The City Is Ours

That took a while didn't it? Too long if you ask me. I'd almost forgot what it felt like to beat them, but I was sliftly reminded just how good it feels. Even the day after; the gloating, the smile on your face, the holding your head high, the banter with the Villa fans and the look on their faces as they realise there's nothing they can say back to you. We did it.

A full St. Andrews witnessed a, not brilliant, but definitely resilient Blues performance last night. It was a great game and definitely a great way to show everyone what Midlands football is all about (minus the scenes at the end of the match, but we'll come to that mini rant later).

The first goal in any derby game is always crucial, and luckily enough we got it through a great Seb Larsson penalty - low, hard, sent the keeper the wrong way and most importantly found the back of the net. 1-0 Blues, absolutely brilliant. The place went mental, the crowd erupted and the noise was deafening.


Some time later we scored a second, only to be denied by the 'interfering with play rule.' This is one thing the FA need to clarify. It's such a fancy rule no one knows what's going on any more: in my opinion it should be changed to if you're offside, you're offside. That way no one gets confused and teams aren't helped or hindered by decisions.

In a quick change of events, Villa equalised through a man whose name does not deserve a place on my blog and I will not give him it either. There's not many people I could say I hate, in fact there's only two things: Aston Villa and that man.

I wouldn't say we were the best team in the game: for large parts of the game I was convinced Villa were going to win it. I was preparing myself for another heartbreak; for another let down; for another miserable trek back home in the snow. But this time it was our time. It was our night and it was our turn to show people how we do it. And we did.


In the derbies last season, it was Villa who killed our dreams. It was Villa who scored in the closing minutes of the game to deny us any chance of a comeback; but this time the tables were turned. Jerome fed a ball in the air to Zigic who, challenged, looped the ball over Friedel who couldn't save it. Zigic: relieved, Blues: ecstatic, Villa: crushed. The fatal blow had been dealt by the team who had had to endure all the taunts over the years, and that's why the victory wasn't just a victory: it was such a sweet, sweet moment that no one will forget in a hurry.

I am extremely proud of what Blues did, and I find it unfortunate that a minority marred it for the majority. I do not in any way condone the Blues fans that ran over to the Villa fans to taunt them and sing at them: but I do understand why. It's hard to put a fan of another club in the shoes of a Blues fan, but if you ask us kindly enough we'll all tell you how they Villa fans have made us feel over the years, and how much they've mocked us. It was our turn. Maybe the fans didn't go about it in the right way, but they were blinded by the fact we'd just beat our local rivals for the first time in years.


Now onto the more serious stuff: the flares. I find it amusing how the media labelled Birmingham as the flare throwiers and the chair chuckers. I watched the scenes unfold, and I watched the first flarwes being thron by Villa fans (who later admitted it was them who brought them - case closed) and I watched them rip up seats and throw them. Not that i condone Blues throwing them back - both fans are as bad as each other in my opinion - but I'm fed up of the media blaming it all on Birmingham because of our past.

Also what I found hilarious and not even wroth defending, was the fact we were blamed for not getting the World Cup in 2018. Brilliant. That is class. Us Blues and Villa fans have been making jokes all day about it - because it really is brilliant, isn't it? Lets ignore everything else wrong with the country and pinpoint one incident that happened the night before the announcement, when a lot of people had already confided to the fact Russia were probably going to win it. Genius. The Midlands derby? The perfect scapegoat.

I don't want it to mar what was a great victory, but the facts need to be said and the people on England need to move on with their lives. The most important thing to come from yesterday was the fact we beat our local rivals and we're now two games from Wembley, and for me, that's the only thing that matters right now.

Full Time: Birmingham City 2-1 Aston Villa