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Birmingham 1-1 Town
Saturday, 31st Aug 2013 17:03

Christophe Berra scored his first goal in English football as the Blues drew 1-1 at Birmingham. The Scotland international headed home before the break with Town well on top, but Chris Burke’s deflected 76th minute goal grabbed an undeserved point for the home side.

Keeper Dean Gerken made his league debut for Town with Scott Loach, who took the blame for Leeds’ second goal at Portman Road last week, dropping to the bench.

Paul Anderson, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Christophe Berra made their first Championships starts for Town in place of skipper Carlos Edwards, Elliott Hewitt and Jay Tabb, who were also amongst the subs. Frank Nouble replaced Daryl Murphy up front.

Luke Chambers wore the captain’s armband and was at right-back with Berra on the right of Tommy Smith at the heart of the defence. Anderson was on the right of midfield with Tunnicliffe on the left.

Anthony Wordsworth replaced Frederic Veseli on the bench, while Alan Lee, who signed on a non-contract basis earlier in the week, was amongst those to travel with the squad. For Birmingham, there was no place for ex-Blue Darren Ambrose in the 18.

There were few chances in the opening 10 minutes, home keeper Darren Randolph almost dallied on the ball long enough to be closed down by Nouble on the edge of his six-yard box but just managed to clear, then at the other end Luke Hyam blocked a Lee Novak cross from the right.

Birmingham skipper Paul Robinson picked up the game’s first booking for a foul on Paul Anderson in the 16th minute.

On 18 Cresswell sent in a great ball from the left which David McGoldrick headed over, however, with referee Darren Drysdale feeling the Town striker had pushed defender Dan Burn as it came across.

The Blues were getting on top and in the 23rd minute the lively Anderson sent in a dangerous cross from the left which was cleared. Soon after, the summer signing from Bristol City played in Nouble on the right but a defender’s toe just took the ball away from the Blues frontman.

Novak hit a shot on the turn through to Gerken in the 28th minute after good work from Andy Shinnie on the left, then at the other end Cresswell dug out a cross from the left which Anderson headed well over.


Just as the game reached the half hour mark, the Blues went in front. A freekick was taken quickly on the left, the ball eventually reaching Cresswell, who sent in another excellent cross, which Berra, making his first Championship start for Town, nodded home at the far post.

After Birmingham had lost Neal Eardley to injury, Scott Allan taking over, McGoldrick nodded an Anderson corner straight to Randolph with the Blues in charge and the home side looking little threat.

McGoldrick headed another Anderson corner over in the 41st minute with the Blues continuing to have much the better of it.

Birmingham’s best chance of the half came a minute from the scheduled end when Burke crossed from the right and Peter Lovenkrands diverted the ball well wide from eight yards.

A minute later, Town were close to doubling their lead when McGoldrick hit a superb shot on the turn from the edge of the box, but Randolph was equal to it, getting across to his left to tip it on to the post. Anderson was thwarted as he looked to get on to the rebound.

In injury time, Shinnie headed Burke’s cross from the right over for the home side, then McGoldrick had another chance to net Town’s second, chasing a ball over the top into the area. The Blues striker stabbed the ball goalwards but Randolph stopped it with his toe.

The Blues really ought to have had the game won at the break. Once the match had settled down, Mick McCarthy’s much-changed side had been well on top and had had more than enough chances to add to Berra’s goal with Cresswell’s delivery from the left a particular threat.

In the third minute of the second half McGoldrick hit a low shot from a tight angle which Randolph saved comfortably down to his right.

Birmingham went closer with their first chance of the second half, Novak heading Burke’s right-sided corner goalwards and Gerken pushing the ball from under his bar and to safety somewhat desperately.

Hyam forced Randolph to save well down to his right in the 53rd minute after Tunnicliffe’s cross from the left had been cleared to the edge of the box. Two minutes later, Cresswell hit an effort well over from distance with the Blues continuing to look the better side after the break.

Carlos Edwards replaced Anderson, who had done well, in the 63rd minute, the winger appearing to have suffered a knock.

The excellent McGoldrick shot across the face of goal in the 66th minute, prior to Daryl Murphy replacing Nouble up front.

The Blues continued to threaten and in the 70th minute Cresswell almost made it 2-0 with a shot from the edge of the box, which Randolph — whose saves had kept his team in the match — did superbly to push behind. From the corner, Berra’s goal-bound header was blocked.

Tunnicliffe forced Randolph into another save down to his right in the 75th minute, but moments later and completely against the run of play, Birmingham equalised.

Burke twisted and turned inside a crowded penalty area and struck a shot which caught Cole Skuse and looped beyond Gerken and into the net. The goal was harsh on the Blues who had dominated, but once again without taking their chances when they were on top.

The goal gave the home side a boost, Allan hitting a shot just wide, then Berra did well to get across ahead of the substituted as he cut into the area on the left. With 10 minutes to go, Tabb replaced Tunnicliffe.

Bartley bundled the ball behind ahead of Murphy at the near post, then with four minutes of scheduled time remaining Hyam was booked for a foul.

