Birmingham City player ratings vs Reading: Three ‘underwhelming’ 5/10s but three 'valiant' 7/10s

Alfie May scores Birmingham City's equaliser to draw 1-1 with Reading on the Sky Bet League One opening day.Alfie May scores Birmingham City's equaliser to draw 1-1 with Reading on the Sky Bet League One opening day.
Alfie May scores Birmingham City's equaliser to draw 1-1 with Reading on the Sky Bet League One opening day. | Birmingham City (BCFC)
Birmingham City failed to live up to their towering expectations on the opening day of the Sky Bet League One season, saved by a late penalty to draw 1-1 with last campaign’s 17th-placed finishers, Reading.

Blues flattered to deceive on their competitive return to action, dominating the ball but rarely crafting any opportunities of note. Touches were loose, team cohesion was inconsistent, and the visitors - with great credit to them - proved a tough nut to crack. Only Alfie May, converting from the spot in the 87th minute, could earn what was a scrappy point on Chris Davies’ managerial debut.

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The players were welcomed to the field by a deafening atmosphere from a sold-out, 27,145-strong St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, but it took at least a quarter of an hour for either team to establish any true continuity in possession. Birmingham had the odd half-chance after patient build-up play but Reading looked the bigger threat, especially on the counter-attack.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan gave the visitors a shock lead on the stroke of half time, sending the travelling support into pandemonium. Lewis Wing’s expertly-weighted through ball after a midfield giveaway from Willum Willumsson found Ehibhatiomhan in the channel, the striker composing himself before striking hard and low beyond Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Frustration had been growing from the Blues support in the lead up to the goal as Davies’ men just couldn’t seem to gel consistently enough. There were glimmers of quality with effective link-up play between the likes of Koji Miyoshi, Marc Leonard and Ethan Laird, but the end product was lacklustre.

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Ehibhatiomhan had the ball in the net once again after the break to prompt a skipped heartbeat for the home fans, but the linesman’s flag was up as quickly as the shot nestled. It took Blues a while to get comfortable - even with Davies freshening things up with several attacking changes - but opportunities eventually began to flow.

Alfie May and Koji Miyoshi were inches away from converting a low Laird cross and then there was then a moment of pure perplexity. Reading defender Amadou Mbengue laid off the ball to goalkeeper Joel Pereira, who picked the ball up to deny May, charging toward goal. Referee Will Finnie appeared to blatantly forget the back-pass rule, much to the frustration of everyone in royal blue.

Just as the game and result seemed to be stretching away from Birmingham, a penalty was dramatically awarded in the 87th minute. Will Finnie pointed to the spot, punishing Lewis Wing for a handball from a close-range Emil Hansson cross. Reading appealed against the call - and it did seem harsh from afar - but May didn’t care, converting into the bottom left to roar St Andrew’s into life.

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Alfie May scores Birmingham City's equaliser to draw 1-1 with Reading on the Sky Bet League One opening day.Alfie May scores Birmingham City's equaliser to draw 1-1 with Reading on the Sky Bet League One opening day.
Alfie May scores Birmingham City's equaliser to draw 1-1 with Reading on the Sky Bet League One opening day. | Birmingham City (BCFC)

Birmingham gained real confidence and urgency from their equaliser, peppering away at Reading’s goal until the very last whistle. Emil Hansson saw a powerful curler saved by Pereira and late introduction Lukas Jutkiewicz had a close-range effort blocked. It was too little too late in the end, however, and the knackered visitors held on for a valiant point.

Birmingham City player ratings vs Reading

Here’s how Birmingham World reporter Charlie Haffenden rated the Blues players out of 10 on the opening day of the 2024/25 League One campaign.

Bailey Peacock-Farrell - 6

Can’t really be blamed for Ehibhatiomhan’s goal as the shot was powerful and low, plus he got a hand to it. Made a great save to deny Mamadi Camara earlier in the first half.

Ethan Laird - 5 (off 83’)

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Enjoyed some occasional good link up play down the right flank but let down so often by his first touch, wasting chances by completely losing control of the ball. Swung in a couple of decent crosses in the second half.

Dion Sanderson - 6

Made one brave last-ditch tackle in the goalmouth to spare Blues’ blushes, taking a whack to the knee in the process. Couldn’t find the required accuracy with his attempted cross-field passes.

Krystian Bielik - 7

Made an early clearance to stop an almost certain goal; the shot had beaten Peacock-Farrell. Wasn’t afraid to step infield to muscle in and win back possession.

Alex Cochrane - 6

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Won a foul just on the edge of the Reading box in the 71st minute, but that was his only real attacking involvement. Put in a couple of great sliding tackles.

Paik Seung-ho - 6

Did well to beat the Reading press with balls sprayed out wide and won back possession quickly after losing it.

Marc Leonard - 6 (off 83’)

Fairly involved as the more advanced of the midfield pivot in the first half but struggled to make his mark in the second, sometimes seeing his control let him down.

Willum Willumsson - 5 (off 51’)

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Gave the ball away in the lead-up to Ehibhatiomhan’s opener. Sometimes tried to be a little too intricate with passes around the corner when a touch and simpler ball would’ve been better. Underwhelming.

Koji Miyoshi - 6 (off 61’)

Didn’t manage to get on the ball often enough but looked a threat when he was.

Siriki Dembele - 5 (off at HT)

Had mixed success when trying to beat the likes of Michael Craig and Amadou Mbengue down the line. Delivered the odd decent pass in behind to May but musscled off the ball too often, with very little effort to retrieve afterward. The latter was probably the reason behind his half-time hooking.

Alfie May - 7

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Scored the equaliser late on, netting from the penalty spot. Deserved his goal as he was a real workhorse with his pressing and made some good runs in behind.

Emil Hansson - 7 (on at HT)

Swung in a couple of great crosses, including the one to win a penalty late on - even if it was slightly fortunate. A valiant effort.

Luke Harris - 6 (on 51’)

Struggled to get directly involved in attacks.

Keshi Anderson - 6 (on 61’)

Added a bit of impetus for Blues, playing some intelligent one-twos. Ran into trouble on a few occasions.

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