Birmingham City succumbed to yet another defeat on the road yesterday at The Den. Steve Cotterill is going to have to take a real long look at our current away for any try to figure out a way of drastically improving it, as we have now lost 6 of our 7 league away games; picking up one point. Here are my player ratings from yet another poor performance.
Starting XI
Kuszczak – 6
Was left with no chance with the first goal and although he will probably be disappointed for the second goal he can’t take too much blame for it. Did well to come out and claim a lot of the long balls that Millwall pumped into the Blues box throughout.
Colin – 5
Disastrous own goal which he should really have done better with – definitely one which he won’t want to be reminded of! Of all 4 defenders he was probably the most solid, and tried to help out with some creativity going forward.
Morrison – 4
Another poor evening for the Blues captain, who is proving to severely lack consistency this season. He was at fault for the first goal, where he committed to a half-hearted challenge and got nowhere near the ball allowing Steve Morrison to easily take the ball past him and cross. Struggled all evening dealing with the Millwall attackers.
Roberts – 4
Yet another defender, who like Michael Morrison, can’t seem to find any consistency this season. Having played so well against Cardiff last weekend I had high hopes that he would be able to do a job dealing with an aggressive Millwall team but he really flattered to deceive. Cost Blues an easily preventable first goal with an awful clearing header.
Grounds – 5
Making his 150th appearance for the club Grounds struggled as much as the other members of the back 5, but was probably the pick of the bunch. Started the game extremely slowly with a few lapses of concentration but defended fairly well through the game. Didn’t offer too much going forward.
N’Doye – 6
Not one of Cheikh N’Doye’s better games for the club. It was the first time I’ve ever seen him struggle in the air whilst wearing a Blues shirt, he lost quite a few aerial challenges and really struggled to take any sort of control on the midfield.
Man of the Match: Kieftenbeld – 7
Off all the Blues players Kieftenbeld was one of the only one’s that showed any real passion in the second half. He was constantly harrying the Millwall midfielders and trying to stamp some sort of authority on the game for Blues. Definitely one player who I’m very happy to see back in the starting line up.
Davis – 3
An absolutely diabolical performance from Davis yesterday. Was bypassed throughout in the midfield, and whenever he did receive the ball he ended up playing an awful pass and losing possession. His performance was summed up in the 60th minute by one awful ‘pass’ whilst Blues were attacking which ended up going straight through to the Millwall keeper.
Maghoma -5
Not one of Maghoma’s better games for Blues, he struggled to have any real effect on the game going forward. One the rare occasion that he did get into a crossing position he dwelled in possession and ended up losing the ball. Has to do a lot more if he is to play against Villa next weekend.
Adams – 6
Of all the Blues attackers yesterday Che Adams was by far the best and most creative. In the first half he put over one lovely cross that only needed a touch and it would have resulted in Blues going 1-0 up. When Blues went behind Adams looked like the only one that would open up the Millwall defence.
Vassell – 6
A difficult afternoon for the former Luton man, but he put in a real shift for the team. He chased down everything and challenged for everything in the air, and came closest to scoring for Blues with one very unlucky strike at the end of the first half.
Subs:
Jota – 5
Came on for Maghoma and didn’t manage to have any real affect on the game. Tried to get Blues going but it came to no avail.
Jutkiewicz – 5
Came on for Cheikh N’Doye which saw Blues move to a 4-4-2 to try and get back into the game. He was a threat up front but couldn’t convert any of the chances that he had late on. Had one chance from a Colin cross which he should have really converted.
Boga – 6
A late change for Che Adams and he looked quite lively when he came on. He was positive on the ball and tried his best to create some openings for Blues – had one long range effort late on which was unlucky.
Millwall Fans – 7
Attendance: 14,797
It’s never a quiet afternoon when Blues head down to the capital, especially when it’s a trip to The Den. Millwall fans were quite loud in the ground, as they always are and create a good atmosphere. Blues fans came in their numbers and supported the team throughout without really having anything to shout about. We were locked in for 45 minutes after the game and had to deal with some really poor policing from the London Met police who failed to control the situation and were severely unorganised.