Match Report: Birmingham City 1-1 Reading

Blues open up their League One campaign with a frustrating draw against Reading. There's work to do.

Birmingham City began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against old Championship foes Reading.  

The two clubs have had an interesting history owing to poor ownership and fights for survival but the situation could scarcely be different as the 2024-25 campaign started, Blues spending a fortune on new talent, facilities and the rest while the Royals remain in dire straits.  

In spite of that, it was the visitors that took the lead when Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan struck late in the first half. The young forward had a second disallowed which proved costly as Alfie May’s penalty secured a point for his new club.  

Chris Davies named an XI with five debutants. Bailey Peacock-Farrell in goal, Alex Cochrane at left-back, Marc Leonard in midfield, Willum Thor Willumson just ahead and May leading the line. Siriki Dembele and Dion Sanderson got the nod for their respective roles while Jordan James was absent in light of interest from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes.  

Blues almost got off to an excellent start when Ben Elliott gifted the ball to May. He found Willumson who glided through but only found the leg of Amadou Mbengue with his strike.  

Rather than taking advantage, Blues let Reading step up and Ruben Selles’ side thought they had the led when Harvey Knibbs made the most of a long throw only for a foul to be rightly called against Tyler Bindon for flying through Peacock-Farrell.  

A goal-bound effort from another set-piece was volleyed away and Reading had two more big efforts including a close ranger header straight at Peacock-Farrell. The best Blues mustered in response was a strong run from Laird that ended with Willumson fluffing his lines. 

It was therefore no surprise when Reading took the lead. It came down to a 50-50 in midfield that Reading won and Lewis Wing wasted no time in finding Ehibhatiomhan. Ethan Laird, who was stood a couple of years behind Sanderson and playing the forward on, couldn’t get back in time to stop the effort.  

It ought to have been two after the break when another sloppy piece of play allowed Sam Smith to play in Ehibhatiomhan but he timed his run wrong and was rightly called offside. A big let off.  

Blues finally showed what they are capable of with a swift move from left to right and May was close to turning home Koji Miyoshi’s cross. There was controversy when a blatant pass-back wasn’t called in Blues’ favour. Emil Hansson came on for his debut but couldn’t test Joel Pereira with a volley.  

Reading’s bench was sparse so they brought on 16-year-old Andre Garcia and he almost produced a sensational debut moment until his effort was blocked. The youngster had a tough task driving a tiring Reading up the pitch at this point but Blues only had an Anderson free-kick into the wall and Paik Seung-Ho effort blazed over to show for their efforts.  

Then came the bit of luck Blues needed. Youngster Michael Craig was playing out of position at right-back and Blues finally caught him out playing Hansson in behind. The delivery was poor but his cross was elbowed away by Lewis Wing giving May the chance to finish from 12 yards, an opportunity he took confidently.  

It was all Blues late on but they couldn’t find the killer delivery or finish. Anderson controlled and turned his man but curled over. His cute pass for Luke Harris, another debutant from the bench, was miskicked and Pereira did well to palm Hansson’s curler away.  

A big lesson learned on opening day as the shares were spoiled. 

Lineups 

Blues: BPF; Laird (Khela 83) Sanderson Bielik Cochrane; Leonard (Jutkiewicz 83) Paik; Miyoshi (Anderson 61) Thor (Harris 51) Dembele (Hansson 46); May. Unused: Allsop; Klarer.  

Reading: Pereira; Craig Mbengue Bindon Dorsett (Abrefa 61); Elliott (Savage 74) Wing Knibbs; Camara (Garcia 74) Smith Ehibhatiomhan (Wareham 84). Unused: Boyce-Clarke; Osho Kanu.  

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Tactics 

Blues continued with the shape used throughout pre-season. This is a 4-2-3-1, nominally, but one that moves into various forms once possession is gained.  

The aim throughout pre-season has been to get Laird as high as possible, switching with Miyoshi in terms of who stays wide and who comes central. However, Reading’s press made things difficult here so we moved towards something of a standard 4-2-3-1.  

What Reading did was lined up 4-3-3 out of possession. They were brave, stepped up high, went man-for-man at the back and two lines of three between our defence and midfield, often making it difficult for us to play into the centre, which is what we wanted to do. 

The team had to be brave to do so but often the only options were the switch from one side to the other, the quality often missing, or out to the full-back. It’s why Laird and Cochrane tended to take up more natural full-back positions in possession, giving them the chance to step forward and attempt to drag Reading out of their central positions with wide central midfielders having to sprint out to support their full-back and the front three dropping in on the midfield.  

Blues should have made the most of it having often found a way out of the initial press but failing to get things moving in the final third. Miyoshi and Dembele lost their battles while May and Willumson couldn’t get into the game. Laird was the primary outlet but his decision making was hugely frustrating, running the ball out of play or failing to make the pass several times. There was also a sense that Blues were a little cautious in making forward runs because of how Reading had opened us up early on. 

And Reading were excellent at doing that. Once they won possession they got bodies forward. The defence and midfield would win the ball and immediately play forward and through the middle, exploiting gaps left by Blues after we lost the ball in a poor position. Smith was key, regularly dragging a marker with him and popping the ball to a team-mate, or opening the space behind him, which is where the goal came from. Sanderson and Laird didn’t react sharp enough at times or found themselves overloaded with Ehibhatiomhan moving more centrally and Knibbs overlapping down that side.  

