What a really great evening my son Joseph and I had at the Birmingham City v Coventry match. We had the privilege of watching the game from the Press Box, and it was very exciting to be sat alongside all the journalists.
We arrived at the Press Office at 7.30pm, where we were met by Helen, a Blues representative. We were given our passes to wear, a press pack and a team sheet and then shown to our seats in the Press Box. We were quite high up, and had a really good view of the pitch. There was also a TV screen to watch as well.
Jerome had the first shot for Birmingham in the first minute, then Larsson had a great chance but it went wide. Blues were playing well in the first half with Kemy almost scoring too. After 15 minutes Coventry had a great chance when Clinton Morrison hit the crossbar. Then, in the 25th minute Birmingham could have taken the lead when Isaac Osbourne of Coventry almost scored an own goal with a header that came off Franck Queudrue.
Coventry had the first booking of the game in the 43rd minute, when the referee showed the yellow card to Scott Dann. Then a minute later Larsson was fouled by Jay Tabb so he had a yellow card too. Larsson was down for a while and had to be treated. He was the applauded by the Blues fans as he got up. There was one minute of extra time, and at half time it was 0-0.
The second half started and both teams were making it hard for each other. Then on the 52nd minute Coventry had a corner and Clinton Morrison headed the ball into the net - 1-0 to Coventry. Blues then had a chance when Kevin Phillips ran with ball and took a shot, but missed.
Blues then had a corner, which James McFadden took, and Franck Queudrue put the ball behind the Coventry goal line. The goal was disallowed but it was definitely over the line. We saw the replays on the TV screen. Birmingham tried really hard to keep the ball with Quincy doing his fancy footwork. We were really hoping they could score, as there was an extra four minutes injury time to play. Blues just couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net, and it finished Blues 0 Coventry 1.
After the match, Liz took Joseph and I to the Press room, where we could see the interviews with Chris Coleman and Alex McLeish.
Chris Coleman said that he couldn’t see the disallowed goal. He said that Keiran Westwood was outstanding, and that the crowd turned for them and that gave them confidence. He said he has a lot of young players who still have to learn, and that they can be naive at times, but it was great to have the three points.
Alex McLeish then came in. He thought that the disallowed goal was just one of those things that happen in football. He said they were very unlucky tonight, and they just couldn’t get the ball over the line. He said there is more to come from McFadden and opportunities for Jerome and they are still serious contenders for the Premier League.
Joseph and I had a really great time at the match. It was a very enjoyable evening, and a great opportunity to have done this. We would like to thank Helen and Liz for looking after us. I would also like to give my son Matt a mention, as he helped me to win the competition.
