Match Report: Blues 1-0 Preston North End
A big work ethic, a big slice of luck and a big three points as the Gary Rowett mini-era truly gets underway.
Birmingham City saw off play-off chasing Preston North End to end a seven-match winless run thanks to Jay Stansfield’s second half finish.
With relegation a serious threat and UB40 in town for a St.Andrews gig, it was important the club picked up an important three points. Fortunately, Stansfield, who had scored One in Ten, made the most of an untimely slip to take his side to Higher Ground and get fans Groovin.
Rowett made two changes from the side that crumbled against Queens Park Rangers on Good Friday, Tyler Roberts and Cody Drameh making way for Jordan James and Koji Miyoshi. It meant a change of shape from 3-4-3 to 4-1-4-1 – more My Way Of Thinking.
The hosts started the stronger but it took 10 minutes for a notable effort at goal, Juninho Bacuna curling over the bar. Miyoshi and Paik Seung-Ho then combined to find the Curacao man but his first-time effort was saved before James fired just wide of the far post from 25 yards.
Chances were few and far between with defences on top. It took Preston around half an hour to cause problems and they ought to have made it count when they did, some lovely play down the right ending with Mads Frokjaer-Jensen misplacing the final pass when Robbie Brady was free to his left – the Irishman certainly let him know of his displeasure.
Duane Holmes then found Noah Mawene free only for the teenager to miskick and Brady beat both Ethan Laird and Emmanuel Aiwu before teeing up a team-mate for a tap-in. Fortunately, Lee Buchanan was on hand to slide in.
That woke Blues up. Paik responded immediately, driving into space and starting a move that led to a blocked Bacuna strike and a Miyoshi volley that well held by Freddie Woodman. Lee Buchanan hit the post from 25 yards with a low drive while John Ruddy had to be alert at the other end when Brady cut inside to shoot.
The second half was a non-event for the most part, both sides solid in their shape but lacking the quality and physicality to really cause problems for either backline. The game needed a moment of brilliance, a set-piece or an error to decide it and when it came, it was the latter.
Miyoshi showed composure where there was little on the right, playing a pass that just evaded the outstretched boot of Andrew Hughes and found the right foot of Jay Stansfield. As the England U21 international controlled, Liam Lindsay slipped. All of a sudden, Stansfield was in on goal. He checked behind him and checked again. Knowing he was one-on-one, he took a couple of little touches to his right and slotted past Woodman into the bottom corner.
It almost got better when a set-piece was half cleared, allowing Dozzell to push the ball back into the box. Paik was free, his control excellent but Woodman able to close his legs just in time.
From there, it was all about keeping organised, staying in shape and denying Preston an opportunity. Nerves were jangling, fans left thinking what If It Happens Again? Don’t Break My Heart.
Bacuna worked his socks off on the left, squaring up to the ever-lively Liam Millar. He beat him once but a wicked cross was well handled by Ruddy. Moving the other flank, the winger then blazed over after his initial attempt was blocked by a flurry of bodies.
With the clock ticking down, Gary Gardner burst from midfield to chase a long ball and keep the pressure on Preston. A poor clearance allowed the midfielder the chance to lob Woodman only to see the effort bounce just the wrong side of the post.
It didn’t matter. Blues had held on for their first three points since mid-February and the celebratory Red, Red Wine tasted all the better for it.
Lineups
Blues: Ruddy; Laird Aiwu Sanderson Buchanan; Bielik; Miyoshi (Anderson 81) Paik (Sunjic 92) JJ (Dozzell 53) Bacuna (Gardner 92); Stansfield (Hogan 81). Unused: Etheridge; Drameh Dembele Roberts.
PNE: Woodman; Whatmough Lindsay Hughes; Holmes (Seary 92) Mawene (Woodburn 63) McCann Brady; MFJ (Millar 63); Keane (Stewart 74) Riis (Osmajic 74). Unused: Cornell; Storey Cunningham Best.
Tactics
It was something of a surprise to see Blues line up 3-4-3 on Friday but with Rowett clear in what he wants from this group, the expectation was that this is what we would have to get used to. It made for interesting discussion when the line up saw our LWB and LW dropped for a CM and RW.
Alas, Blues had shifted to 4-1-4-1 with everybody in pretty natural positions. Bielik at the base of midfield, Stansfield alone up, Miyoshi and Bacuna flanking Paik and James.
Blues had a clear idea of how they wanted to move the ball. The back four were in pretty normal positions with Bielik just in front, the five of them tasked with keeping the ball and making the right forward pass. Bielik regularly dropped between the centre-backs with Preston happy for him to receive the ball in front of them.
Laird and Buchanan often received possession but the other options with the first pass included Paik and James, who took up wide central berths either side of Mawene and McCann, taking them out of their position and allowing Paik and James the ability to step infield once in possession. It helped the Miyoshi and Paik were fluid, which caused problems for Mawene. What the receiving in those roles enabled Blues to do was play and quickly spread the ball to the other flank, where two or three bodies would be waiting to play.
The link up between Miyoshi and Paik was notable. Miyoshi drifting infield meant Mawene marking two men and Preston didn’t really latch on, especially with Brady picking up Laird. It left Hughes caught inbetween and Blues often had a spare man on the right.
