So after a week spent reading about beach balls landing us three points against five times European Champions, it was back to the nitty-gritty of away games against struggling sides. But hang on a minute, is it just me thinking this, but didn’t we play Liverpool off the park last weekend? Weren’t they lucky to get away with one nil?

By Darren Bent’s standards he should have had his first SAFC hatrick against Liverpool and then the nationals would have had to praise us and not harp on about how unlucky the Scousers were and how the referee got it all wrong. But that has passed and it was time to hit the road and head for the unglamorous surroundings of the West Midlands.

I’m not sure if they have an enclosed/sterile area surrounding the away fans turnstiles at St Andrews to protect the travelling support from The Zulus, or to put the away fans off wandering around the local area. I tried it once. Never again.

We walked into a local rough looking boozer and although it was sparsely populated and only 11.30am, we encountered a typical jukebox goes silent and tumbleweed tumbling past us scenario on entry. Quite how they knew we were outsiders is anyone’s guess, because we’d not uttered a word at this point.

What followed was the quickest pint I’ve ever drank, then a trip to McDonald’s for coffee. Although I was later informed that Birmingham City hooligan element hang out in Maccy D's, so in hindsight we probably would have been safer (and more drunk) if we’d stayed in the pub.

Other past visits to BCFC have seen us relegated and me ripping my new leather jacket celebrating a goal, not to mention the time when four massive local youths followed us in their car, sadly for them they couldn’t keep up with the ALSMobile. So needless to say I’m not really a fan of the area around St Andrews and thus it makes it a bit of a shit away day from a social point of view.

So on arrival today there was no real choice other than to wait in the rain for the ground to open up and then sink a few pints with my red and white brethren prior to kick off. I was up for the match after three quick beers and feeling quite happy, but that was the point that the match began and my day started to get shit.

As at Stoke and Burnley we failed to out battle a poor home side, allowed them to take the lead and then take control of the game. And that was pretty much it. I could tell you all about the ins and out of what went on and how much we missed Cattermole, but you’d probably not want to read about it.

In short Birmingham were poor, we were poorer and this game belonged in the Championship. There’s not much point in playing Liverpool off the park one week if you’re just gonna not turn up against a team that is there for the taking the week after.

Not good enough.

Final Score: 2-1

ALS Man of the Match: No One

Tom Martyn

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