Ricardo's report v Birmingham

[ricardo 7,395]

It was good to finally get back to Carrow Road after a rather long layoff due to illness. I didn't have to get the bike out either as we got a lift there and back with my grandaughters husband so it all worked out well on what was a pleasantly mild February evening. With the injury situation up front it was no surprise to see Idah having to plough a lone furrow while at the back Gibson returned in place of Omobamidelle who seems to have had a bit of a mare at Wigan on Saturday.

City got on the front foot early doors and never really relinquished the upper hand for the entire first half. Dowell almost got Idah away in the first minute with a cute pass through the middle and a couple of minutes later the same player almost tricked his way through to goal only to be foiled at last gasp by a possee of defenders. It was promising stuff with the home side so busy in midfield that the visitors found it difficult to hold possession for long.

Idah was showing a lot of energy in his game and although he got caught offside a couple of times you could see he was a handful for the Birmingham back line. Just before the quarter hour he played a neat ball back to Nunez who struck a first time low shot a foot wide of Ruddy's right post. With very little coming back the other way apart from the odd set piece it seemed only a matter of time before we scored. Nunez was here there and everywhere, keeping the ball on the move and it was fitting that he should be the one to break the stalemate. Birmingham had huffed and puffed to get the ball away after a period of sustained City pressure and when a clearance dropped out of the sky onto the little Chilean's boot I was expecting the volley to finish high up in the stands. He may never hit one as well as this again but it is one that will be replayed many times over the coming years, much like Safri's goal against Newcastle or Justin's strike against Liverpool back in the day. It simply ripped into the net before anyone could move.

You could see the confidence rise as the home side kept the visitors at full stretch and it was no surpise when they doubled the lead ten minutes later. Kenny's teasing cross in from the City left put the defence in two minds and with everyone else seemingly static it was Nunez on the move again to guide the ball past the helpless Ruddy from about 6 yards. It almost got better just before halftime when City broke from midfield with Sara putting Idah away through the centre. He outpaced the defender but John Ruddy  was quickly off his line and got enough on the ball to turn it just wide of the post.

It was a very satisfactory half and certainly one to reignite playoff hopes if they could maintain this sort of form. However as we know to our cost this has been a season of contrasting halves and so it proved to be once again as City found it difficult to click back into gear as the second period began.

It all got a bit scrappy with the home side suddenly unable to find the accuracy of pass that they had shown earlier. I still didn't feel that Birmingham had much about them but they scored early out of not much at all. City couldn't get a nothing cross away and paid the penalty as the visitors right back cracked a low shot from the edge of the box just inside Gunn's right post. The next ten minutes was a bit hairy but Gunn fielded a Hogan header on the line then the ref allowed play to continue after a foul on a City player and a low hard cross was almost turned in at the far post. Ref Gillett then got quite a bit of deserved stick from both crowd and City defenders.

Kenny should have restored the advantage mid way though the half when Idah's nod on put him in the clear and although he poked the ball past Ruddy, a defender managed to hook it off the line. Sorensen and Tzolis came on for Gianoullis and Hernandez as Wagner freshened things up as the home side began to look a bit more comfortable. A couple of sweeping breaks nearly brought a third goal as Birminham were forced to commit more forward and only a narrow offside call prevented Nunez and then Idah from wrapping things up but the wrap up did finally come as we entered time added.Tzolis went clear on the left and neatly stepped inside two defenders before administering the Coup de Grace with a shot that flew past Ruddy into the far top corner and settling things for those of a nervous disposition.

Nunez my MOM. Honourable mentions for Dowell and Adam Idah who were busy up front and Max Aarons who seldom put a foot wrong at the back. Nice to see Tzolis get on the scoreboard, it should do his confidence the world of good.

Its good to be back.

 

 

[Mello Yello 2,298]

3 minutes ago, ricardo said:

It was good to finally get back to Carrow Road after a rather long layoff due to illness. I didn't have to get the bike out either as we got a lift there and back with my grandaughters husband so it all worked out well on what was a pleasantly mild February evening. With the injury situation up front it was no surprise to see Idah having to plough a lone furrow while at the back Gibson returned in place of Omobamidelle who seems to have had a bit of a mare at Wigan on Saturday.

City got on the front foot early doors and never really relinquished the upper hand for the entire first half. Dowell almost got Idah away in the first minute with a cute pass through the middle and a couple of minutes later the same player almost tricked his way through to goal only to be foiled at last gasp by a possee of defenders. It was promising stuff with the home side so busy in midfield that the visitors found it difficult to hold possession for long.

