Andy Munro watches Blues ease through a League Cup tie against Crawley Town.
A five-one victory wasn’t even particularly flattering but, to be fair to the opposition, Blues had fielded a fairly strong side although this was more down to limited options than anything else.
However, winning is always a good habit and breeds confidence, even if it’s against a Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club side. In fact once Che Adams opened his account, the result was never in doubt with Blues having the lion’s share of possession against a very limited Crawley side. As always, even a run out of this nature gives some clues to whose likely to be making a difference or not.
The back line looked solid with Roberts cool in possession and quick and decisive on the ground, although Crawley’s giant centre forward was undeniably a handful in the air. Robinson was as solid as always whilst Grounds looked classy at this level but convinces no one at a higher level. On the other flank, Nsue had an excellent game and maybe he will be the new Caddis.
Which brings me nicely to David ‘Marmite’ Cotterill, whose partnership with Caddis was almost telepathic. Okay, he looked a bit ring rusty but still managed to be the provider of two of the goals. On the other flank Maghoma was also a handful and the two wingers had a licence to go forward with Kleftenbeld anchoring the midfield very effectively.
While Che Adam’s hat-trick speaks for itself, the man of the match was undoubtedly Dave Davis, who not only did a more than decent job defensively, but also found time to link superbly with Adams and score a standout goal himself. Yet despite the positive result, there is a new mood of pessimism around with Harry saying he’s identified the players but it’s up to others to negotiate the fee. Is this a man whose keeping his ‘Get out of Jail’ card within handy reach?