With just over a minute left, McGoldrick was felled on the edge of the box, inside claimed the Town players, but outside according to Mr Drysdale. McGoldrick’s freekick struck the wall, Cresswell’s subsequent effort was blocked and Randolph was subsequently fouled by Smith.

A late corner came to nothing moments before referee Drysdale blew the whistle on a game Town certainly ought to have won.

The second half was much the same as the first until the home side’s goal and even after a short spell of Birmingham pressure, the Blues were on top in the closing stages.

Mick McCarthy will be pleased with a Championship point away from home, but will be rueing his side’s failure to hold on to a lead for the third time in their five league games this season. It might also be worth noting that if you are interested in a free bet from Bookmakers for one of Town's upcoming fixtures that you could check out bookmakers.co.uk.

Town: Gerken, Chambers, Berra, Smith, Cresswell, Anderson (Edwards 63), Skuse, Hyam, Tunnicliffe (Tabb 80), McGoldrick, Nouble (Murphy 67). Unused: Loach, Hewitt, Wordsworth, Taylor.

Birmingham: Randolph, Eardley (Allan 35), Bartley, Burn, Robinson, Burke, Adeyemi, Spector, Shinnie (Ferguson 58), Novak, Lovenkrands (Green 65). Unused: Doyle, Mullins, Reilly, Elliott, Allan, Green. Referee: Darren Drysdale (Lincolnshire). Att: 14,328 (Town: 953)


Photo: Action Images



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algarvefan added 17:59 - Aug 31
Five games....just five games in and all of you are righting us off already, the mix isn't right, we're not getting the luck and of course we need a clinical goalscorer, I believe we will come good and be there or there abouts at the end of the season. Lets hope we can get in a goalscorer as goals are the only thing we're missing, chances are there but we're not sticking them away.

Have a little faith people and if things are the same after 10/12 games then I might join in complaining, were not playing that badly!!!!
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kidsurello added 18:00 - Aug 31
We were by far the better team today very unlucky goal to conceded aswell, however I feel Davd McGoldrick is a top striker in this league and the sooner we at taylor fully fit the better because Nouble has to be an impact player for the time been with his pace and power, but is still inexperienced, Wordsworth has to come into the centre with skuse to play that final ball to kill defences and especially as we can't play long ball if mcgoldrick and taylor play up front . Impressed with tunic life today but any point away from home is a good point
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manualthetisfanclub added 18:14 - Aug 31
We need a striker now! Same old same old,we shoulda coulda blah blah,the fact of the matter they should have won,but they didn't for the simple reason they ain't clinical enough! But as I've said before,ME and MM won't be doing anymore business before window shuts.
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PavlovsCat added 18:17 - Aug 31
Britton1996 Am guessing you . . .

A) Weren't there, or
B) Were pissed
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Bluewelshman added 18:23 - Aug 31
At the start of this season I was happy with the squad that Mick had assembled, but I still expected us to finish upper mid table rather than the play offs.
I think the expectations of this rebuilt team have been way to optimistic, as we are not by any stretch of the imagination a Premier league standard outfit. We need to sit back and realise that this team is not the finished article and they still need time to blend together to become an effective attacking force.
On saying this I do think that some of Mick's decisions can be questioned, dropping Loach and replacing him with a keeper who isn't as good or worse than him is in my opinion wrong. Teams who play well together need one thing...consistency, and changing the defence and goalkeeper like he did today does not inspire confidence despite Berra's goal. Also bringing on Edwards, who I think has been our poorest player so far this season, at a very crucial point in the game was a bad decision, his poor defensive positioning left us weak on our right side which allowed Birmingham the freedom to attack.
We must keep the faith though, Mick may not have been my first choice as manager, but I would give him and his developing team the season to prove themselves, after that...well we shall see.
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dubblue added 18:24 - Aug 31
Not sure Would agree with those who said we sat back on a 1 nil lead. Still frustrating we did not finish them off.
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darren added 18:31 - Aug 31
lets not panic played well today deserved all 3 points i believe 1 more striker in and someones going to get a real thrashing by us fancy 6pts next two games then table will look much better
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tractorboyz82 added 18:41 - Aug 31
Don't think we sat back today after scoring but murphy and nouble wouldn't start in many teams in this league and why do people thing Taylor is a striker ask any posh fan he's played on the right for them or behind the striker il take a point away but would have won if we'd had a decent partner for mcgoldrick.
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h32 added 18:44 - Aug 31
....... same old - different season. After all we are talking ITFC - what more can we expect ?

At 1 - 0 we should push on - we definately need a natural goalscorer, and haven't had one since DJ left us .

Some will continue to offer excuses - as they do.
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Walk_the_Wark added 18:44 - Aug 31
Oh dear! Super MM lol
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ipswichjon added 19:17 - Aug 31
At this point in previous seasons:

2011-2012: Crystal Palace had less points (3) after 5 games, their now in the Premiership, Bolton had the same (4) and finished outside the play offs on goal difference

2010-2011: Birmingham & Reading both gave the same points (4) and finished 4th & 1st respectively.

During both these seasons we had MORE points at this stage and we all know how the season panned out. Wait till we're 10 games in before hitting the panic button!

