Aston Villa And Birmingham City Impress No One In A 0-0 Draw

The Second City Derby was boring enough to put many supporters to sleep, with Aston Villa and Birmingham City grinding out a 0-0 draw. Gerard Houllier, intent on excluding Stephen Ireland, fielded an overly defensive Villa side that lacked creativity. Visiting Birmingham put up an organized defense, as per usual, but barely threatened Brad Friedel’s net. However, Aston Villa fans found one bright spot in the match, the play of midfielder Barry Bannan:

The twenty-year-old impressed when substituted for Sidwell, darting all over the pitch and even trying to beat Nikola Zigic to a header. Considering he’s over a foot shorter than Birmingham’s tree of a striker, he wasn’t actually threatening, but it was still adorable. Bannan already has a great read of the game, taking the ball through the blue shirts until he found a sweet shooting space twenty yards out, forcing Foster into a diving save.

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