A Benchmark Performance

One team with one win in six and three straight defeats, the other flying high having taken 22 points out of 24, and bringing with them Alfie May. Sure, we wanted a result, a draw being acceptable, even if we were to bore the pants off them (and us watching). But this is football, this is The Valley. And the challenge brought out the best in us on the pitch, the return to the resolution and focus of the first three games, to the extent that Mannion didn’t have anything to save all game (he did deal well with balls in the air), all player ratings would be very high, Jones rightly gets the plaudits for selecting a formation fit for the task in hand, and even to the point of the display causing annoyance that we had slipped from this standard in recent games. The match served as a reminder of the effort required to win any game in this league, not just to be reserved for the league leaders.

The team was bound to be changed from Tuesday night. Jones opted for five actual changes and what looked like a change in formation, to a 4-4-2. Ramsay came back in for Watson and only two centre-backs (Mitchell and Jones) pointed to a back four with Edwards on the right side, with Edmonds-Green and Small on the bench and Gillesphie and Potts not making the squad. Coventry and Anderson were retained in midfield and added to with Docherty and Campbell(A), with Berry dropping out of the starting X1. Up front Kanu and Godden were selected to start, with Ahadme not in the squad and Campbell(T) on the bench, along with Aneke and Leaburn.

We didn’t score in the first half. That we no surprise, we have failed to do so now in nine of 10 starts. What was surprising is that we should have done and that we so limited Birmingham’s threat that their manager made three changes at the break, including replacing both May and Bielik (albeit him through injury). The midfield four did their jobs in strangling Birmingham, who enjoyed plenty of possession but were able to do nothing with it, while the back four snuffed out anything that got through.

For us, Godden had an early shot on the turn over the bar but really everything happened late on and involved Kanu. First, a good ball in from Coventry found him in space in the box. He was offside but put his effort wide in any event. Second, Kanu anticipated well and intercepted a back pass, took it around their keeper, but from a very tight angle hit a straight ball which went wide of the far post when it required either better precision, some curl to send it into the empty net, or a ball played square for Anderson to tap in. Third, in stoppage time Birmingham’s keeper tried another risky pass out only to find Kanu inside the box; but he was understandably taken by surprise and took a heavy first touch, allowing the keeper to make amends by smothering the ball.

At the break you felt (at least I did) that we’d done all that could be asked, had knocked Birmingham out of their stride, but had failed to take one of the late chances to take a deserved lead. The fear was that Birmingham would get a half-time rollocking and come out with a stronger intent in the second half and make us pay for that.

That just didn’t happen – or rather we didn’t let it happen. Instead, on 53 minutes we took the lead, with a goal that we would hail as excellent forward play and they would lament as criminal defending. It was poor from them in that they allowed a long throw to bounce in their box with nobody getting on the end of it. It went through to Godden, back to goal but having steered his marker goalward with enough space to turn and pass the ball low into the corner of the net. Really his third expertly taken goal of the campaign. The League One stats show him having scored three in nine appearances but in terms of goals per minute on the pitch, at 105 he is right up there, basically a goal every full game played.

Not long after Kanu once again caused them problems and won a corner but was clipped and hobbled off, to much deserved applause. He didn’t take the chances and get the goal his play deserved, but he helped to keep Birmingham on edge with his pace. The fact that he was replaced by Campbell(T) rather than Aneke or Leaburn could be seen as a reflection of Jones’ desire to keep stretching them with pace rather.

Increasingly the game came down to whether or not we could keep it up as legs tired and more replacements would be needed. We could. To the point that Birmingham’s frustration rose, reflected in the petulance of their expensive forward, and we actually saw out the game with Birmingham still unable to have an effort on target. Aneke did come on for a tiring Godden, playing an instrumental role in running down the clock, later Small and Berry for Edwards and Campbell(A). All contributed in keeping the lid shut tight.

Birmingham’s manager described it as their “worst performance of the season”. He should really have said that we so smothered his team that it became that, it was to our credit, that we deserved the points. Jones quite rightly focused on the success of the tactical plan and didn’t single out any individuals as the team was immense – although I’d go along with others and make Ramsay man of the match, he was immaculate and on a number of occasions brought the ball out of dangerous situations with aplomb.

I hope all the squad bottle how they felt at the final whistle and that the link between that feeling and just how hard they had to work to fashion the victory is driven home. That, like the Bolton game, is the benchmark. Sure, there will be games when the breaks go against us, when the opposition produces something exceptional or unexpected. But if every time they come off the pitch knowing they couldn’t have done more and that the attitude was spot-on from the start of the game the results will look after themselves. Since the Bolton game we have too often seen standards fall, often against opposition which perhaps some felt we could beat without going all the way. No more, we hope. But for the good feeling they gave us all during and after the game I hope Jones and all the players enjoy the break ahead (while working their tails off in training).