John Eustace assesses Birmingham’s ‘naïve’ performance in defeat to Middlesbrough

John Eustace thinks his Birmingham City side showed naivety in their 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening.

The defeat at the Riverside Stadium saw Blues’ four-game unbeaten run come to an end and suffer their fifth loss in their opening 12 Championship games.

Eustace believes the result in Teesside isn’t reflective of the performance his team displayed.

“I felt we deserved at least a point out of the game,” he told BluesTV after the match.

“I was disappointed with how the first-half went if I am going to be honest. I thought we started the game well but without the ball, we were a little bit too passive, not aggressive enough.

“We said in the dressing room there that we were a little naïve and we didn’t take that game by the scruff of the neck.

“It is disappointing to come away with the defeat and I think it is a game that we have all got to study. It is hurting everyone in the dressing room.”

Birmingham failed to score for the first time in four away games against Middlesbrough, but Eustace insisted it’s a team effort when it comes to finding the back of the net.

The 42-year-old also thanked Blues’ supporters for making the trip to the North East and was disappointed they couldn’t travel home with a positive result.

“It is a collective and we all have to do it,” he said. “We have had good decision-making so far during this season.

“It is about us learning and developing and again we have finished with four or five teenagers on the pitch. It is about us just sticking together and moving on for Saturday.

“That is the Championship, week in, week out, games are decided by mistakes, set pieces and tonight we are on the wrong end of it.

"One of the most disappointing things is that we weren’t able to give the travelling fans a result tonight – what a fantastic turnout.

“I know there is a train strike and they have travelled up in their cars tonight. I am very, very grateful for them to come up and support us, and the support was magnificent.”

Birmingham will be looking to get back to winning ways when they welcome Bristol City to St Andrew’s on Saturday, kick-off is 3pm.