We have a more solid team, I agree we lack a bit of flair but the teams I've just mentioned all went up grinding out results. COYB!
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tractorboybig added 19:19 - Aug 31
Nouble+ mcgoldrick must be the worse striking pair this club has ever had. looks like another relegation battle. Smith top scorer this season?
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ipswichjon added 19:19 - Aug 31
Whoops should be 2012-2013 & 2011-2012!
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neillrumsey added 19:25 - Aug 31
didn't attend so can only comment on what I heard on BBC Suffolk. This appeared to be the same old Ipswich getting a lead and trying to protect it. Frankly we did it against Reading Leeds and now Birmingham albeit we got a point today. This is not good enough under these circumstances, sure it's an away point but we were in the box seat and should close out the game not allow the opposition to take control. I will say it again we need some pace and a striker as McGoldrick aside what we have are not good enough. Yes Nouble gives 110% but the quality isn't there. This needs to be addressed and quickly. MM should be applauded for making the changes even if they didn't quite work out. 6 points a must from next two home games..
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Palestine added 19:35 - Aug 31
MM's comments sound perhaps like things are out of his hands in terms of keeping cresswell and getting another striker.

Pleased he made the changes people called for last week, and we had many more shots, more on target, and more possession than in previous gamers. I agree it's a shame Taylor wasn't brought on - give him a chance!
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JWM added 19:50 - Aug 31
What do we expect when all Evans has spent is 20k on players and the rest have been frees and kids! Without a decent striker and attacking midfielder we are fooked and another long hard season beckons. Evans is to blame with his penny pinching and we will reap what we sow. Oh sorry I forgot! It's better to be relegated and solvent.
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theobald1985 added 20:04 - Aug 31
I wonder what the result would have been with the team that played at leeds-prob the same.
Mick made too many changes for me all we needed was more width and attacking on the flanks Loach makes one mistake and is out which is silly and hewitt should have played IMO.
still think we will do ok this season but think paul taylor needs to play for that spark-the only way he will get match fit is by playing in proper games
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h32 added 20:25 - Aug 31
JWM - once again I agree with you - I guess you've seen the light for what it REALLY is.

Why is TAYLOR not playing ? - he doesn't know either !!.
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suffolkpunchdrunk added 21:15 - Aug 31
Can someone please tell me why Darren Ambrose does not get a game for Birmingham and why no one has made a move for him. Has he really become such a bad player? I would have him back in a heartbeat.
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BuckieBlue added 21:38 - Aug 31
At start of season most thought opening fixs (up to end Sept) were pretty bad (MM laughed when he saw how bad they were). We're only half way thru that, 2 home fixs to come and while 'attitude' to holding leads in away games, plus lack of creativity, are problems, I think if we're no worse than, say, 5 pts off play offs by end Sept then we'll have done ok and can push on.
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Keaneish added 21:53 - Aug 31
Have to disagree theobald1985 - I think dropping loach and Hewitt was the right move. Arguably those two have been at fault for 5 of the goals we've conceded in the league which make up at least 5 of the points we've dropped. They're both young and will come good but not quite ready in my opinion.

On another note, 2 loans in for me. Our squad needs a bit more balance. No natural left winger concerns me for one.
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BrettenhamBlue added 22:19 - Aug 31
We have 4 points from 5 games and are 1 point away from the relegation area.
It's fairly obvious what kind of season we are going to have yet again.
Like others on here. We need to sign a Sharp, Doyle or Ebanks-Blake.
Honestly- we need all 3 right now.
Our most talented striker now is Alan Lee and we can't expect him to be the 25 goal hero we need.
Enough is enough. We need reinforcements urgently or it's going to be another huge scrap against relegation. The teams below us (like Bolton) are going to put a chain of wins together soon.
We should not be happy with our present squad
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blues1 added 22:27 - Aug 31
britton 1996. clearly you either weren't at the game or were among the group of youngsters who were too pi""ed to know what the game was really like. no1 played badly today so to say every player was crap is just total bollox. yes, nouble after a decent 1st half was not so good 2nd half but that's no excuse for you to slag the palyers off. of course its frustrating that again weve dropped points from a winning position but on this occasion it wasn't down to us missing chances, but down to their keeper having a stormer(was named their man of the match), and an unlucly deflection for their goal
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itfc94 added 22:28 - Aug 31
Personally,
I think we played very well, and on this occasion we were extremely unlucky! You can't do anything about deflections, if Skuse had jumped out the way, the ball would of probably still gone in

For me, 3 stand out players. Mcgoldrick is class, tunnicliffe looks like he's got an attacking mind and Skuse who is a really good holding midfielder.

Berra looked very solid as well.

However, it doesn't take a genius to figure out where we need to sort out. Just go get Billy Sharp, or someone came up with Kevin Phillips which is a great shout in my opinion!

All in all, stay positive. Away fans were amazing again today, I've lost my voice!
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Stato added 22:30 - Aug 31
Birmingham are another poor side like Millwall. Too average sides coming up at home and I hope Mick keeps the same line up as today but swaps Nouble for Taylor. I'm not predicting Taylor will score a load of goals but without a big lump up front we will be forced to use the cracking new surface we have at Portman Road.
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