Bennett, Poole, White, Barnett, Daishe, Lowe, Cooper, Ward, Donova, Clarridge, Otto.
This line could only mean one thing:
Birmingham City FC 7 Blackpool 1
New Year, 1994.
With Yan Holloway, the mayors who visited Birmingham on New Year's Eve, it seemed to me that I would return on this famous day in St. Andrew, 17 years ago ...
Despite the miraculous last breakthrough of the previous season, in which Barring Fry's Birringham City was invincible for the last seven games (winning five) of the campaign, the Blues fell through the hatch into the old Third Division (renamed Brand 2) after winning 2: 1 Tranmere Rovers on the last day of the season.
Barry Fry was moved onto the shoulder by high-level Blues fans who made the trip to the Virral, and he was allowed to rebuild his team for the 1994/95 campaign on the Birmingham council.
The blues was considered "big boys." this year in Division 2 and Barry Fry was a big squad, in which experienced campaign members such as Chris White, George Parris and Mark Ward boasted. They joined the famous stars of Birmingham City, such as Jan Bennett, Paul Tate and Louis Donava, as well as promising Jonathan Hunt, Jose Dominguez and Steve Clarridge - among many others. The competition for a place in the starting lineup was fierce.
The city of Birmingham was well located, as they welcomed Sam Allardic to Blackpool to St. Andrew. They won 10 of their previous 12 matches and knew that today the victory might seem like they are sitting on top of Division 2, when everyone marks the beginning of 1995.
Barry Fry made three side changes that won 1-0 in Cardiff three days earlier, when Liam Daishe replaced David Howell in the center, Louis Donow launched Neil Doherty on the wing and unexpectedly called for Kenny Low, who had not played since the opening day Birmingham in Leyton Oriente.
Blackpool entered the field unchanged from the previous end, and the clash between the two attacked teams consisted of 18,000 fans in St. Andrew enjoying the holiday burglar. They should not have been disappointed.
The blues began brightly and put Blackpool under some kind of early pressure, before visitors stumbled across the Fry people into a counter attack and gained their first blood in the eighth minute when Darren Bradshaw used a rare defensive error to shoot past a stranded Jan Bennett from close range.
This showed that he revived Birmingham, who roared back and was on level ground for four minutes, when the hero became a villain, Bradshaw turned the hand cross past his goalkeeper. It was the second game in a row at St. Andrew, where the player managed to score for both sides, matching the efforts of Ricky Otto against Cambridge United on Boxing Day.
The game became an interesting and insane meeting with end-to-end actions, before the Blues shrank forward twenty-five minutes later. Louis Donova beat Blackpool on the wing to get into the race and smash an upward shot from inside the penalty area into the roof of the opponents grid.
With the team of Barry Fry, who took control of the game, they besieged the goal of the Seasiders, and it is not surprising when the magnificent 30-yard shot from Steve Clarridge put the “Blues 3-1” for the thirty-seventh minute.
Constant constant pressure from the “Blues”, the people of Sam Allardice managed to keep the score at 3-1, when they switched to half the time interval. Birmingham players left the field with a fantastic rating from Rev. Andrew.
The blues continued when they left after the break, and exceeded Blackpool's goal in their quest for more leadership. And it was only eight minutes from the reset, when Ricky Otto's crusade was cleverly sent back to Kenny Law's goal, and the ball was allowed to rush through the line in the opposite corner of the net.
The blues was now undoubtedly in a domination and ran in disarray, after sixty-four minutes the cheeky rear heel from Kenny Lowe made his way perfectly to the path of Louis Donova, who was not mistaken with a simple push to make him five.
The game now turned into a semi-show match, when the Blues stroked the ball and processed the crowd with pretty flicks and rear heels. One of these back heels from the substitute, Steve McGavin found the always wary Clarridge, who deftly knocked the ball over Mel Caplton into the goal, who dived onto the attackers' feet.
The line was completed within four minutes from the time that George Parris jabbed the ball along the line from close range after a penalty in the melee.
The victory launched the Blues at the top of Division 2 for the first time this season and it will be very good to see the team advance in Barry Fry to Division 1 at the end of the season.
Blues 7: Bradshaw (og) 12, Donova 25, 64, Clarridge 37, 73, Low 53, Parris 86.
Blackpool 1: Bradshaw 8
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