Middlesbrough levelled late to ensure Birmingham City didn't record their first home win of the Championship season
Birmingham City players celebrate an own goal by Middlesbrough's Riley McGree (not pictured) during the Sky Bet Championship match at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, Birmingham.
Birmingham City players celebrate an own goal by Middlesbrough's Riley McGree (not pictured) during the Sky Bet Championship match at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, Birmingham.
A mistake from goalkeeper James Beadle proved costly for Birmingham City as they surrendered a late lead to draw 2-2 with Middlesbrough at St Andrew's.
Blues were on course for their first home league victory in the Championship after second half strikes goals from Liam Millar and Riley McGree (OG) cancelled out Max Arftsen’s opener.
But Beadle couldn’t gather a free-kick in the 88th minute and Adilson Malanda was on hand to rescue a point for Boro.
Boro give teams a chance with their insistence on playing out from the back and Blues almost capitalised early. Malanda couldn’t find a red shirt under pressure from Jhon Solis and the ball was returned to Blues’ Colombian midfielder to fire wide of the post.
Boro’s first chance of the afternoon fell to top scorer Will Lankshear and arrived via the supply line of winger Amario Cozier-Duberry. Cozier-Duberry picked out Lankshear on the penalty spot but the striker failed to make a telling connection.
Luis Vazquez, who was making his first Championship start in place of the injured August Priske, had the best chance of the opening quarter when he met Bright Osayi-Samuel’s cross from the right. The Argentinian striker’s header was tipped over by Radek Vitek – either side of the goalkeeper and Vazquez would have been wheeling away in front of The Tilton.
Boro upped the ante before half-time and could have taken the lead through Cozier-Duberry or Lankshear.
They opened Blues up down their right to set Myles Peart-Harris free and he picked out Cozier-Duberry at the far post but the on-loan Brighton man blazed over the bar when he should have scored.
Lankshear’s chance wasn’t so straightforward. Cozier-Duberry picked Lankshear out at the far post and the striker couldn’t quite wriggle free of Osayi-Samuel before his deflected shot clipped the post.
The goal arrived on the stroke of half-time and unsurprisingly Cozier-Duberry had a hand in it. He jinked his way into the box, leaving three Blues players clutching at thin air before nudging the ball into Arfsten’s path and the American found the top corner in two touches.
Blues forced the equaliser with 10 minutes of the restart. Tomoki Iwata latched onto a loose touch from Malanda and slipped a pass through to Solis who moved the ball onto Millar for the first-time finish at the far post.
Birmingham City's Liam Millar scores
Birmingham City's Liam Millar scores
The game was turned completely on its head before the hour when Blues took the lead. Millar’s left-wing corner found Jay Stansfield at the far post and his header bounced over the goal-line via a couple of deflections, with ex-Blues man McGree credited with the final touch.
Boro boss Kim Hellberg switched to a 4-2-4 formation and one of his substitutes, Tommy Conway, threatened to find a route to goal late on.
Conway was played in down the right side of the box and looked for Lankshear in the middle but Beadle anticipated the cut-back perfectly.
Beadle wasn’t so decisive when Sebastian Berhalter whipped an 88th minute free-kick into the box. It was a simple one for Beadle to collect but the goalkeeper dropped it and Malanda reacted quickly to stab home.
Blues had to settle for a point in their fourth successive home game of the season as a result.
James Beadle 5
The goalkeeper wasn’t overly troubled by Boro before his late gaffe. Beadle will be disappointed not to collect Berhalter’s free-kick and it proved costly for his team.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 7
Osayi-Samuel showed his attacking instincts to create a good chance for Vazquez in the first half and generally defended well. It was a shame his attacking influence waned as the game wore on.
Phil Neumann 7
Kept pace with Lankshear and Conway when the Boro No.9 came on in the second half. Neumann had some defending to go against a quality Boro attack and did OK>
Christoph Klarer 6.5
Got caught out of position a couple of times, once on the left and once when pressing man-to-man in midfield to leave Neumann exposed against Lankshear. The Blues captain was, however, dominant in most of his duels.
Alex Cochrane 7.5
Cochrane had difficult moments up against Cozier-Duberry in the first half but an altercation between the two at the start of the second worked in the Blues left-back’s favour. Cochrane got tight to Cozier-Duberry from thereon and managed to shut down Boro’s biggest threat.
Jhon Solis 7
The half-time oranges must have been good. Solis dozed off a few times in the first half to let Boro players run in behind him but he was more like himself in the second half. He was better on the ball, more tenacious without it and the genuine force in midfield we’ve come to expect.
Tomoki Iwata 6.5
It was a bit of a mess towards the end of the first half between Iwata and Solis but they stepped up their game after the break. Iwata dropped on the loose ball and found his midfield partner in the build-up to Blues’ equaliser. Does he need to be better on the ball? Yes, but Blues have a player who is great off the ball and gives absolutely everything between both boxes.
Tomoki Iwata of Birmingham City and Riley McGree of Middlesbrough
Tomoki Iwata of Birmingham City and Riley McGree of Middlesbrough
Carlos Vicente 6.5
A running threat down Blues' right side but the bigger threat is coming down the left via Millar. Vicente teased in a few crosses but couldn't find a Blues head.
Jay Stansfield 7
Another relentless pressing performance from Stansfield who operated well in spaces of Vazquez. He played a key role in Blues' second goal with the header back across goal that McGree couldn't keep out.
Birmingham City's Jay Stansfield and Middlesbrough's Myles Peart-Harris (right) battle for the ball
Birmingham City's Jay Stansfield and Middlesbrough's Myles Peart-Harris (right) battle for the ball
Liam Millar 8
Millar is providing quality when the moments arrive and he finished emphatically at the Gil Merrick for his first Blues goal. That's four goal contributions in four games for a player who is putting the work in at the other end too.
Luis Vazquez 6
Vazquez put himself about and fought Phillips for almost every ball but he couldn’t buy a free-kick from referee David Webb. He wasted a good chance to score with a first half header and his touch could have been cleaner, but his effort could not be faulted on what was his first league start.
SUBS
Marvin Ducksch (for Vazquez, 71) 5
Blues needed a focal point but he was no match physically for Phillips in the closing stages and the ball kept coming back.
Paik Seung-ho (for Stansfield, 83) N/A
Patrick Roberts (for Vicente, 90') N/A
Not used: Allsop, Buchanan, Fry, Laird, Lund, Mazwi