Blues succumbed to a very disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Reading on Saturday thanks to goals from Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and George Evans. Here are my ratings from the game.
Starting XI
Stockdale – 6
Had no chance with either goal, smart save from Tyler Blackett early on.
Jenkinson – 6
Taken off injured after 30 minutes with a dislocated shoulder, didn’t have any real affect on the game before that.
Morrison – 5
Distribution in the first half was very shaky, and failed to improve throughout the second half. Didn’t seem his usual composed self in the back 3, might be more suited to the usual 2 at the back.
Roberts – 4
At fault for the second goal, poor positioning for the first – not a good afternoon for the former Barnsley man. Needs to start cutting out these mistakes, especially with Shotton’s move to Middlesbrough potentially breaking down – he’ll be waiting in the wings ready to replace him.
Grounds – 6
Of the back 3, it was Grounds that performed the strongest. He was composed on the ball and won most of the long balls that came his way – looks a lot more suited to being a centre back rather than a full back.
Bramall – 5
On his full league debut Bramall’s energy was very useful for Blues,he was constantly pushing forward from the left wing back position and came very close with one fantastic strike just before half time. Defensively Bramall is still raw, and has a lot to learn when it comes to positioning – this will come with more game time though. Definitely a promising talent.
N’Doye – 4
Seems to be struggling to adapt to English football. Had a very poor first half where he failed to have any impact on the game, and whenever he received the ball, he lost it. Taken off at half time.
Gleeson – 5
A surprise pick for many, Gleeson actually had a very strong first half. His defensive work was good and his passing range was very useful in the centre of the midfield. Struggled slightly in the second half but a decent performance from the Irish man.
Kieftenbeld – 5
A typical Maikel Kieftenbeld performance – full of energy but often lacking in quality at times. He’s certainly very useful in the midfield through with his break up play, he’s definitely missed when he’s not there.
Man of the Match: Maghoma – 6
During the second half collapse yesterday there was still one player trying to create things for Blues, and that was Maghoma. Sometimes there was a lack of quality with his final ball, but he was getting in the right positions and trying to bring Blues forward. One very impressive run in the first half where he beat 4 Reading players.
Gallagher – 5
Very difficult afternoon for the loan signing on debut – didn’t get the support or the service that he required. Had to spend most of the afternoon dealing with long balls and trying to create nothing out of something.Looked lively when he was on the ball though.
Subs:
Nsue – 4
Really poor performance from Nsue, had a chance to really prove to Redknapp why he should be in the team ahead of Jenkinson but he failed to take it. Looked uninterested in the second half and failed to offer anything going forward.
Jutkiewicz – 6
Similar to Gallagher, Jutkiewicz was also spending most of the games fending off loose balls. His hold up play was impressive and he was trying to bring the midfielders into the game.
Davis – 6
Injected a bit of life into Blues when he came on, straight away found space in tight areas and had two shots that were both blocked. I still think he’s a lot more suited to playing in the centre rather than out wide where Harry seems to be using him lately.
Supporters Man of the Match
Every match we will be running a Twitter poll where you can choose your man of the match, please note due to the limited options on Twitter, we will sometimes tweet 2 votes and work out the winner from both.
David Stockdale & Jaques Maghoma – 29%
Playing catchup due to holidays/weddings etc… Who was your #bcfc man of the match against Reading?
— We Are Birmingham (@WeAreBirmingham) September 4, 2017
Reading fans – 5
Attendance: 895
Poor in numbers, poor in noise. For an early season game on a Saturday afternoon I expected a lot more from the Reading fans. Couldn’t be heard from the Tilton at all during the game; not even after they’d gone 2-0 up.