Few positives from poor performance at Brum

Our goalless draw at St.Andrews yesterday saw us stretch our unbeaten run to seven games (if you're an optimist), or make it a month without victory (if you're a miserablist). A pretty dour showing, i'm sure we'll all agree about that, we rarely threatened the Birmingham goal yet somehow managed to come away with a share of the spoils after being under the kosh for much of the afternoon.

The home side certainly started the better, not letting us settle in midfield and giving our centre-halves real problems. Scotland reject Barry Ferguson was the first to test us, winning the ball from Gareth Barry, sloppy in possession after a good interception from Vincent Kompany, but driving a shot wide of Shay Given's far post.

Only a couple of minutes later lively Ecuadorian forward 'Chucho' Benitez forced a great save from the Irishman, Sebastian Larsson getting the benefit of an advantage played by the referee and laying the summer signing in, switching to his left foot he let off a powerful shot, Given's fingertips forcing the ball onto the post to prevent the opening goal.

Alex McLeish had certainly sent his side out with orders to keep the tempo high and force us into mistakes, and it seemed to be working. Wayne Bridge won the ball just outside our own area, but cutting in onto his poorer right foot he was dispossessed by Cameron Jerome, who was able to thread another ball through to workhorse Benitez forcing another stop.

Though the game did at least start quite end-to-end we weren't really creating any clear-cut chances. A nicely-worked one-two between Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez after around fifteen minutes was probably our first real notable attack. A Shaun Wright-Phillips drive from distance followed, fumbled by Taylor but his centre-halves bailed him out. Another nice move involving Tevez, SWP and Bellamy, should have seen us at least test the Northern Ireland sticksman, Tevez slipping a lovely weighted ball behind the full-back, but Bellamy's effort being charged down.

James McFadden, always capable of scoring from distance, tested Given with a drive from thirty yards or so before half-time, and Larsson could have got on the scoresheet had he timed a great run behind our defence just a second better. An eventual scrap in the penalty area gave the home side another chance, Larsson getting past Lescott, Zabalaeta clearing before Bowyer got quite a tame shot away. Ferguson and Dann also picked up bookings as the game threatened to get a bit nasty, the latter's foul on Carlos Tevez certainly uncalled for.

The second half was certainly more even, Birmingham having the better chances on the break but us the lion's share of possession, if doing little with it. Shots from distance by Carlos Tevez rarely threatened, and to a man we seemed to lack that final ball. A minute after Wayne Bridge had picked up a needless booking for kicking the ball away after the award of a throw-in, the referee rightly gave Birmingham a penalty for a handball in the area. Nigel de Jong had no excuses really, though his arms did appear to get tangled in those of the man he was marking.

James McFadden stepped up, driving a low effort to Given's left. Shay fortunately guessed the right way and prevented us going one down, clawing the ball clear with both hands. With that, and Birmingham becoming more frustrated, we hoped that we'd possibly go on to grab a winner. The introductions of Stevie Ireland and Martin Petrov from the bench, however, had little effect, as we struggled to generate any real good chances, a weak shot by Joleon Lescott following a corner about as near as we got.

If anything, though they were having less possession, McLeish's side looked more likely to nick the points, working slick moves on the break, firstly the impressive Larsson finding Jerome who headed just over, then a move down the right resulting in a cross by Keith Fahey that Pablo Zabaleta did very well to not turn into his own net. A wild slice by Martin Petrov summed up our afternoon quite aptly, going out for a throw-in. Ferguson picked up a second booking five minutes into injury time, pointlessly raising his hands to prevent a throw-in.

Overall, it was a disappointing performance. We looked shaky in the centre of defence, were well off the pace in midfield, lacked any real presence at all in the final third and at times couldn't string two passes together. Given that, then, the fact that we came away from the game with anything at all has to be considered a bonus. Clutching at straws a little perhaps, but the performances of Given, maybe Bridge, an energetic Wright-Phillips (though his crossing was below par), and the clean sheet are at least small positives.

Without Kolo Toure the defence never looks settled, and had Birmingham a real goalscorer we would have comfortably lost. The central midfield area is also a cause for concern, Gareth Barry had a very poor game, and we seem to be struggling to win battles in that area. As we said beforehand, without Ireland, though quiet when introduced, we don't really have anyone in that area to really shape attacks, and instead Carlos Tevez is dropping too deep, leaving his strike partner without enough support.

The upcoming home fixtures against Burnley and Hull should provide opportunity to tweak with the side a little, and also will see several key players improve fitness. The last few performances haven't really been up to the standards set earlier in the season, but at least we're managing to not get beat. Last season we'd have lost these last few games, and although we may have expected more than four points from twelve, it at least displays we're becoming a bit tougher to beat on our travels.

Team:
Given, Zabaleta, Bridge, Kompany, Lescott, de Jong (Ireland '60), SWP, Barry, Tevez, Santa Cruz (Petrov '67), Bellamy