Latest Birmingham City news from BirminghamLive includes Alex Dicken’s talking points from the 2-0 win at Bristol City
Birmingham City continued their rich vein of form with a comfortable 2-0 win at Bristol City on Saturday.
Ashton Gate tends to be a happy hunting ground for Blues, who have won on five of their last six trips to Bristol. Koji Miyoshi and Lukas Jutkiewicz netted the goals late in either half to clinch three more points.
Blues have now won three games on the spin since opening up their season with a 1-1 draw at Swansea City. Their latest victory came at a cost, with Ethan Laird and Siriki Dembele both succumbing to injuries in the first half.
Still, seven points from three games and a place in the Carabao Cup second round is almost perfection. Here are our talking points from Blues’ win on the road…
He has the ability to ghost past players that very few do and his touch screams Premier League, not Championship. John Eustace believes Blues have a special player on their hands and, on this evidence, everyone is in agreement.
Miyoshi could be the difference between a good season and a great one. Players with the abilities to create and score chances out of nothing, unlock packed defences and deliver match-winning moments aren’t easy to find. The early signs suggest Blues’ recruitment team have found a gem.
Eustace rewarded for brave changes
Miyoshi was by no means the obvious replacement for Laird. Alfie Chang, who played at right-back against Cheltenham Town last week, and Jordan James would have been more sensible, conservative choices.
But Eustace clearly sensed an opportunity and threw Miyoshi into the mix. Within five minutes, the Japanese winger had lashed Blues into the lead.
It wasn’t the only brave change Eustace made during the match, either. The head coach introduced Jutkiewicz to play alongside Hogan in the 74th minute, rather than instead of him.
Like Miyoshi before him, Jutkiewicz repaid his manager’s faith with a goal to kill the contest 10 minutes later. Hats off to Eustace for going for the jugular when he could have opted to protect the lead.
Sunjic should stay
Ivan Sunjic was expected to leave Blues for good this summer. He was in line to join Hertha Berlin permanently, but his loan spell didn’t go to plan and they passed up their option.
Even after Sunjic starred in Blues’ early pre-season fixtures and travelled to Spain for a week-long camp, his future wasn’t exactly certain. Now that he has played and excelled in Blues’ opening three Championship games, it should be.
The Croatian was again impressive during Blues’ win at Ashton Gate and laid on the second goal for Jutkiewicz. His partnership in midfield with Krystian Bielik is one of the many success stories written in the first month of Blues’ season. He deserves the chance to write the final chapter of his Blues story.
Ethan Laird is a player Blues can ill-afford to be without for long. He is the team’s only senior right-back and an asset going both ways, replacing him isn’t going to be simple.
Juninho Bacuna has the physical attributes to excel at right-back, as he showed in Bristol, and Chang is another option for Eustace, but neither of them are naturals. Marc Roberts is nearing a return to fitness and could give Eustace the option of playing Dion Sanderson on the right. Again, that is far from ideal.
A new right-back would be Eustace’s preference, but Blues are in a crowded market with limited options. Matt Lowton was assessed last week before Blues resumed their search. Laird’s latest setback only heightens Blues’ need to zone in on one of their options.
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