August Priske scored his first Championship goal of the season as Birmingham City came from behind to draw 1-1 with Southampton at St Andrew's, maintaining their unbeaten start to the campaign.
The Dane cancelled out Keven Schlotterbeck's first-half opener to secure a point for Chris Davies' side. Both teams had chances to add to the scoreline, with Jay Stansfield the guiltiest party for Blues and Cyle Larin particularly wasteful for Southampton on a night where a draw was a fair outcome.
Performance shows progress
There was a sense pre-match that Southampton might be an opponent a little more suited to Blues at St Andrew's than Bristol City had been. Saints were always going to impose their style, and Blues relished the chance to go toe-to-toe with a promotion favourite in a high-octane clash.
The game didn't need a fat load of guile, it required guts and gusto, and Blues are playing with plenty of that this season. Manager Chris Davies measured Blues' performance against their efforts versus Southampton last season, and it's hard to disagree with his words.
He said: “My main feeling is that I keep thinking back to when we played them last year, in two games we were nowhere near as competitive in either game as we were tonight and that shows the progress we’ve made.”
The meeting with Wolves could play out in a similar way if Cesar Peixoto's team are bullish in their approach.
A proper No.9 – but what's behind him?
Priske showed once more why Blues bet big on him in the January transfer window. The Dane is proving a handful for Championship defenders, and Blues have tweaked their approach in the last two matches to allow their No.9 to demonstrate his technical quality.
Standing at 6ft 5ins, Priske is more than capable of challenging for aerial duels, and that was integral to Blues' game-plan at the back-end of last season, but they are now using him in a more complete sense. They are playing the ball into his feet and down the channels where he has the speed to trouble centre-backs. Priske retrieved one lost cause in the second half to start a promising attack on Blues' left flank.
The final piece of the puzzle for any striker is goals, and while Priske was quick to point out that finding the net isn't his be-all-and-end-all when he completed his post-match media duties, you can't help but feel that a steady supply of goals will ensure confidence remains high and standards don't slip in his all-round game.
Priske is very much Blues' first choice centre-forward, and we won't truly know whether Luis Vazquez is a capable replacement or deputy until he gets more meaty minutes. Twenty-seven Championship minutes in which you could probably count his touches on your hands isn't enough to cast judgement.
Roberts proves his worth
There was always going to be games for Patrick Roberts. A first start since April was a long time coming, and Roberts delivered an assist and a reminder to Davies that he is a match for Carlos Vicente.
As Vicente's form has dwindled since his promising start at Swansea, the clamour for Roberts has grown, and the 29-year-old offers something entirely different to every other player in a Blues squad packed with players signed for their physical profiles.
“That little bit of craft and creativity that Patrick has is special,” said Davies. “He has his moment with the assist and a few other moments and touches, things that he can wriggle out of. He’s had to be patient. The team has been in pretty good form and he hasn’t been on the pitch too much recently, but he’s certainly made a big impact and that’s positive for us. I want competition in all positions and players ready to go so it was a really good night for him.”
Osayi-Samuel needs to curb the bookings
Bright Osayi-Samuel is racing towards a first suspension of the season with three yellow cards to his name from the first four Championship games. The Nigerian, who has also been booked in the cup, was the first Blues player to incur a ban last season for five yellow cards, and it seems likely that he will be this season too.
The foul which earned the booking on Leo Scienza ultimately resulted in the corner that Southampton scored from and wasn't a challenge he had to jump into. Osayi-Samuel has made great strides in his performances this season, but he could do without the yellow cards that will eventually cost him minutes.
