If I'd been in charge, I would've kept Parkin and dropped Livermore. Thankfully, I'm not. The inclusion of Windass and Elliott was a superb decision, as was leaving Tuesdays' midfield untouched. A clean sheet says Browny got it right at the back too although Coles looked uneasy for 20 minutes. To be fair to Parkin, the football was much better and the balls into the strikers were excellent, although Windass' movement and link up play was first class.
We won the midfield, Ashbee and Livermore made hundreds of tackles, while Parlour picked up the ball and passed it superbly. His pass into Deano for goal #1 was immense. Livermore had a complete game. He was superb from back to front, passed well and got forward in a way he never has before. He hit a ferocious shot against the bar and took advantage of our 11 vs. 10 by exploiting the space on the left. If he was tepid at Barnsley, he was red hot today. Long may it continue? Ash doesn't have the ability to turn a game or drag us up when we're down, but he certainly performs an important role and when we play well, he plays well. He was a real leader and put in crunching tackles. He meant business.
The character shown by the 3 guys and those around them was excellent. It was similar to the way we bounced back after the Leicester game. It takes a lot of bottle to put in that sort of performance on the back of the previous one. Scoring early helped a lot. We battled well for 10 minutes, but once we scored, confidence flooded through the team. Everyone looked happy on the ball and we moved it around nicely. Birmingham resorted to long balls, trying to release the pacey strikers quickly, but 9/10 times, the passes were inaccurate and food and drink for Turner and Coles. They hardly looked a threat, apart from one outrageous 35 yard effort that Bo pushed over. After Jaidi's red card, fully deserved for a professional foul on the goal bound Elliott, they offered nothing. Turner and Coles swept up any danger and Delaney and Ricketts were able to bomb on into the space left by Birmingham's 4-3-2 formation.
The catalyst for the victory was probably the awesome front 3. Forster worked his socks off and chased everything, forwards and backwards, while latching onto passes and through balls. Elliott won everything in the air, even against N'Gotty and linked up play well. Windass was great. His movement was fantastic, he won lots of ball in the air and he pressurised their defence. We defended from the front, evidenced by the number of loose passes and slices that came from the Birmingham back 4 and `keeper. Forster in particular closed down quickly and Windass did a much better job of it than Parkin has lately. Parkin obviously knows it, because he threw himself about in his 3 minute cameo, a good response to being dropped. Windass' two finishes were typical of him and he could've and probably should've had a hat trick. He hit a half chance straight at the `keeper, he was foiled by a good save after a superb run and pass from Parlour and looped a header just wide.
Here's hoping that the run since Crystal Palace has been a blip and this is the norm. We're a dreadfully inconsistent side, but on our day, much better than those around us. Coventry is a big game. Depending on which City side turns up, we could roll them over, get hammered or grind out a draw. With Ipswich coming up, getting out of the Ricoh with at least a point is vital. If we show the same work rate and courage as today, we'll be fine, but we've said that after every good performance.
Ratings: Bo 7, Ricketts 8, Delaney 8, Turner 8, Coles 7, Ashbee 8, Livermore 8 (Marney), Parlour 8 (Welsh), Forster 9, Windass 8 (Parkin), Elliott 8.
Thanks for the 3 points, Brucey, good game, good game.