I’m about five pints in from watching this down the pub, but I thought we were fortunate to get away with a point there.
I thought Birmingham’s disallowed first half goal was soft. I thought our penalty decision was pretty soft as well. The first half we looked lethargic and stodgy. To be fair to the team, when we conceded we reacted well and took the game to Birmingham.
The real issue for me was central midfield. Matusiwa had a few errors and was guilty of thinking he had more time than he did. Hopefully after a few Championship games, he’ll adapt to the tempo. Jack Taylor had an awful game, I thought. Our full backs were pretty poor. Ogbene was a non factor. Szmodics looked like he was struggling - should’ve hit the target for the first half chance.
The main positives were our centre backs - I thought O’Shea and Greaves were generally solid. Jack Clarke looked a constant threat, unlucky to be on the end of some harsh refereeing decisions. Hirst applied himself well and took the goal from the penalty (although definitely an element of nerves when he hit it). Young looked classy from the bench.
Main factor to consider was this is the first game of the season and there’s plenty of rust to kick off. A tough away game against a team that is likely to challenge for the top six. Take the point and I’ll definitely take my five points for the predictions league
I thought Birmingham’s disallowed first half goal was soft. I thought our penalty decision was pretty soft as well. The first half we looked lethargic and stodgy. To be fair to the team, when we conceded we reacted well and took the game to Birmingham.
The real issue for me was central midfield. Matusiwa had a few errors and was guilty of thinking he had more time than he did. Hopefully after a few Championship games, he’ll adapt to the tempo. Jack Taylor had an awful game, I thought. Our full backs were pretty poor. Ogbene was a non factor. Szmodics looked like he was struggling - should’ve hit the target for the first half chance.
The main positives were our centre backs - I thought O’Shea and Greaves were generally solid. Jack Clarke looked a constant threat, unlucky to be on the end of some harsh refereeing decisions. Hirst applied himself well and took the goal from the penalty (although definitely an element of nerves when he hit it). Young looked classy from the bench.
Main factor to consider was this is the first game of the season and there’s plenty of rust to kick off. A tough away game against a team that is likely to challenge for the top six. Take the point and I’ll definitely take my five points for the predictions league
