Birmingham City’s Under 23s defeated their Nottingham Forest counterparts at Leamington FC this afternoon.
League leaders Forest were undone by a 57th minute penalty from Adan George after Riley Harbottle had tripped Tate Campbell.
It was Blues ’ sixth successive victory and just Forest’s fourth reverse in 16 matches.
Here’s how both sets of players rated.
Birmingham City
Eli Rouse 6
The goalkeeper didn’t have much to do other than watch pot shots fly over his bar. Pulled off a good save to deny En-Neyah in the second half, though.
Nico Gordon 6.5
Looked strong going forward, played a small part in the build up to the penalty, decently defensively but caught out a couple of times.
Joe Redmond 6
Comfortable when the ball was in front and could be attacked, Forest looked dangerous one-on-one with him.
Geraldo Bajrami 7.5
Probably only one errant touch, otherwise some good last ditch tackling and audacious ball-playing.
Ryan Burke 6
Loves a tackle. Kept things reasonably tight down his side, not much licence to get forward.
Ryan Stirk 8
Looks so comfortable at U23 level, barely put a foot wrong, setting up and breaking up play.
Oriol Soldevila 5.5
Drifted out of the game for periods, did OK but should really have scored one of two good chances.
Tate Campbell 7
Strong and athletic performance and showed good judgement surging into the box to win the penalty.
Jack Concannon 6
A little bit loose in possession in the first half but picked some nice passes in the second.
Adan George 6.5
Beat an international goalkeeper from the spot - looked dangerous at times but wasteful at others.
Josh Andrews 6.5
Led the line well, some good link-up play, started to win the physical battles in the second half - just lacked a goal.
Nottingham Forest
Abdoulaye Diallo 8
A spectator in the first half, what stood between Forest and a heavy defeat in the second.
Baba Fernandes 6.5
On top of everything in the first half but found it harder as Blues started to play through Forest.
Sam Saunders 6
Did OK up against the powerful Andrews - without looking totally at ease.
Riley Harbottle 6
Did OK but found himself on the wrong side of Campbell for the penalty
Fin Back 6
A good battle with George, in which he had his wins, had a good chance to score in the first half but was repelled
Ethan Dekel-Daks 6.5
Had more ball in the first half which he used quite well, reduced to scraps of possession in the second
Josh Barnes 6
Worked hard without influencing the game too much
Danny Preston 6.5
Had Soldevila in his pocket for long periods. Competed well
Alex Gibson-Hammond 7.5
A real threat in the opening 45 when the only criticism was a lack of composure in shooting positions. Not as involved after half time
Keith Asare 6
Posed a danger to Birmingham when Forest were on top, drifted out of the game as his side started to struggle though
Yassine En-Neyah 6
Up against a strong Blues defence, came closest to equalising though with a well-hit shot which Rouse saved.
