Blues firmly in the saddle

Andy Munro on Blues’ friendly win over Walsall.

A three-nil victory against lowly Walsall isn’t to be shouted from the rooftops but it is welcome nevertheless. This was Blues’ first win in four friendlies, albeit two of them being against top Premier League sides and, in fairness, there was just a praiseworthy 1.5 goals conceded per game against those opponents.

The Walsall victory was a showcase for a few young players and my pick was a tricky and intelligent performance from Amari Miller, who must be a prospect at least for a regular spot on the first team bench. Other good performances from the younger element came from goalscorer Odin Bailey, Steve Seddon and from Josh Dacres-Cogley, who showed that he may yet fulfil his undoubted potential. Agus Medina and Amari Miller also put the ball in the net to give the scoreline a reflection on the overall performance.

All this was underpinned by a faultless performance by Marc Roberts at the back which allowed the younger players to get forward and create. All in all the performance was very promising, although with the season proper starting with a Carabao Cup tie at home to Cambridge United on Saturday, Blues still need that player up front with a real physical presence. If the manager is tempted to jettison the Juke (and most Bluenoses hope that he doesn’t) then he surely has to bring a replacement in first.