That was a testing weekend wasn’t it?
Not because both the men’s and women’s teams lost, but because we faced the very best in both their divisions. They might have emerged with no points, but we showed we have the capabilities to mix with the best in both League One and the Adran Premier.
Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Cardiff was painfully familiar. We lost the Welsh Cup final by the same score to the same opponents, and the two matches were remarkably similar.
We were comfortably the better side in both, the difference being that a side of Cardiff’s calibre will find a way to score a goal.
We were in complete control when City scored a magnificent free kick deep into the second half. We tried to rally, but the opposition’s first goal had a huge impact on the game, as it did the following evening.
It was a bitter disappointment, but at the final whistle I felt more optimistic than I did when the game kicked-off (and I felt very hopeful then!)
We ran the midfield and pulled City around with our slick passing movements. City’s defenders were absolutely outstanding, which tells you something. They had to be to repel our terrific, incisive movement.
The search for a win against Cardiff is starting to take on the magnitude of a mythic quest. We deserved to be victors in both of our last two matches against them. It’s coming, believe me.
Turning to Monday night’s game, I suppose we got to feel what our opponents have gone through over the last three years!
How many teams will have felt they put up a good fight against us, only to be denied because we’ve had the money to bring in high quality players they couldn’t afford? A side might have a lot of the ball against us, but it only takes one decent pass to the likes of Paul Mullin, Steve Fletcher or Elliot Lee, and we’ve scored.
We were on the wrong end of that equation on Monday. Birmingham’s spending in the Summer was amazing, I’ve been clinging to the hope that they might struggle to gel. Phil Parkinson has handled the influx of big players exquisitely, creating a terrific team spirt; would first-time manager Chris Davies really be able to do the same for City?
The passage of time might unravel his work, but I think it’s fair to say they found some chemistry on Monday!
They were excellent. Once they’d found a way to play their way through our press, they settled into the game and put us under terrific pressure.
However, while 3-1 was a fair reflection of how the game went. There was a lot for us to take away from it.
We started superbly, scored an early goal, and looked pretty comfortable for the first 20 minutes. We were often under pressure, but we kept Birmingham at arm’s length. It was reminiscent of how we played at Bolton and Peterborough: working hard without the ball when we didn’t have it, defending with organisation and heart, and looking like we’d be able to hold them at bay.
Goals change games, though, and their opener shifted the dynamic. It was avoidable too: I wouldn’t categorise Arthur Okonkwo pushing the ball back into the goalmouth as an error; it fitted better into the “could do better” category.
However, the 8-figure man Jay Stansfield reacted quicker than our defenders – that’s what you pay £15,000,000 for – and changed the game with his tap-in.
The other goals were an illustration of how the quality of player they’ve brought in will bring results. Tom Cochrane’s magnificent cross for the second would have had the on-looking David Beckham drooling, and the third was a magnificent strike from outside the box.
If you look at the statistics, though, you see how well we defended. Birmingham only had 8 shots in the whole match. Two of them came in the build-up to the opener, so in essence City only created shooting opportunities, of which came from outside the box.
Considering how much pressure they exerted, it shows how well we withstood the pressure.
If that first goal hadn’t happened, who knows? It might have ended 1-1 or even 1-0. However, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that Birmingham have brought in an astonishing level of quality into the club; the sort of players who step up to the plate in high stakes games like this. It’s no disgrace to lose to a side which plays like that.
