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Five things to take from Solihull Moors win

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On Tuesday night, Birmingham City enjoyed a successful start to their preseason fixture list with a comfortable win over National League side Solihull Moors.

Following a dominant first half from Gary Rowett’s men, with two goals coming from Clayton Donaldson and a first for the club from Diego Fabbrini, the game was dead and buried before the next XI came onto the field of play after the break.

The home side grabbed a goal in the second half after Nicolai Brock-Madsen failed to clear the ball on the edge of his own box. An unnamed triallist bagged the consolation goal for Moors, who were the better of the two sides in the second 45.

Although the game probably wasn’t what most fans were expecting, here are the five talking points I picked out from Blues’ first game in their busy preseason schedule.

COGS WERE TURNING

Josh Cogley played the first 45 minutes are right back and he certainly impressed many. His composure on the ball reminded me a little of Stephen Carr during his time with the club and his distribution was also very good as well.

Currently, Cogley is seen as somebody who is just on the fringes of the first team but with no other right back set to compete with Paul Caddis next season, could the youngster be back-up to the Scotsman?

BROCK-MADSEN ISN’T A WINGER

In the second half, Rowett put the Danish striker out on the right and it is fair to say that it really didn’t work out there for him. Personally, I would have put James Vaughan out wide because of his pace but I am not the manager.

Despite some good touches here and there, he was largely at fault for the goal that Blues conceded which certainly put a dampener on the game.

VAUGHAN DESPERATELY NEEDS A GOAL

Last night, the former Huddersfield Town man had three or four really good chances which he didn’t take, but credit to him, he never stopped trying to find the back of the net which I suppose is one positive to take from his performance.

If he fails to score in any of the next few preseason games then I think his confidence will continue to slip further and further which isn’t a good thing for Blues. However, he was one of the shining lights in the second half with his energy levels being very high.

HAIR DON’T

Polish goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak was sporting a very, how can I put it, feminine hair style at the game last night. The man bun that he had in is dividing opinions between fans but having seen it close up, I wish I’d had a pair of scissors handy to cut it off…sorry Tomasz.

Should he keep it for the new season, there is no doubt that it will be a talking point if he has a shaky start during the opening six games in the Sky Bet Championship.

ROWETT DISAPPEARS AFTER THE GAME

The Blues manager shot off rather quickly after the game, failing to give interviews to the club and Brian Dick of the Birmingham Mail. There was no indication as to why he did leave so promptly, so it left me wondering, why did he leave?

Acting director Panos Pavlakis was present at the game and left shortly after Rowett left so could there be something on the horizon? Probably not, but we can all dream can’t we!

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