Two away games in four days have left Blues with zero points; however there are signs to be positive, especially after Tuesday night’s performance at Elland Road. Here are some player ratings from the two games.
Norwich 1-0 Birmingham City
- Carrow Road before Norwich City v Birmingham City.
Stockdale – 6
On a whole he wasn’t left with too much to do, didn’t really have a chance with the Norwich goal and they didn’t trouble him with too much the rest of the game.
Grounds – 6
Steady performance from Grounds, didn’t do anything spectacular and there also wasn’t any mistakes. Didn’t provide too much of an outlet going forward.
Morrison – 6
Moved to the left side of centre half Morrison had a typical captain’s performance. Solid at the back, especially against a very lively Nelson Oliveira.
Man of the Match: Dean – 7
Making his Birmingham City debut, Dean produced a very composed performance at centre half. Alongside Morrison he fitted in well on his first game. Looks like a positive signing.
Collin – 6
Another former Brentford man making his Birmingham City debut. Collin is another one who’s debut performance filled the Blues fans in the away end with an air of confidence. He looks solid defensively and dangerous going forward.
Lowe – 6
Jason Lowe came into the midfield to make his debut, and kept things ticking over. He reminded me slightly of a very ‘budget’ Barry Ferguson; kept things ticking over, retained possession and mostly keeping it simple.
Davis – 6
A typical workman like performance from Davis, although he didn’t really have too much effect on the game.
Walsh – 6
The young lad made his first start for Blues at Carrow Road and did very well. With him being so young there were a few questions in my head on whether he’d be able to make the step up to first team football at such a young age but there certainly seems to be problems there.
Jota – 6
Our new record signing was another debutant on Saturday. Jota didn’t really get in the game too much but when he was on the ball you could see the composure the that he has; certainly a bright prospect.
Boga – 5
The Chelsea loanee started out wide for Blues, going forward he looked good on the ball and looked like he could cause the Norwich defense problems. Cut inside too much and lost the ball for me though, needs to take it down the flank a lot more. Certainly going to be great outlet this year.
Gallagher – 5
His second consecutive start for Blues and it was a very difficult afternoon for him, he struggled to really get in the game and any service that he did receive from the rest of the team was just long balls hoofed up field that he had to try and make something out of nothing. Difficult afternoon.
- Birmingham City players during game against Norwich City
Subs
Adams – 7
Che came on in the second half on his return from injury and instantly started to cause the Norwich defense a few problems. A few half chances fell his way but nothing clear cut. Nice to have him back in the side.
Jutkiewicz – 6
Came on too late to really have any impact on the game.
N’Doye – 6
Similar to Jutkiewicz, too late to really have any impact on the game.
Norwich fans – 8
Attendance: 26,335
Always a good atmosphere away at Carrow Road, Norwich fans always create a lot of noise throughout the game. Just a shame that some of their fans were more concerned about making a ‘1-0’ gesture with their hands at the Blues fans rather than actually watching the game.
Leeds 2-0 Bimingham City
- Elland Road
Stockdale – 6
Made a few good saves to deny Leeds early on. Sometimes I feel that his distribution could be improved somewhat – often likes to hoof the ball straight back upfield from a backpass rather than play out from the back.
Man of the Match: Nsue – 8
Man of the match by a long way. He’s been in and out of the team a lot lately but certainly showed Harry what he could do last night. Fantastic performance defensively and caused Leeds constant problems going forward.
Dean – 7
Another strong performance at the back from Harlee Dean, proper English no nonsense defender who’s also comfortable on the ball – could be a real coup for Blues this year.
Morrison – 5
Blues’ captain really struggled at Elland Road last night; he was caught out for the first goal and for the second goal the move started from a misplaced header. Let’s hope it was just a one off bad game for Morro.
Collin – 7
Came in at left back last night in replacement of Jonathan Grounds and performed magnificently. Looked a threat going forward but also solid defensively. Came closest to scoring too with his header being cleared off the line.
N’Doye – 8
N’Doye’s best game in a Blues shirt by far yesterday. He commanded the midfield, won everything in the air, and improved his passing too helping Blues kick start some counter attacks. Going forward he was very useful with his aerial threat.
Davis – 7
A typical battling performance from David Davis, worked hard defensively and support well in an attacking sense. Certainly covered a lot of ground throughout the night!
Lowe – 7
I had a lot of reservations about Jason Lowe going into the game but I must admit I was very happy to be proven wrong. He performed really well, especially in the second half!
Boga – 8
Fantastic performance from the Chelsea loanee – caused Leeds problems with his direct running thoughout the game, constantly trying to make things happen. Provided Blues with an outlet throughout.
Jota – 8
Similar to Boga, this was a brilliant performance from Jota. With Boga running the channels on the left it was left to Jota to dictate play from the right and he definitely did that. His tricky, close control, helped on more than one occasion to create a goalscoring opportunity for Blues. Hopefully his injury isn’t too bad…
Gallagher – 8
Sam Gallagher also put in his best performance yet in a Blues shirt, despite a lot of long ball’s hoofed up to him, 9 times out of 10 it would be Gallagher that won it against the Leeds defence and push Blues onto the front foot. Unlucky not to score.
- Leeds United v Birmingham City
Subs
Adams – 7
Once again provided Blues an outlet with a bit of pace off the bench, stretched the Leeds defense a few times and tested the keeper with a few long range strikes. Concerning that he suffered another injury though.
Walsh – 6
A late sub, but Walsh still impacted the game with some nice neat touches in and around the Leeds area.
Maghoma – 6
Came on at the same time as Walsh, didn’t have too many touches/chances to impact the game.
Leeds fans – 9
Attendance: 31,507
Over 31,000 Leeds fans packed out Elland Road in the rain to watch their side go top of the Championship. Their support was excellent throughout, creating a fantastic atmosphere.