Birmingham City 3-3 Derby County
Birmingham City fans stepped up their protest against the board in the stands whilst on the pitch, deadline day loan signing Federico Macheda snatched Blues a point right at the death. Derby led 3-1 with 12 minutes to go and appeared to be cruising towards victory until substitute Chris Burke curled one into the corner to give the home side hope. It still seemed that The Rams would leave St Andrews with all 3 points, that was until an injury time goal for Macheda ensured City shared the spoils and stopped Derby from closing the gap on the top 2.
Birmingham City
| Darren Randolph: Good penalty save in the first half and overall had a pretty solid game despite conceding 3. | 6.5 |
| Paul Caddis: Handed the captain’s armband and this seemed to improve his performance slightly | 6.5 |
| Will Packwood: Another solid and organised display from the youngster | 7.0 |
| Tom Thorpe: Forced off with injury after just ten minutes, believed to be a sprained ankle | 6.0 |
| Tyler Blackett: Conceded the penalty and was sometimes caught too far up the pitch and out of position | 6.0 |
| Emyr Huws: Grew into the match and got better as the game went on. Many Blues fans said that he was the most impressive amongst the young loanees making their debuts. | 7.5 |
| Tom Adyemi: Substitution surprised many as his experience and legs looked to be important in the midfield amongst an incredibly young team | 7.0 |
| Bryan Howard: Not quite as impressive as he was on his debut against Yeovil but a first goal in a long while will do his confidence the world of good | 6.5 |
| Albert Rusnak: Worked hard and showed some nice touches again but his lack of final product continues to frustrate the Blues faithful. | 6.5 |
| Peter Lovenkrands: First start in 5 months and his match fitness did not quite appear to be up to scratch to last a full game. | 6.0 |
| Lee Novak: Worked hard for little reward up front and the decision to replace him with Macheda proved to be a good decision. | 6.0 |
Substitutions
| Aaron Martin: Probably would not have expected to feature when the team sheet was read out but this did not prevent him from having a good game at centre half. | 7.0 |
| Chris Burke: Probably should have started the game from the outset and was key in getting Birmingham back into the match. | 7.5 |
| Federico Macheda: Looked lively when he came on. Missed a golden opportunity just before Chris Burke scored which could have given him a brace on his debut. | 7 .0 |
Derby County
| Lee Grant: Not always confident and commanding enough over his defenders | 6.0 |
| Craig Forsyth: Got himself a goal and was always keen to get involved in positive Derby moves | 7.5 |
| Richard Keogh: An Experienced defender like himself should really have performed better at the back end of the game to help his side see out the match. | 6.0 |
| John Eustace: Appeared to lose concentration at times as Derby’s defence deteriorated towards the end. | 6.0 |
| Andre Wisdom: A very steady game for the Liverpool loanee who played with a maturity that is beyond his years. | 7.0 |
| Jake Buxton: Like Jamie Ward on the other wing he had a good game out wide and was always looking to try and get crosses into the box. | 7.0 |
| Craig Bryson: Missed a penalty in the first half and overall was slightly disappointing in his performance. | 6.5 |
| Will Hughes: His pace and trickery helped to win his side their first half penalty. Enjoyed himself in the middle of the park. | 7.0 |
| Jamie Ward: Replaced Steven Dawkins in the team and this was a good decision with Ward causing problems and being an effective member of Derby attacking moves. | 7.0 |
| Patrick Bamford: Notched up another goal in what is already a tremendous loan spell at The Rams. Got under the skin of the Birmingham players at times and was a constant nuisance. | 7.5 |
| Chris Martin: Was well marked and dealt with by the Birmingham defence which reduced his effect and impact on the game. | 6.0 |
Substitutions
| Jeff Hendricks: Came on for Hughes with around 15 minutes to go and appeared to be overwhelmed at times as the Birmingham fight back gathered momentum. | 6.0 |
| Johnny Russell: Very disappointing when he came on. His late booking summed up his performance. | 6.0 |
| Connor Salmon: Introduced deep into stoppage time in what was an attempt to waste some seconds from Steve McLaren and Derby. An attempt that was unsuccessful. | 5.0 |
Man of the Match
| Emyr Huws: The youngster certainly has a bright future ahead of himself in football. He covered every blade of grass on the field yesterday and was instrumental in getting his team back into the game. | 7.5 |