Idah was showing a lot of energy in his game and although he got caught offside a couple of times you could see he was a handful for the Birmingham back line. Just before the quarter hour he played a neat ball back to Nunez who struck a first time low shot a foot wide of Ruddy's right post. With very little coming back the other way apart from the odd set piece it seemed only a matter of time before we scored. Nunez was here there and everywhere, keeping the ball on the move and it was fitting that he should be the one to break the stalemate. Birmingham had huffed and puffed to get the ball away after a period of sustained City pressure and when a clearance dropped out of the sky onto the little Chilean's boot I was expecting the volley to finish high up in the stands. He may never hit one as well as this again but it is one that will be replayed many times over the coming years, much like Safri's goal against Newcastle or Justin's strike against Liverpool back in the day. It simply ripped into the net before anyone could move.

You could see the confidence rise as the home side kept the visitors at full stretch and it was no surpise when they doubled the lead ten minutes later. Kenny's teasing cross in from the City left put the defence in two minds and with everyone else seemingly static it was Nunez on the move again to guide the ball past the helpless Ruddy from about 6 yards. It almost got better just before halftime when City broke from midfield with Sara putting Idah away through the centre. He outpaced the defender but John Ruddy  was quickly off his line and got enough on the ball to turn it just wide of the post.

It was a very satisfactory half and certainly one to reignite playoff hopes if they could maintain this sort of form. However as we know to our cost this has been a season of contrasting halves and so it proved to be once again as City found it difficult to click back into gear as the second period began.

It all got a bit scrappy with the home side suddenly unable to find the accuracy of pass that they had shown earlier. I still didn't feel that Birmingham had much about them but they scored early out of not much at all. City couldn't get a nothing cross away and paid the penalty as the visitors right back cracked a low shot from the edge of the box just inside Gunn's right post. The next ten minutes was a bit hairy but Gunn fielded a Hogan header on the line then the ref allowed play to continue after a foul on a City player and a low hard cross was almost turned in at the far post. Ref Gillett then got quite a bit of deserved stick from both crowd and City defenders.

Kenny should have restored the advantage mid way though the half when Idah's nod on put him in the clear and although he poked the ball past Ruddy, a defender managed to hook it off the line. Sorensen and Tzolis came on for Gianoullis and Hernandez as Wagner freshened things up as the home side began to look a bit more comfortable. A couple of sweeping breaks nearly brought a third goal as Birminham were forced to commit more forward and only a narrow offside call prevented Nunez and then Idah from wrapping things up but the wrap up did finally come as we entered time added.Tzolis went clear on the left and neatly stepped inside two defenders before administering the Coup de Grace with a shot that flew past Ruddy into the far top corner and settling things for those of a nervous disposition.

Nunez my MOM. Honourable mentions for Dowell and Adam Idah who were busy up front and Max Aarons who seldom put a foot wrong at the back. Nice to see Tzolis get on the scoreboard, it should do his confidence the world of good.

Its good to be back.

 

 

It's good to have you back.... 

[taipei_canary 12]

Fantastic summary, with the time zones there was no chance I could watch this but your summaries are a brilliant substitute.

[Canary Jedi 586]

Glad you’re up and running Ricardo. Welcome back 😊

Thanks for the report.

Positive signs. Idah seems to be improving under Wagner. It’s not only about goals, though a goal would really help his confidence 🇮🇪 

[Pyro Pete 1,909]

Enjoyable match report, as ever. Cheers, ricardo.

[Helsinki canary 242]

Thanks Ric, great to have you back. I would also give honorable mentions to Sara and Mclean especially their first half performances were top notch, Sara is really beginning to grow into the role always look forward! 

[raunds canary 217]

Have missed your reports. Great to have you back matey

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,425]

Nice to have you back Ricardo.

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,227]

Excellent summary Ricardo. 

Buon rientro!…💫👋

Parma 

[Badger 2,407]

Thanks Ricardo - great report as ever! I'm glad that you have recovered from illness. 👍

[Mark .Y. 352]

Thanks Ricardo, good to have you back 👍

[Robert N. LiM 4,458]

brilliant report. Great you were feeling well enough to be back. Cheers, @ricardo

[sonyc 5,541]

You'll miss it when it's gone - that's the saying. How true and so is the opposite! Welcome back Ricardo and I enjoyed that neat summary as usual. I was driving back on Saturday thinking what report I might write (as a northern correspondent) channelling my inner Ricardo! I decided of course not to as it wouldn't have been so  good. 

