Birmingham City 2-1 Ipswich Town - Match Report Tuesday, 13th Dec 2016 22:08 Adam Webster’s first goal for Town wasn’t enough to prevent the Blues from falling to a 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City. Clayton Donaldson put the home side in front from the penalty spot in the 41st minute, Michael Morrison made it 2-0 eight minutes after the break before Webster headed his goal as the Blues attempted to stage a comeback in which Christophe Berra had what would have been a late equaliser harshly ruled out. Myles Kenlock came in for the injured Jonas Knudsen at left-back in an otherwise unchanged Town side. The Dane travelled but missed out with an unspecified knock. Andre Dozzell replaced Teddy Bishop, who is out for up to a month with an ankle ligament injury, on the bench. The Blues, wearing their all white away kit, were first to threaten in the third minute when Webster sent Luke Varney away on the right. Saturday’s goalscorer crossed towards David McGoldrick, who failed to make contact as he looked to volley. Birmingham keeper Tomasz Kuszczak eventually cleared the danger ahead of the lurking Jonathan Douglas. Blues keeper Bartosz Bialkowski was called into action for the first time on 10 when Jonathan Grounds’s long throw from the left bounced awkwardly in the area. However, the Pole punched away. Town had looked the more dangerous side in the early stages, however, and in the 12th minute Tom Lawrence crossed from the left and McGoldrick hit a shot on the half-turn, which deflected over off Morrison. Following the corner, the ball was cleared out to Kenlock, who had made a confident start, but his shot struck McGoldrick. After Bialkowski had rushed off his line to clear the ball ahead of Maikel Kieftenbeld, Lawrence made a pacy run down the left and won a corner. The on-loan Leicester man took the flag-kick and Berra nodded down at the far post but no Town player was on hand to profit from it. As the game reached the 20-minute mark Jonathan Spector sent a dangerous low ball across the Town area from the right but no one was able to get a touch. A minute later, Webster found Kenlock on the right with a classy cross-field ball. The 20-year-old left-back crossed but Douglas’s header looped wide. Bialkowski was forced to save on 25 when Berra headed away from Donaldson but only succeeded in finding Lukas Jutkiewicz 20 yards out, from where the striker hit a shot which the Town keeper palmed away to his right. Kuszczak made an even better save at the other end on 32 after Lawrence had made another dangerous run down the left. The Welsh international cut the ball across and Morrison stabbed the ball out to McGoldrick, who hit a first-time effort which the former Manchester United man did well to push over. The Blues had had the better of the half but so far without having anything to show for it. But on 36 there was danger at the other end when Spector crossed from the right towards David Davis but the midfielder was only able to head into the stand from a tight angle. David Cotterill picked up the game’s first booking on 38 for a foul on Ward, then a minute later Blues skipper Luke Chambers joined him in the book for pulling back Jutkiewicz on halfway. Birmingham were beginning to look the more threatening side and on 40 Jutkiewicz hit a shot which deflected wide off Chambers after a corner had been cleared and looped back into the box. From the resultant flag-kick, the home side were awarded the penalty from which they would take the lead. Jutkiewicz hit another shot and Varney tried to block but only succeeded in stopping it with his arm and referee Darren Bond pointed to the spot. The Town players protested in vain, and with little cause, before Donaldson stepped up and chipped down the middle as Bialkowski dived to his left. As the game moved into injury time goalscorer Donaldson was stretchered off after a long spell of treatment having fallen awkwardly when challenging with Webster on halfway. Che Adams took over in the home side’s attack. Birmingham’s half-time lead was harsh on the Blues who had had the better opportunities up to the penalty with Kuszczak having made the game’s most significant save from McGoldrick. However, the home side had started to look more dangerous just prior to winning the penalty with Jutkiewicz having hit a number of strikes from the edge of the box. McGoldrick sent the second half’s first shot well wide from distance in the 