Blues end their home programme losing 4-0 to Cardiff City. Andy Munro looks forward.
They say that there’s no gain without pain and it certainly seemed that way as Lee Bowyer threw in a clutch of players who were on the fringe. The result may have been disappointing although I still think that was the right decision for a manager who only had a couple of games left in which to assess the strength or otherwise of the inflated Blues squad.
Strangely, we had more possession than the visitors and as many shots. However, they were far more clinical in their 
finishing and we were anything but. I’ll be considering a view on who should be retained and who should go after the last game against Blackburn but in this makeshift line-up there were probably more losers than winners.
In goal, Zach Jeacock conceded from two free kicks, which is never nice for a keeper but overall he played well enough to be considered as second string (first reserve) material already. In front of him Josh Dacres-Cogley looked okay without chopping down any footballing trees, a description that could also be applied to George Friend.
In the midfield, Adam Clayton didn’t really show much worthwhile, as opposed to young Ryan Stirk, who put in a competent debut performance. In front of them, Amari Miller showed enough talent to excite although the jury must still be out on Sam Cosgrove, who is either a long term prospect or a waste of money. Mind you, he was up against the uncompromising and experienced Aiden Flint and, also in fairness to the young centre forward, he wasn’t exactly seeing an abundance of crosses.
Overall, it was a mixed bag of an afternoon and it will be interesting to see how Bowyer plays his cards in the last game against a Blackburn side that on their day can be prolific.
