Motherwell 2 Birminghham City 1

This bit of good fortune should have settled us down but instead Birmingham continued to play the better football. It wasn’t long before they equalised, with Paul Devlin tapping into an empty net after Stevie Woods had made a one on one save.

The game began to even out and was played in the midfield for a long spell before we regained the lead. Faddy beat the last defender in a sprint to reach the lay off from Lehmann before calmly slipping the ball beyond the ‘keeper and into the far corner.

The first half came to a close with no more real incidents, although the introduction of Robbie Savage induced a few half hearted boos from the home support.

Faddy and Dirk

In the second half, Birmingham either showed an attitude problem or offered definite proof that they’d be going back down to the First Division. They had their fair share of the ball, but could only muster a couple of half chances in the closing stages.

We continued to fight for the ball and at times we played some pretty stuff. The football was not as nice as it was in our previous friendlies but it still produced chances, with Faddy scooping over from close range and having a powerful header saved.

It’s hard to figure out what to make of the friendly.
A win over a decent English side should be welcomed, but the performance of Birmingham left a lot to be desired. They are only starting their pre-season build up while we are in the middle of ours, so fitness and determination may have been a factor. On the bright side, it was pleasing to match Livingston, who also beat the Brummies 2-1.

Who are we to complain about another win? Cardiff on Sunday is the next test.

Team:
Woods
Hammell Partridge Corrigan Ramsay
Pearson(S45 Fagan) Leitch Adams(S86 Clarke) Lasley
Lehman McFadden

Subs: Ewings Kinniburgh McDonald Dempsie

Motherwell 2 Birmingham City 1