Blues weren’t all forward passes across the ground. The backline took few chances and went long when necessary, but almost always straight, happy to let Preston win the first ball but knowing they had numbers to win the seconds and play. Bielik was excellent with this, sat just behind his midfield and ready to close at every opportunity.
Preston didn’t offer too much without the ball, in truth. Keane, MFJ and Riis were happy to sit off and stop the central pass, but didn’t put pressure on Bielik when he dropped deeper, or the centre-backs, which allowed them to play out. One would close Buchanan when he received it, but Laird was free.
With the ball, they again offered little. Lindsay and Whatmough took few chances under pressure and were happy to play long in a bid to turn Blues, something the Blues defence often dealt well with.
It felt like the plan was to win possession down the right and get the switch out left to Brady, or occasionally MFJ. That gave them the chance to play into the area where the two strikers would quickly occupy the back post, one would sit on the edge and the RWB would be nearby. Bodies in the area. It worked on a couple of occasions, but Preston lacked the quality and consistency in their play to make it a regular thing.
It helped that Blues generally got the off-ball stuff right and showed an intensity that Preston lacked. Miyoshi joined Stansfield in closing the back three with Bacuna up against Holmes, almost creating a back five with Laird vs Brady on the other flank. That freed Buchanan up to support the centre-backs and Bielik in dealing with the front three, while James and Paik stepped onto the CM’s.
Beyond that, it was basic stuff. Keep it tight, narrow, back your mate up and when you win it, try and play. Players didn’t have to cover big gaps so were less prone to being caught out.
Subs:
- Holmes moved into CM with Millar going RWB.
- Dozzell initially went like-for-like with James but dropped in alongside Bielik more as the game went on, with Preston going more 3-1-4-2 than 3-4-1-2. Bacuna tasked himself with Millar, freeing Buchanan to be at the front post.
- Dozzell moved to LW for the final few minutes with Gardner and Sunjic in CM.
Players
I’m torn on my Man of the Match. Juninho Bacuna was at his brilliant, mercurial best again and probably edges it, especially given how much work he put in to keep tabs with Duane Holmes and Liam Millar.
But Paik Seung-Ho was superb in the centre of midfield, always looking a step ahead of his marker and playing some excellent stuff. Krystian Bielik was an absolute Rolls Royce, dominating the game. And Lee Buchanan is showing himself to be a real leader despite his age. He doesn’t give anything up and has made some crucial interventions.
Elsewhere, Koji Miyoshi had an excellent game in off the right and it almost feels like Rowett gave him license to simply do what he does. His partner down the right, Ethan Laird, was pretty solid up against Robbie Brady. And Dion Sanderson won everything in defence – a big display from the man with the armband.
Emmanuel Aiwu had a couple of difficult moments early on. Sometimes, he just needs to slow down in his actions. I actually wonder whether his tackle on Will Keane could have been given as a penalty.
And finally, a word on Jay Stansfield. He has been given scraps to work with lately. Spent a lot of him time chasing lost causes and being battered by centre-halves. But you can never fault his work ethic. He’s run himself into the ground. And when his moment arrived, he showed real composure to take it. Delighted for him.
For Preston, they weren’t at their best. Robbie Brady was the clear outlet and had a couple of moments. Liam Lindsay, but for the slip, was solid. Andrew Hughes similar. Liam Millar was lively off the bench.
Conclusions
That was more like it.
It was one of those days where you could tell the players had given everything and they just needed a bit of luck to get over the line. A potential penalty against Aiwu on Keane (I have seen it back but it didn’t look great) waived away, a poor decision made after we were opened up and a huge slip giving us the opportunity to score the only goal of the game. Take it and run.
We earned that luck. We were the better side over the 90, playing with an energy, organisation and quality that regularly got us into the final third. To the credit of Preston, they defended their area well. We just needed that big moment and fortunately Stansfield took it.
It doesn’t undo all the damage that has led to serious questioning of the bottle and leadership in this group. But it’s a step in the right direction.
Our combined record under Eustace, Mowbray and Rowett, three clear leaders on the touchline, now reads 19 matches, 9 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats.
It suggests that this is a young group are still finding their way as a unit and need clarity, leadership and those other traits to come from elsewhere. They can largely follow clear instructions but aren’t ready to lead themselves. Which is okay to acknowledge. Our entire XI was aged between 19 and 27 until the arrival of Scott Hogan and Keshi Anderson. When that leadership and clarity was missing, the players suffered.
Of course, the above only checks out if we step up again over these next six matches.
In those 19 matches, we’ve conceded 20 and scored 24. Despite our concerns about the defensive structure of the team, they’ve generally held up there end of the bargain. It’s at the other end we’re having serious problems, barely scoring more than once per 90. Whether it’s a lack of ruthlessness, poor decisions, flaky personnel, imbalance, lack of physical prowess, we have struggled to score goals.
It’s why the clean sheet was so important and why we have to keep more. If we are going to survive, that defensive shape will be huge.
Leicester away next week is a game where you probably take the point if it’s on offer. Beyond that, it’s home games vs Cardiff and Coventry then trips to Rotherham and Huddersfield. Season defining.
Two down. Six to go. We’re not done yet.