47th minute but the home side began the period the stronger overall. On 50 Kieftenbeld's cross from the right flicked off Douglas beyond Jutkiewicz, then from the corner Grounds’s shot was blocked and Berra eventually cleared. But three minutes later the home side were 2-0 in front. Cotterill sent over a deep corner from the left and unmarked Birmingham skipper Morrison, who was born in Bury St Edmunds and brought up in Haverhill, nodded past Bialkowski. Town looked to get a foothold back in the game but didn’t threaten until just before the hour mark when Lawrence hit a shot from distance which was too close to Kuszczak. The Blues were making little headway and on 61 Brett Pitman replaced Varney, then five minutes later Freddie Sears and Jonny Williams took over from Ward and McGoldrick with Town now playing a front three of Lawrence, Pitman and Sears with Williams behind them. On 68 Lawrence and Sears combined on the left and the former West Ham man stabbed out to Douglas, who scraped his shot well over. The Blues continued to press and in the 70th minute they pulled a goal back. Lawrence worked himself space on the left and sent over a perfect cross for Webster, who powered his first Town goal into the net. The goal led to a few jitters around St Andrew’s and Town quickly won two more corners, Kenlock shooting high and wide after the second had been cleared to him midway inside the home side’s half. Pitman squeezed the ball through to Sears on the left of the box in the 73rd minute but the ex-Colchester frontman shot into the side-netting. However, the move was enough to get the near-500 strong Town following singing for the first time. Town went looking for an equaliser which had looked highly unlikely up to the introduction of the subs, dominating possession but failing to create another serious opportunity. On 83, after Webster and then Lawrence had both slipped as Maghoma broke on the counter-attack, Jutkiewicz eventually headed into Bialkowski’s arms. With a minute and a half of scheduled time remaining, the Blues thought they’d got back on terms. Lawrence sent over a corner to the far post, Berra headed home only for referee Bond to adjudge that the Scotland international had been climbing on Ryan Shotton in front of him. The decision looked harsh on the Blues. As the match moved into five minutes of injury time, Lawrence, Town’s man of the match, was felled by Kieftenbeld five yards outside the area to the left, earning the Birmingham midfielder a yellow card. The freekick was tapped to Lawrence, who curled his shot wide. Berra, by now up front, knocked on a Lawrence cross from deep on the left to Pitman, but his pass failed to find Sears. Berra was subsequently booked for protesting - probably as much about the disallowed goal as that challenge - as he felt he had been fouled. Just before the final whistle, Town claimed a penalty when Douglas chased a flick-on into the area and was felled by Birmingham sub Paul Robinson but referee Bond awarded the home side a freekick feeling the Irishman had committed the first foul. The Blues made a slow start to the second half and looked dead and buried after conceding the second goal when Morrison was given a free header. The introduction of Pitman, Sears and Williams livened Town up and Webster’s excellent goal gave the Blues hope. They pushed during the remainder of the game and on another day Berra’s goal might well have been allowed to stand. But as so often recently they ended up the losers of a game in which there had been little between the sides, other than a couple of crucial defensive errors. The result will add to fans’ frustrations with manager Mick McCarthy with the Blues remaining in 17th still five points from the relegation zone but with the gap to the top six having increased to nine. Town visit second-bottom Wigan, who play Newcastle at home tomorrow, on Saturday. Birmingham: Kuszczak, Spector, Morrison (c), Shotton, Grounds, Cotterill (Maghoma 74), Gleeson, Kieftenbeld, Davis (Robinson 90), Donaldson (Adams 45), Jutkiewicz. Unused: Legzdins, Tesche, Solomon-Otabor, Dacres-Cogley. Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Webster, Berra, Kenlock, Skuse, Douglas, Ward (Williams 66), Lawrence, McGoldrick (Sears 66), Varney (Pitman 61). Unused: Gerken, Emmanuel, Bru, Dozzell. Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire). Att: 15,212 (Town: 490).
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