Alex Dicken’s player analyses as Birmingham City are pushed to the edge at Huddersfield

Alex Dicken rates the Birmingham City players after the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town in the Championship

Birmingham City must make a spectacular turnaround on the last day to avoid relegation after failing to defeat Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Rhys Healey cancelled out Koji Miyoshi’s goal immediately after halftime, and the Blues were unable to retaliate. Huddersfield has been effectively relegated as a result of other results, and the Blues must beat Norwich City on the final day and hope for a miracle.

Keshi Anderson of the Blues had the afternoon’s first serious chance. Jay Stansfield and Miyoshi skillfully passed the ball to Anderson inside the box, but he scuffed his eight-yard effort wide. Anderson should have tested Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.

Huddersfield gradually gained control of the game and had a good chance midway through the half. Pinball inside the Blues’ penalty area resulted in Jack Rudoni’s volley going just wide of the upright.

Former Huddersfield player Juninho Bacuna, who was reinstated to the starting lineup by Gary Rowett after two games on the bench, sent a free header over the bar shortly after.

With halftime approaching and other results going against the Blues, a critical breakthrough occurred. Anderson glided down the left and crossed to the far post, where Miyoshi was ready to guide the ball beyond Nicholls. On the field, there was elation, but in the stands, there was relief.

Rowett must have underlined the necessity of keeping things tight at the start of the second half, but the Blues lost their lead in less than two minutes. The dangerous Rudoni slid into space down the right and squared for Healey to tie Huddersfield up.

Blues struggled to stop Huddersfield’s attempts, although they nearly regained the lead against the run of play via Stanfield. Miyoshi flashed the ball through to Blues’ leading scorer, whose first-time shot went an inch or two wide of the post.

Rowett brought Siriki Dembele, the scourge of Huddersfield in October, and made three substitutions with 15 minutes remaining. Marc Roberts, Alex Pritchard, and Lukas Jutkiewicz were like the proverbial kitchen sink.

There was no grandstand finish, however. In fact, Huddersfield appeared to have a better chance of winning in the latter moments. It’s all about next week’s game against Norwich City now.

John Ruddy 6

The goalie made a wonderful save on Helik when the ball dropped free inside his 18-yard box shortly after Healey leveled. Ruddy had to deal with a large number of balls into his box from Huddersfield set pieces.

Ethan Laird 5

Laird played a pretty mixed game. He played effectively defensively at times, but his touch let him down in the final third. Laird lost the ball twice in rapid succession at one point in the second half, causing displeasure in the away end.

Krystian Bielik 6

Bielik has been the Blues’ finest player under Rowett, and he was solid in this game. He defended well and moved to midfield for the final moments.

Dion Sanderson 6

Sanderson produced an adequate performance at the back. He tried to play out when he could and defended his box well enough.

Lee Buchanan 5

Buchanan struggled to cope with Rudoni and did well to stay on the field after an early booking. His distribution and quality in the final third left a lot to be desired.

Ivan Sunjic 5

Sunjic battled and worked relentlessly during the first half to help Blues establish their lead. When they got themselves ahead, Sunjic wasn’t able to keep possession at the start of the second half and take the sting out of Huddersfield’s attacks.

Paik Seung-ho 5

The South Korean midfielder was unusually poor in possession. Too many of Paik’s set pieces failed to beat the first man, too.

Koji Miyoshi 6

Miyoshi scored at the John Smith’s Stadium and showed some quality in possession but too many times he ran into trouble and lost possession. Never

Juninho Bacuna 5

Bacuna managed to combine well with Anderson in the first half but his influence disappeared after half-time. A few lax touches inside his own defensive third almost put Blues in trouble during Huddersfield’s onslaught immediately after the break. It was no surprise to see him withdrawn.

Keshi Anderson 6

Anderson produced the moment of quality in the first half for Blues to create Miyoshi’s goal. He wasn’t able to carry it on into the second half.

Jay Stansfield 6

If everyone fought for the cause like Stansfield then Blues wouldn’t be in this position. He played his heart out until the final whistle and won’t be in League One next season – even if Blues are.

SUBS

Siriki Dembele (for Bacuna, 65) 6

Dembele showed some of his quality when he came on. There’s a good argument that he should have started.

Marc Roberts (for Sunjic, 76) N/A

Alex Pritchard (for Miyoshi, 76) N/A

Lukas Jutkiewicz (for Anderson, 76) N/A

Not used: Etheridge, Gardner, James, Hall, T Roberts