Birmingham 1 - 2 Aston Villa

Another local derby and another excuse for primitive, ugly football in the name of “getting stuck in” and “keeping it tight” under the guise of there being “pride at stake” etc??? Not really, it has to be said.

There was a surprisingly open beginning to the game with Birmingham looking to exert some early pressure. In an answer to this Villa were getting the ball to Carew early in a bid to counter. The Norwegian giant fluffed his first proper chance on 8mins but the resulting corner saw the ball bounce off a flat-footed Ridgewell’s knee and into his own net.

What followed was a period of typically tenacious midfield battling. From one of these scuffles saw Barry come away, on 16misn, to set up Carew but his close range effort was well saved.

Birmingham began to get some joy once the game settled and they got their widemen more involved. Both DeRidder and Kapo got chances but their finishing let them down. Indeed DeRidder may well have had a penalty on 31mins when he was tripped as he dashed into the box but instead he was booked for diving!

Villa had the better of the chances in the first half with Carew blasting over form 20 yards after a mix up in the Birmingham defence and late on when Agbonlahor beat the offside trap with his pace only to see his low drive saved by Taylors feet.

Birmingham looked like they could do with someone in midfield to get on the ball and supply their talented wingers and able front-man.

The second half saw the home team go to 4-4-2 with Forsell coming on to partner Jerome. The half began at a good tempo with both defences stretched and it looked like only a matter of time before a match-changing goal would be scored.

Forsell looked like the most likely to do so and came close with two effort close to the hour. On 61mins, DeRidder in space down the right swung in a great ball which Forsell duly obliged with a bullet header from 7yards to make it 1-1.

Birmingham seemed to find an extra level of determination following the equaliser and came close to going ahead 5mins later. Jerome latched onto a long ball to cut inside from the left and force a magnificent save from Carson.

The home side were certainly on the front foot at this time but Reo-Coker could’ve restored Villa’s lead, against the run of play, but he skied his volley form 7 yards on 69mins.

Birmingham seemed to run out of steam as the game became very stretched with defences getting ever deeper. Indeed it was Villa who were making the push for a winner in the closing stages of the match.

They did have a scare though as Ridgewell almost made up for his own-goal on 84mins when he connected well with a corner kick but Agbonlahor on the post to clear off the line.

2 minutes later it was roles reversed as the young Villa forward lost the Birmingham centre-back at the back post to send a well directed header back across goal and past Taylor to make it 2-1. Villa played out the remaining 7 minutes in Birmingham’s half as the home side looked a spent force.

It was a game where neither side’s defence looked rock-solid but Birmingham in particular looked like they’ll continue to struggle to keep clean sheets. Villa still didn’t look like they’ve made the step up to be genuine contenders for a European place but all that could change come the January transfer window.