Reds 0-3 Birmingham City

Last updated : 01 December 2013 By Alastair Limb (tykesmad)

No passion, no drive, no hope, no creativity, no manager.

The Reds capitulated to a 3-0 home defeat to fellow strugglers Birmingham City in a game which cost manager David Flitcroft his job. Incredible to think after last season's exploits.

He made two changes to the side that lost at Millwall last week, with Stephen Dawson returning to the starting eleven and a second debut for striker Marcus Tudgay, who in his last two starts for Barnsley, has seen the manager dismissed shortly after the game.

Right from the off, the Reds looked clueless and not up for the fight. This was a game which was played out by two very poor sides, and it was just two defensive errors and a dubious penalty that saw the away side race into a three goal lead before half time.

One moment of hope for Barnsley in the first half came in the form of a right wing cross from Scott Wiseman after some lovely build up work, which was well headed away by a blue defender.

On 13 minutes, Birmingham took the lead. Jean Yves M'Voto tried to play football, which resulted in him giving the ball away to Paul Caddis, who ghosted past Paddy McCourt far too easily before unleashing a 25-yard effort which left ex-Blues keeper Jack Butland with no chance.

Then came the moment of real controversy in the game. A right wing corner from Birmingham wasn't cleared and giant striker Nikola Zigic, with his back to goal, threw himself to the floor under pressure from M'Voto. Incredibly, the referee pointed to the spot, obviously conned by the Serbian's eccentric arm-flailing fall. Caddis made no mistake from the spot, sending Butland the wrong way.

The Reds fans then began to turn on the management, chanting "We Want Cywka" in protest to Flitcroft's unwillingness to give the little Pole a decent run in the side.

Birmingham soon made it three. Caddis' ball forward should have been a regulation clearance for Jim O'Brien, but instead of finding Row Z, he attempted an audacious backpass which went horribly wrong and presented a one-on-one for Zigic who chipped over the onrushing Butland.

Flitcroft made two changes at half time, replacing David Perkins and O'Brien with Jacob Mellis and Tomasz Cywka, giving the fans their wish to see the Polish winger get more than his usual four minutes at the end of the match.

And to be fair to Cywka, he got things moving in the second half. He looked dangerous on the left and Mellis also provided something different to Perkins, who disappointed everyone wearing red inside Oakwell.

Paddy McCourt, seemingly given a free role in the second half, was trying to weave his magic but often flattered to deceive, running down cul-de-sacs and losing the ball when an easy pass was available.

Jason Scotland replaced Tudgay on the hour mark and the Reds had the ball in the net on 64 minutes. Tom Kennedy's drilled cross was diverted home by Marcus Pedersen but the linesman's flag was up on the near side.

Scotland teed up Dawson five minutes later, and the Irishman's firm strike took a little nick off a Birmingham defender but keeper Randolph was well placed to collect. At the other end, Butland saved smartly from Jesse Lingard.

So another defeat which leaves the Reds rooted to the bottom of the Championship with just 11 points from 17 games. 2 wins, worst defensive record in the league and haven't hit the net themselves in a month.

I would like to place on record, my thanks to 'Flicker' for last season. He got a team which looked dead and buried at Christmas, to unite and play as a family. He brought in some players who will never be forgotten at Oakwell. Wins over six of the final top eight in the league saw the Reds escape relegation on the final day. An incredible afternoon in Huddersfield which will live long in the memory of any Barnsley fan who was at the John Smith's Stadium that day. Not to mention a good cup run which saw us knock out Hull and MK Dons before losing at Manchester City. Thank you Flicker, you've given us some of the best days as Barnsley fans in recent memory.

Player Ratings

12. Jack Butland: Had little or no chance with any of the goals, made two smart saves and can't be blamed for yesterday's debacle. 6

14. Scott Wiseman: Didn't play badly and got forward well. Can't help thinking we could do with a new pair of full-backs though. 6

6. Martin Cranie: The best of a bad bunch. Was fairly dominant against the much taller Zigic. 7

22. Jean Yves M'Voto: Very strong in the air but when he tries to play football it leaves everyone wincing. After muscling Lingard off the ball, gave it away to Caddis to open the scoring. And gave away the penalty. 5

4. Tom Kennedy: Got forward enough but his final ball leaves a lot to be desired. Surely there's someone better to take set pieces? 5

42. Paddy McCourt: Had a shocker yesterday. Couldn't beat a man and kept giving the ball away. In the second half he needed to muck in and work hard. Which unfortunately he didn't. 5

11. David Perkins: Probably the poorest game I've seen him play at Barnsley. Constantly going backwards and had none of his usual bite or tenacity. 4

8. Stephen Dawson: Was all over the park but didn't really make an impact. Put in two good second half crosses. 6

7. Jim O'Brien: Sorry Jim but you had a nightmare mate. Didn't provide any threat and a horrendous backpass let in Zigic who killed the game off on 37 minutes. 4

50. Marcus Tudgay: Hard to criticise because he wasn't given any service. Showed some nice touches but you could tell he's only played 63 minutes of football since his last Barnsley game. 6

20. Marcus Pedersen: Same as Tudgay, wasn't provided anything so hard to criticise. Had the ball in the net but was adjudged to have been offside. 6

Subs: 

21. Jacob Mellis (for Perkins, 45): Looked more of a threat after Mellis came on, he tried to get the Reds moving forward. 6

19. Tomasz Cywka (for O'Brien, 45): The fans got their wish and saw the little Pole come on at half time. Was a damn sight more threatening than O'Brien but still couldn't get things going. 6

9. Jason Scotland (for Tudgay, 59): Tried to use his nous and experience to get the Reds back in the game but was starved of any decent service. 6

Unused Subs: 2. Bobby Hassell, 3. Peter Ramage, 23. Kelvin Etuhu, 34. David Fox.

Birmingham XI: Randolph, Caddis, Burn, Hancox, Robinson, Adeyemi, Reilly, Ferguson (Elliott 68), Lingard, Zigic (McLean 75), Novak.
 
Unused Subs: Doyle, Burke, Lee, Shinnie, Dudka. 

Reds Man Of The Match: Martin Cranie.

Birmingham Man Of The Match: Paul Caddis: Two goals and showed more bite and interest than any of the Barnsley midfielders.