It is a well-known fact in football that cup competitions frequently and consistently produces upsets, where minnows shock the giants. Birmingham’s management would have undoubtedly focused on cutting out the risks of complacency in training this week to avoid such an upset. They need not worry.
Birmingham controlled the game from the outset and raced into an early lead when captain Max Pashley headed in from two yards following a desperate goalmouth scramble, resembling the classic arcade game pinball, following a well-worked free kick from the just outside the opposition box.
For all of Birmingham’s domination and pressure, they failed to test Trent’s keeper for the remainder of the first-half. That was until a piece of individual skill from Birmingham’s mercurial right-winger, in which he skipped past two feeble challenges before whipping in a peach of a cross into the danger zone. With Birmingham players seemingly queuing up to slot it home, the desperate Trent defender turned the ball into the his own goal, doubling Birmingham’s advantage in the process.
The second-half carried on in much the same way as the first, with one exception, Birmingham found their shooting-boots. When all the flair and ticks came out, so did the goals. Birmingham notched a handful more goals without reply before the referee put Trent out of their misery by blowing the final-whistle with the scoreline making happy reading at 7-0.
Birmingham oozed too much class for the Trent side, who did put up a resilient fight, but were simply undone by a quality side who played with pace and power combined with deadly eye for goal.
Birmingham will take great heart from their impressive performance and will undoubtedly have a grand night of celebrations, and so they should. But they will be fully aware that tougher games lie ahead where victory will not be so much of a formality. Regardless, Birmingham Second XI have progressed into the next round and who knows how far they can go? Could they even come away with silverware against all odds? Only time will tell. That’s the romance of the cup.
Sam Bernard
1st XI Mens Football vs Nottigham trent @uobfootball by Burnfm_Sport on Mixcloud
