Blues 2-1 Huddersfield Town

 

A huge morale boost for Birmingham City fans, players and management with the first home game of John Eustace's reign ending in a hard-fought victory having played some excellent stuff.

The XI:

Completely unchanged.

Ruddy; Sanderson Roberts Trusty; Colin James Woods Bacuna Placheta; Deeney Hogan.

The game:

Not a game flush with clear chances but both sides knew what they wanted to do in possession and both created good opportunities. 

I felt we were the better side in the first half and we scored quickly, Hogan heading home Bacuna's wicked delivery a moment after Placheta was denied on the line.  Ruffels had Hudds' best chance, forcing a solid save from Ruddy. Blues doubled the lead just before the end of the half, Colin sending Hogan away whose cross found James then Placheta. 

Hudds started the second half the better side. Thomas ought to have scored then his cross was tipped over. The visitors did get their goal just after the hour with an excellent move that ended with Thomas finding Ward. Blues rode their luck a little as Anjorin showcased his talent. We did see the game out and almost secured the win at the end when Bacuna ran 50 yards before being denied. 

Tactics:

So, Huddersfield lined up in a fluid system. 

In possession it was 3-4-3. Hogg stepped between the centre backs, Russell and Anjorin dropped deep to show, Thomas and Rudoni stepped inside against Blues' back three & the full backs pushed on to provide width. The aim was for Hogg to thread passes through the lines to the front three, take hold of the ball and play from there with somebody else moving in behind. 

To combat this, Blues stayed tight centrally. The strikers dropped off and let Hogg have the ball. The midfield three were very much a three, lined together, narrow in shape hoping to force the ball wide. The back three worked as a unit, one stepping in with the forward, the others following the run while the WB's dropped in. If we could nick the forced ball through the lines, we had bodies ready to break in central areas and Hogan ready to dart behind the Hudds defence. 

Defensively, Hudds were more 4-4-2. Anjorin stepped up alongside Ward, happy to sit off the Blues defence and force the ball wide. Rudoni and Thomas shifted inside, denying Blues space in central areas. 

However, Blues were happy with this. The idea in possession was to move the ball to Sanderson or Trusty, who would work it to Colin or Placheta, who would then work with Bacuna or James, flank depending. Hudds didn't switch on to the CM runs into the channel early doors which is where Blues had so much joy, particularly down the right. We were able to force Lees to close down Bacuna, vacating the box where we could create an overload - Deeney, Hogan and Placheta v REG and Turton. Eventually, Ruffels & Rudoni switched onto the movement and started denying Bacuna space to drive into the channel. 

Hudds were bolder second half which is how they got their joy. Anjorin played higher up. Thomas and Rudoni played as more orthodox wingers, getting into the spaces between wide CB and WB and stretching us. There was also a theme of patience, Hogg happy to wait until the final moment to make the pass after a Blues striker had move, enabling the triangle to play round Blues and step forward. It's how the goal came about, playing the triangle then beating the challenge in midfield which left space for Anjorin and Thomas to set up Ward.

As the game wore on, Blues shifted shape. Bacuna initially joined the front two with James dropping in but that didn't work, perhaps owing to tired legs. Graham replaced Deeney and it became a 5-4-1, Bacuna and Graham supporting the CM's in blocking the space with Hogan, then Juke, working alone up top. It worked. We frustrated Hudds, blocked the space and in James, Juke and Bacuna, we had a route up field. 

The players:

Juninho Bacuna. His decision making is erratic and he can switch off but we've had him since January and he's comfortably the most talented footballer we have since Jude Bellingham's departure (no, I'm not comparing him). His work rate has been exceptional since he turned up at the club too.

Jordan James had another excellent game in midfield. He looks to have bulked up and looks after the ball so well. Colin linked up well down the right. The defensive unit was again strong, albeit I do have concerns with Sanderson & Trusty switching off to runs in behind. 

For Hudds, Jonathan Hogg and Sorba Thomas stood out. The former a strong distributor, the latter a real unit these days and showed a lovely weight of pass for the goal. Now to work on his finishing... 

Anjorin and Rudoni showed glimpses. Pearson clearly a loss when it comes to dealing with physical strikers such as Deeney & Juke. 

Anything else:

Great to see a decent atmosphere despite the ongoing stadium issues, helped by the kids for a quid initiative and 15 pound tickets. 

Notable how often Eustace was caught smiling tonight. Laughed with Bacuna when he made an error. Big kiss on the head of Placheta when he came off. Laughing with Downing on the side. Kind of attitude needed for the players to bounce off. Early days and no pressure at the moment, of course.

Conclusions:

It's clear that Eustace and his team are good coaches. They arrived later in pre-season and yet you can see exactly what they want every player to do, which speaks volumes to the work done on the training pitch and the environment they've fostered. 

He needs help. We only had Gardner and Bielik missing tonight in terms of first-teamers (there is Hall and Gordon but neither are established) and yet we look short on numbers. We don't have the options to freshen up the XI, make key tactical substitutions or ensure there is competition for places. We need another 3/4 bodies in the building.

I'm absolutely delighted with the win tonight but Hudds are in a state of flux, clearly weaker than they were last season. We can't pretend that this is a win that means we are clearly ready to take on the rest of the division, no matter how important it was for the morale of everybody associated with the club. Tougher challenges lie ahead and Eustace needs a stronger squad to ensure we're prepared for them.