Rave On - 2nd Half

By: Tony Butcher
Date: 16/05/2001

No changes were made by either team at half time. I can't remember Town getting near the Birmingham goal for 20-25 minutes. Certainly no shots, and I don't think there were even any hopeless, aimless crosses. Oh, hang on, I've just remembered Gallimore hit an awful right footed shot from 20 yards which went 16 yards wide very, very slowly. I can't stress how slowly and miss-hit the shot was. He almost hung his head in shame.

Birmingham continued as they had in the first half, which meant they tried to bundle their way through. After about ten or so minutes of the half they had two opportunities in quick succession. Marcello chased a long ball down the Town left and bundled his way past two defenders, cutting into the penalty area as he surged. He cut across another defender and hit a low shot straight at Coyne's legs from about a dozen yards out, level with Coyne's left hand post.

A minute later the ball was chipped over the top of the defence down the "channel" between McDermott and Raven. It seemed to have been hit way too hard but Johnson ran after the ball and caught it, he knew the pitch was so heavy that the ball would stop. He turned and clipped a low cross to the near post where a midfielder nipped in front of the last Town defender and, from inside the 6-yard box near the post, scooped the ball softly into Coyne's waiting arms.

I seem to recall the game calming down a bit for the next few minutes. There were a few delays caused by minor injuries and fouls, with the Birmingham centre half M Johnson literally falling over when Livvo looked at him. Beware Livvo's X-ray eyes, he can cut you down with just one look, yeah. Just after the hour Birmingham took off a midfielder and sent on Dele Adebola. He immediately ran up to play on the left wing, standing next to McDermott. Two McDermotts = 1 Adebola, though only physically.

Within a few seconds Birmingham scored. A throw from the right, about 25 yards out, was lobbed into the penalty area. There was a whole lotta shakin' go on and the ball was flicked on into the heart of the Town penalty area, about 8-ish yards out, to Johnson, who had his back to goal. He shielded the ball and waited for Marcello to run around a wide semi-circle into a big space in the middle of goal. MARCELLO took the ball in one stride and placed the ball wide of Coyne into the bottom left hand corner. The deflation amongst the Town supporters was slightly assuaged by the news that Wolves had scored a second against Crystal Palace. Only slightly though.

The Birmingham supporters woke up and finally had the confidence to insult their old rivals from a small Town near Scunthorpe. Yeah, but we'll still be playing you next year (big gulp, hopefully, with fingers crossed). A couple of minutes after they scored, they should have scored again. Another overhit pass, this time down the Town left, failed to run out of play and Johnson (a sort of superior Clare) reached the bye line and miss-hit a cross that sailed gently over Coyne and landed on Adebole's boot a yard or so from the goal-line next to the right hand post. Adebole carefully side-footed the ball into the 17th row of the stand 15 yards wide of the goal and collided with the post. End of game for him.

At about this time Cornwall and Pouton were replaced by Jeffrey and Willems. The cynical amongst us sarcastically observed that that'd really change the game….and it almost did. Town had five minutes of intense pressure and should have equalised.

They fair dominated possession and worried the heck out of Birmingham. With about 20 minutes left Town exerted some pressure down the right, with a fast break involving Iron Mike and Donovan.

The ball was played up to Livingstone who had his back to goal on the corner of the penalty area. He twisted, turned and headed for the corner flag, twisted again, stepped over the ball and then clipped a low diagonal cross towards Jeffery.

The ball was flicked on to Campbell, unmarked about 8 yards out level with the 'keeper's right hand post. Fortunately for Birmingham, the ball bounced vertically and he had to wait a long time for it to come down. Campbell leapt up and tried a sideways scissors kick in an attempt to get "over" the ball as the goalkeeper came rushing out, volleying the ball into the ground with the 'keeper blocking it. The ball spun back out towards the penalty spot and Jeffrey skipped forward. His first effort was blocked but he kept the ball and laid it back for a cross from Campbell, which was half cleared to the edge of the area. Willems steamed in and smashed a low drive a few inches wide of the 'keeper's left hand post.

Town got a corner, as it was slightly deflected by a desperate tumbling defender. A couple of minutes later Willems again smacked a low drive just wide after a cross had been half cleared to him on the edge of the area. And a few minutes later he smashed another shot a yard or two high and wide from a similar position.

Given the Big City condescending "Who?" from the arrogant Brummies when Jeffrey and Willems came on it would have been so satisfying if those shots had been slightly more accurate. They might have shouted "Who?" at out players, but a shout of "What?" at their team would have been apposite. Style? Skill? Nowhere to be seen from the Blue-shirted scufflers and hufflers.

Birmingham had three shots from outside the penalty area that nearly went out of the stadium and their players started to fall over. M Johnson injured himself when he attempted to block Livingstone. He literally bounced off Livvo with our man barely noticing. At about this point the referee started to award free kicks to Birmingham for odd reasons. He gave one free kick because Livvo outpaced a defender, as far as I could see. As was observed by the Town contingent "how could that be a foul by Livvo, the bloke's still alive!"

The last 10 minutes or so saw Town threaten down the left especially, where Jeffrey had a pleasing knack of sliding into space. He hasn't mastered the pleasing knack of doing something positive with the ball, though. Groves nearly gave away a goal when he passed the ball straight to a Birmingham player 30 yards out, though he redeemed himself with the greatest tackle seen this season - he hooked the ball away from an attacker in the area and from behind, the ball was stuck on his toe and he spun round and cleared - all in one movement.

as the game drifted towards the inevitable narrow defeat a hint of nastiness crept in, and all down to Johnson (the attacker). After a header back to Coyne by Raven he jostled and kicked Raven, who responded by jostling him back very aggressively. A couple of minutes later another header back fell short and Johnson challenged Coyne for the ball in the area. Johnson got there just before Coyne but knocked the ball out for a goal kick. Except he dived forward in an attempt to get a penalty. As Coyne had stopped and put his hands in the air way before Johnson fell, it was obviously a dive. Coyne was furious, as were several Town players. They pointed out to the referee that it was either a penalty or a dive and seemed to demand action. None came.

The last couple of minutes were taken up with Butterfield lumping free kicks to their 'keeper. The referee added four minutes of extra time, but Town would have needed four hours to score.

After the whistle Groves, Raven and a couple of other Town players seemed to get involved in a bit of argy-bargy with one of the Birmingham management team. There was a niggly arrogance about some of the Birmingham players and all their "bench" which riled even the most placid of Mariners.

Overall this was a far superior performance to the one against Sheffield United, especially compared to last year's farce at St Andrews. Town deserved a point. It would have been a slightly fortunate point, though only slightly. No-one was awful and some players surprised many.

Butterfield was not embarrassing, even having periods of calm and competence. Pouton and Campbell did not look comfortable playing in the vague position of slightly wide-ish midfielder, which a better team than Birmingham would have exploited (there was till an awful lot of room down the flanks), and Cornwall looked a little uncoordinated (he had trouble controlling the ball). Town looked like a lower mid-table team. Let's hope that's what we end up as.

Nicko's Man of the Match - a very honourable mention in despatched for Gallimore, but I shall plump for Raven who was magnificent in the centre. It was his kind of game, but he did exactly what was required with head and foot. So that's why Buckley bought him. Rock On? No, Rave On

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