scrappy in the opening stages of the half which probably suited Boro more than the Blues. Boro were getting balls quickly out of defence and stretching the Birmingham defence as we were unusually getting bodies into the box and looking good for a second goal with ten minutes of the second half gone.
The game then turned as Boro sat deeper and another penalty claim from Adams who done Ayala and then slid in on Adams but fortunately the Ref adjudged it to be a dive in the box which looked harsh from a Blue perspective. Lewis Wing was then bizarrely booked after a hefty Kieftenbeld challenge presumably for something that he said to the Ref. Birmingham were in the ascendency and now racking up the pressure, looking dangerous with Jota and Maghoma suddenly coming to life again after a very quiet end to the first half.
The game was ticking towards sixty minutes with Boro getting a throw in and taking their time to take the sting out of things and try and regroup. Birmingham were not giving up and were coming back at Boro. The lively Che Adams was attacking down on the left hand side and Danny Batth was adjudged to have fouled him giving Jota a chance to float the ball once again into Randolph’s box. It came in towards the back post and somehow Halree Dean missed the chance when it looked easier to score by hitting the bottom of the upright.
The game had now swung around completely, from Boro finishing the first half looking clever and comfortable now suddenly having to keep things tight at the back, keeping out repeated Blues onslaughts. Hugill was caught late by Dean much to the annoyance of the Boro bench in an attempt to nick the ball away from Jordan who was now looking slightly jaded as he had ran himself into the ground selflessly chasing and harrying the two Birmingham Centre Backs all afternoon. An Adams cross was met by Jutkiewicz but under pressure from Fry it was collected by Randolph.
A Kieftenbeld attempt was given as a hand ball off Saville, dead centre about five yards out from the “D” of the Boro box , nerves jangled as Jutkiewicz hit the ball low with Randolph scrambling to get down to it with the effervescent Adams closing in. Another swift Blues movement with Jota and Adams ended with a goal kick thankfully for Boro which was the time for TP to make a double substitution with Downing coming on for Besic and Britt on for Hugill. Stewy went out wide taking over from Saville as Saville then filled in for Besic. Almost immediately a Lewis Wing ball to Downing ended up with a corner which was contested by Wing and Batth but cleared out to Adams who held it up but Boro thankfully had got back in numbers.
A ball floated in to Gardiner was deflected off George Friend as Birmingham continued to knock on Boro’s door and looking very much like they were going to get something out of this game. Boro were now throwing bodies on the line defending and hacking clear as Paddy McNair was being readied. We were dropping deeper and Maghoma was starting to get plenty of joy, getting in behind Fry causing problems. The earlier substitutions from Pulis had no effect on changing the tide of the game thus far. The inevitable then happened with ten minutes remaining as Che Evans after a one two with Jutkiewicz levelled for the Blues. I have to say in all fairness that Evans deserved his goal for his work rate alone as disappointing as it was.
Monk then brought on Striker Vassell for Kieftenbeld as they now went for it seeing Boro on the ropes. Two minutes later and totally against the run of play Lewis Wing played a sublime, perfectly weighted ball from the half way line up to Assombalonga, splitting both the Birmingham defenders. Britt ran through on goal, picked his spot and with a cool left footed chip broke the St. Andrews hearts leaving Camp helpless. He cheekily nearly added another after the restart but that would have been too much to ask for under the circumstances. Meanwhile McNair was still warming up.
A rampaging George Friend out wide supported Assombalonga on the left leading to a corner. Delivered in from Wing it was cleared out as the game was now suddenly toing and froing dangerously. Wing then made way for McNair who was immediately put under pressure as Maghoma fired in a sweet shot rattling Randolph with just a few minutes of normal time remaining. The fourth Official held up his board indicating four minutes of added time as Boro were now holding on to what they had requiring Assombalonga to scrap and battle up front trying to hold things up. A long range Morrison effort deflected off Saville for a late corner that was fizzed in by Jota that was always going out for a throw in. Dael Fry was “hastened” by Ref Graham Scott to get a move on with the resultant throw as Boro were understandably in no hurry to get things moving.
In the dying seconds a series of Birmingham launched balls into the Boro box were cleared, played back in, cleared again until eventually going out for a goal kick. Randolph was urged to speed up with the kick from Graham Scott which eventually went up to Britt who controlled it and that longed for final whistle went, “phew” and breathe again!
Today was always going to be a tough game, away to a side that had only lost once at home this season and who will reasonably feel hard done to. A game which started dull increased in Boro tempo, deservedly going ahead. The arrival of Craig Gardiner changed the make-up of the second half with Boro initially starting the half confidently then literally clinging on just before and after the Evans equaliser. Out of the blue Wingy again produced a piece of magic to set Britt free to bring home the points totally against the run of play. Throughout the game there was great defending from Ayala and Batth. Fry and Friend done their bit at both ends, Wingy was superb as was Hugill’s battling (or battering despite his glaring miss). Britt started quietly once coming on but then started to cause problems and deserved his winner. Saville had a great first half albeit faded a little in the second or perhaps stood firm depending on your view point and what TP was asking of him. MOM had to be Wing, there were some good performances from those in Red but when the extra magic was needed Wingy was there!