All that was missing was the Blue String Pudding and the Green Soup this afternoon at Pride Park, the rest of the cast was already there. In the last pre-season friendly Birmingham deservedly beat Derby 2-1 courtesy of a Clanger.

Major Clanger - Stephen Bywater. A back pass from Roberts and the keeper dallies before kicking the ball directly at the onrushing Swedish winger Larsson. It, the ball, rebounds sweetly into the back of the net. Bywater holds his hand up and its two nil to the Blues within minutes of the Second Half.

Small Clangers - allowing free headers, Murphy popped up on thirty minutes unchallenged from a corner and the Rams conceded the lead.

Tiny Clanger - Dean Leacock being muscled off the ball on twenty minutes by Gardner who forced a good save from Bywater's legs.

Mother of a Clanger - the bright sparks in the club who rather than allow supporters to spread out and enjoy the day, squeezed the East Stand supporters into half of the stand.

Judging by the comments of some families they won't come again. It was a mean move by those in charge, to save what precisely?

Soup Dragons, the catering staff forced to throw away gallons of beer due to pipes not flushed correctly after the use of cleaning fluid. At £3.40 a pint too.

Not that it was all bad, low whistles of appreciation for the passing and movement.

Applause for full back Roberts as he lashed a shot into the Birmingham goal from the edge of the penalty box to reduce the deficit to a single goal and put the Rams back in with a chance.

Ultimately we learnt little, Derby had the early pressure without penetration, the Blues exposed our defensive frailties yet chances that came the Rams way were spurned.

Coaches Reaction:

Derby County coach Andy Garner spoke to the official site after the match:

"It was obviously disappointing to lose but we were very encouraged by the performance, we may have lost 2-1, but we could easily have won the game”.

"We started well today and had all the play, but we needed the end product. Hopefully we will have that at Leeds; the Birmingham and Stoke games this week have been a real test for us."

"The attitude of the lads was top class, they kept going until the very end, at 2-0 down it could have got worse, but the lads showed no fear and played well”.

"The boys stuck to their game and continued to pass the ball. It was a great finish from Gareth Roberts too to get us back in the game, and nothing more than we deserved at that time”.

"The chances we had, we could have at least drawn. To create the chances we did is a good sign. The season is nearly here, and we think pre-season has gone well”.

"It is a big game (Leeds next week) and we're raring to go."

The Teams:

DERBY COUNTY:

Bywater: some excellent one on one saves and just when you thought his distribution was improving......

Brayford: solid and unfussy performance.

Leacock: provided arguably the best low cross into the box in the match late on, looks good going forward but eased off the ball very easily at times.

Anderson: steady and won a fair proportion in the air when up against lofty Zigic.

Roberts: wonder goal and impressed going forward (Moxey 61; again got forward well yet hit row Z from six yards when well placed in front of goal).

Savage: slowed the game with controlled passing, almost levelled the scores in the dying moments as he attempted to chip Foster in the Blues goal from thirty five yards.

Bailey: has to be described as "neat and tidy" - thanks Craig.

Cywka: subdued never really saw enough of the ball to run at the opposition  (Pringle, 72: left footed played on the right wing, mmm).

Green: played in an advanced role close to sole striker (Doyle, 84: added pace but had little time to impress).

Commons: promised the threat, looked dangerous but failed to put a shot on target and sank deeper and deeper.

Porter: worked hard but a blunt threat overall (Hulse, 66: entered the fray to warm applause, narrowly missed turning Leacock's inviting cross home).

Subs not used: Deeney (gk), Martin, Buxton, Varney.

BIRMINGHAM CITY:

Foster; Parnaby, Johnson, Dann, Murphy; Larsson (McFadden, 68), Gardner, Ferguson, Fahey; O'Connor (Phillips, 75), Zigic (Jerome, 68).

Subs not used: Taylor (gk), Carr, Bowyer, Ridgewell, Kerr, Michel, Valles, Mutch.

Referee:

Mr. M Halsey

Attendance:

4,458

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Photo: Action Images

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