Derby County 2 Birmingham City 1: Sunday Mercury Big Match Report and Picture Gallery

Aug 7 2011 by Colin Tattum, Sunday Mercury

BLUES have never won a game with Curtis Davies on their team so when he fired in an early opener it looked like things were going to change.

Sadly for the centre-half and the rest of his teammates it didn’t.

Davies had given the 4,000-strong travelling army of Bluenoses something to cheer about after a miserable summer but goals from Jason Shackell and Steven Davies reminded them just how tough the Championship is.

For Chris Hughton it was the worst possible start to his Blues tenure as his injury-ravaged side lacked a clear cutting edge up front and showed little creativity in the middle of the park.

It was also a day to forget for debutant Boaz Myhill who let in two goals, one a mistake on his part.

Blues went into the game with their three first-choice forwards out injured.

Summer signing Marlon King is yet to kick a football for his new club and was ruled out with a knee injury.

Nikola Zigic, who hasn’t started since the Carling Cup Final win in February also missed the game with a groin injury while Fulham target Cameron Jerome sat out with an ankle strain.

All three have missed Blues’ entire pre-season schedule so it was left to Adam Rooney to run the line on his own and it was hard for the new arrival.

Blues struggled to get going early on although Chris Burke and Jean Beausejour looked lively on the left.

After 10 minutes the nippy winger’s floated cross was headed over by Keith Fahey before he set Stephen Carr through to the byline a minute later only for the full-back to be denied by a last-ditch Craig Bryson tackle. After a slow start to the game the visitors were starting to take control and Liam Ridgewell saw his header from Beausejour’s pin-point cross crash off the crossbar.

The pressure finally told on 17 minutes when Davies thundered in a header from Jordon Mutch’s corner.