Alex Dicken lists his views on Birmingham City’s 0-0 draw against Queens Park Rangers
Birmingham City endured another 90 frustrating minutes in front of goal as they were held to a goalless draw against Queens Park Rangers on Friday night.
Scott Hogan missed a golden opportunity in the second half at St Andrew’s as the Blues’ winless run extended to four league matches.
The Blues’ excellent start to the season has been dampened by a grueling six days in which they have picked up just one point from a possible nine.
The Blues now have 8 days to rest and recover for the next match against Norwich City – the team currently in top form in the Championship.
The frustrations of last week must now be released.
Here are our results from the draw with QPR at St Andrew’s…
Here we go again.
This has been the theme of recent weeks.
The Blues created many opportunities but could not take advantage of them, the draw against QPR was no different.
While none of the Blues’ chances in the first half were clear cut, there was certainly a Hogan chance just before the hour mark.
It’s an opportunity that a confident striker will take advantage of.
Jay Stansfield probably would have.
It was a similar story against Preston, where the Blues dominated the ball and took many shots without getting past their opponents.
Hogan missed an equally big chance before Watford’s late kick-off at Vicarage Road last weekend.
The Blues must start scoring when they are ahead in games.
Too often, the Blues lack the ruthlessness that some of their Championship opponents possess and pay the price for it.
This week should have yielded at least seven points, but the Blues have one.
Stansfield comes out on top, anyone?
Stansfield was moved down to number 10 to accommodate Hogan’s return to the team.
While the on-loan Fulham striker continued his own run of good form, it’s hard to say the Blues were better off by his change of position following his replacement’s costly miss.
We saw how effective Stansfield can be when deployed as a striker against Preston.
Eustace himself has said that Stansfield’s long-term future could look like a real number nine.
The need for Stansfield to play central striker will only increase.
By playing Stansfield up front, Eustace can put another of his strikers in the third line behind him – and put the club’s most dangerous finisher into more scoring positions.
The Blues were QPR’s attackers, but they had to rely on John Ruddy more than Eustace would have liked.
The goalkeeper made a superb double save from Sam Field early in the second half before denying Lyndon Dykes late in the half with a save that QPR manager Gareth Ainsworth said was Gordon Banks’ style.
It was the performance Ruddy needed after some criticism regarding his recent performances.
Ruddy was disappointed with Preston’s winning goal on Tuesday and he was unable to boast about Kevin Nisbet’s free-kick in the draw with Millwall before the international break.
Eustace commented: “John is a very good and experienced goalkeeper.
“He will definitely be disappointed with a few goals this season, that’s for sure, but tonight he showed his class and that’s what the best goalkeepers do.
Keshi Anderson’s injury is worrying.
The winger came off the field just before half-time and had to be replaced.
After the match, it was confirmed that Anderson had suffered a hamstring injury.
He will join paralyzed colleagues Ethan Laird and George Hall on the sidelines.
Fortunately for the Blues, Siriki Dembele has recovered from his hamstring injury and will be the clear candidate to replace Anderson in the starting line-up against Norwich.
Unfortunately for the Blues, hamstring injuries keep happening.
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