Because Reading were direct on the occasions they received the ball in defensive areas, Blues’ attempt to press didn’t really go as planned either. There were few risks taken and with the size and power of Ehibhatiomhan down the left, they always had an out – he’s not great in the air but even trying to win a header against somebody of that size is awkward and allowed Reading to prepare for the second, something they did well with so many physically adept youngsters.  

Blues pressed as they had all pre-season, going 3v3 with the backline depending on which side the ball was on with the other wide man supporting Paik and Leonard. The full-back would be aware of the switch which meant the defence would sit 3v3 against the Reading attack, something that didn’t always work out to plan, especially with space to exploit in behind.  

Ultimately, the game came down to key individual battles and Reading won too many of the decisive ones.  

Reading sat in their shape more as the game wore on which allowed Blues to step on as they wanted to. That meant Laird taking up a much higher position and Sanderson and Cochrane stepping into more advanced wide centre-back roles. It allowed Cochrane to make more forward runs inside of Hansson, perhaps owing to changes down that side for Reading. Reading became more isolated when they attempted to attack, giving Blues to chance to swarm the sole man in possession and recycle the ball. The quality of delivery was missing.  

It did lead to the equaliser, however, with Blues finally getting the forward pass right and Hansson running in behind Michael Craig. The delivery was poor but fortunately handled.  

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Players 

Four players stood out to me as guys that need to step up. 

Laird needs to step up. He’s too good not to. Poor decision making in the final third, taking too long to find a pass and picking the wrong one, or failing to deliver the right quality. And then he’s caught napping for the goal. Sanderson needs to do more as well if he wants to retain his place – step up, be brave, push Laird on, win your battles.

Miyoshi and Dembele weren’t at it. They looked worried by the physical battle rather than doing what they do best. They have to be better at retaining the ball and making the right decisions. We can probably expect it to happen for the former but the latter has a fight for his place on his hands. 

I’m loathe to go at Willumson, who is still growing into his role. He should have taken his two opportunities with more conviction. May was given nothing to work. Paik and Leonard were tidy in their work with the latter exuding a class in possession that suggests we’ve got a real bargain. Bielik has work to do but showed at times why he’s been given the captain’s armband. The quality of his forward passes needs refining. Cochrane was sound on the left. Peacock-Farrell's two-footedness impressed me. 

Of the subs, I thought Hansson held his position better but the quality of delivery was really poor. Harris is a let’s wait and see. Anderson was really bright and did plenty add tempo to our play. Jutkiewicz and Khela didn’t get enough time to influence things.  

I’ve spoken highly of Reading and it’s only right I pick out a couple of players for them. The centre-backs Bindon and Mbengue seemed to win their duels for much of the day, the latter’s speed on the cover important in helping them stop Blues breaking. I was legitimately consider a bid for Ben Elliott who I thought was superb, snapping away, holding his position, always looking forward. An excellent display. And Ehibhatiomhan (I’m just calling him Kelvin next time) and Knibbs were also brilliant down the left.  

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Conclusions  

The flames. The smoke. The big rendition of Keep Right On. Football is back. And so are Blues to disappoint us.  

I know there’s a lot of expectation on this season and a lot of people have gotten carried away, both thanks to pre-season and just the general feel around the club. We expect to win the league, we expect to dominate most weeks and we expect to win our home matches.  

As I wrote in my season preview, this was always going to take time. These early games are going to be tough. We may have had a pre-season together but there’s no magical switch that Tom Wagner and Chris Davies can press to completely change the culture of our football team. We have to grow into it. Grow into the new style, grow into the composure required, grow into becoming a side that doesn’t feel the nerves both on the pitch and in the stands. It will take time.  

And here is the thing. We had over 73% of the ball, had more shots, a better xG (even without the penalty), attempted more dribbles, more won aerial duels, played two-thirds of our passes forward and around the same from our mid and final third. The basic style of play is already there and we will create chances. What we lacked was conviction, quality and composure at times. Davies needs to implement small tweaks rather than overhauling what we’ve just seen.  

And as saw in the final half hour, Reading were knackered. They had to put everything into that opening 60 and eventually, they had to retreat which allowed us to be as dominant as we want to be. When we start making better decisions with the ball and iron out some small details defensively, we will be dominant from earlier in the game and pen sides in.  

It’s all about details and belief now. The first five games are winnable on paper with Wycombe Wanderers, Leyton Orient, Wigan Athletic and Exeter City to come up next but each has a manager that has been in charge for a good portion of time and teams that know what they’re gameplans are. We have to ride those challenges and pick up points, learning with each game. 

Then comes Wrexham, Rotherham United, Peterborough United, Huddersfield Town and Charlton Athletic in what will be unquestionably our toughest run of games for the season. Again, it’s about getting through them, learning how to play this way against the best sides in the division, taking the positives and moving forward.  

The expectation will have always been for Davies and the players to learn as much about each other over these first ten games. To build belief, build composure, build the robotic patterns of play and learn how to adapt within games. Get through those first ten in a good position and after the October international break, we can look to motor forward as a unit. It may take longer. It may arrive sooner than anticipated.  

My point is, let’s not overreact just yet. Let’s get behind the team, take the rough with the smooth and we will get there together. 

KRO.