On the match, I felt everyone had gone up a notch from Wigan (really a struggle there to give anyone much more than a 5 or 6 out of 10 except for Gunn). Gibson was an assured returner and played well (and I'm not a big fan) and Birmingham looked a typical relegation team to my eyes (would be really worried if I was a Brum fan).

Nunez will have gained a lot from that double. That's 3 really good finishes from him this season - all different in style. Maybe playing him higher on the pitch will pay off. Exciting. Likewise, interesting to hear from Wagner after who praised Tzolis (he is a natural finisher in training and DW has a plan for him). Can only be good for us. He also praised Idah, getting his goal aside, was a handful all evening. That some folk always want a scapegoat is annoying but that's what some football fans are like.

Looking forward to Cardiff🙂

Edited February 22, 2023 by sonyc

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,227]

The only thing I would add is that - trotsdem Nunez - Hannibal Mejbri was the best player on the pitch (by some distance). 

I would definitely be making a phone call about him…

Parma 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Parma Ham's gone mouldy

[ricardo 7,395]

9 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

The only thing I would add is that - trotsdem Nunez - Hannibal Mejbri was the best player on the pitch (by some distance). 

I would definitely be making a phone call about him…

Parma 

Yes, he was busy all night and certainly looked a class above.

With Nunez I thought it was very noticeable that he was getting into much more advanced positions than he was earlier in the season. I think it suits him better and makes us look a bit sharper up front. A good call by Wagner.

[dylanisabaddog 4,965]

18 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

The only thing I would add is that - trotsdem Nunez - Hannibal Mejbri was the best player on the pitch (by some distance). 

I would definitely be making a phone call about him…

Parma 

On loan from Manchester United. It's worth looking at this clip if you can cope with the advert first. 

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12807857/hannibal-mejbri-man-utd-loanees-audacious-free-kick-for-birmingham-hes-caught-him-out

Welcome back @ricardo

[king canary 7,651]

1 hour ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

The only thing I would add is that - trotsdem Nunez - Hannibal Mejbri was the best player on the pitch (by some distance). 

I would definitely be making a phone call about him…

Parma 

Felt a touch sorry for him as he seemed to be engaged in a one man press all game while Scott Hogan just stood around. 

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,227]

1 hour ago, dylanisabaddog said:

On loan from Manchester United. It's worth looking at this clip if you can cope with the advert first. 

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12807857/hannibal-mejbri-man-utd-loanees-audacious-free-kick-for-birmingham-hes-caught-him-out

Welcome back @ricardo

Indeed 💫👍🏽

Parma 

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,227]

4 hours ago, king canary said:

Felt a touch sorry for him as he seemed to be engaged in a one man press all game while Scott Hogan just stood around. 

I felt something similar. I thought that if he looks this good with literally nothing worthwhile around him, how good could he be playing with good players?

Looked wiry-strong, dynamic, fit-to-the-end, spatially aware, clever, offered options throughout…

…as good a player as I have seen for a while. Really liked him.

Parma 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Parma Ham's gone mouldy

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Had the fans either side of your seat forgotten you Ricardo?

[ron obvious 1,514]

Excellent stuff as ever ricardo. Great to have you back!

[ricardo 7,395]

4 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

Had the fans either side of your seat forgotten you Ricardo?

No mate, one side is a gangway and the other side seems to be shared by a family so often four or five different faces.

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

2 hours ago, ricardo said:

No mate, one side is a gangway and the other side seems to be shared by a family so often four or five different faces.

Quick escape for a jimmy riddle then.

[ricardo 7,395]

12 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

Quick escape for a jimmy riddle then.

Method in my madness👍

[Mengo 825]

5 hours ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

The only thing I would add is that - trotsdem Nunez - Hannibal Mejbri was the best player on the pitch (by some distance). 

I would definitely be making a phone call about him…

Parma 

He is certainly a class player and I would hazard a guess on the radar of many big clubs. 

 

On 11 August 2019, Premier League club Manchester United announced on their website that they had reached an agreement with Monaco to sign Mejbri, with the youngster reportedly refusing to move to other English clubs. The fee paid by the Manchester club was believed to be around €5m, possibly rising to €10m in add-ons.