![\"Birmingham](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1_Middlesbrough-v-Birmingham-City-Sky-Bet-Championship-Football-Riverside-Stadium-Middlesbrough-U.jp.jpeg\")
Birmingham City manager Chris Davies consoles Alex Cochrane after the 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough(Image: Alex Dodd\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\nBirmingham City talking points after the 2-1 Championship defeat to MiddlesbroughBirmingham City manager Chris Davies consoles Alex Cochrane after the 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough(Image: Alex Dodd\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
Middlesbrough inflicted another away defeat on Birmingham City<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n Dael Fry and Hayden Hackney cancelled out Demarai Gray\u2019s<\/a> third goal of the season to ensure Blues break with a defeat after back-to-back 4-0 home wins.<\/a><\/p>\n Blues sit 11th at the third international break of the season with 21 points from their opening 15 matches.<\/p>\n Here are our talking points from Blues\u2019 defeat to Boro\u2026<\/p>\n Blues walked into a tidal wave<\/strong><\/p>\n Members of the media spent the hours leading up to kick-off debating whether it was a good time to play Boro.<\/p>\n It was only confirmed two hours before kick-off that Rob Edwards would not be in the dugout as he prepares to take over as Wolverhampton Wanderers manager. That meant Boro\u2019s preparation was less than ideal.<\/p>\n But you could sense a siege mentality rippling around the Riverside before kick-off. Their supporters and players were fuelled by Edwards\u2019 impending departure rather than deflated by it.<\/p>\n Boro\u2019s interim boss Adi Viveash called it a \u2018tidal wave\u2019 and you wouldn\u2019t disagree with him.<\/p>\n Every tackle and clearance was celebrated like a goal and the volume on an anti-Edwards chant was rarely turned down by home fans.<\/p>\n The uphill task of ending one of the Championship\u2019s best home records was made into a mountain by the events of the past 48 hours.<\/p>\n Chances wasted<\/strong><\/p>\n Chris Davies<\/a> felt that Blues created enough chances to warrant at least a point and he is right.<\/p>\n Blues created better chances against Boro than they have in their other Championship games. Compare it to Bristol City two weeks ago and it was chalk and cheese.<\/p>\n Jay Stansfield<\/a> appeared to be caught in two minds when running through on goal at the start of the second half. The pass to Marvin Ducksch wasn\u2019t on, Stansfield needed more conviction in his finish.<\/p>\n Patrick Roberts<\/a> had two back-post chances, both of which he did well to get on target, and Tomoki Iwata had a good headed chance where teammate Kyogo Furuhashi<\/a> inadvertently got in his way.<\/p>\n Get the latest Blues headlines sent straight to your phone<\/p>\n BirminghamLive has its very own Birmingham City<\/a> WhatsApp community to deliver the latest headlines straight to your phone. Just click this link<\/a> to receive daily Blues content and breaking news. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. Click on the name at the top of your screen while in WhatsApp and click ‘Exit Group’. Read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Away form must be corrected<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s quite obvious what is holding Blues back in the Championship. They are top-six for points per game at home and bottom five away from home, having lost five of their eight matches on the road.<\/p>\n Blues will likely rely on their home form throughout the season, such is the fortress that St Andrew\u2019s has become over the last 18 months, but Davies does need to find a route to victories away from home.<\/p>\n The way in which Blues won ugly at Preston has to be a template they turn to more often.<\/p>\n Blues have found their feet<\/strong><\/p>\n Having said all that, Blues can be pleased with their return of nine points from the six-game batch between the October and November international breaks.<\/p>\n Across a 46-game season, that points per game ratio would leave you with 69 points \u2013 a total that is usually enough for a play-off place.<\/p>\n During the past month we have seen partnerships form and players flourish.<\/p>\n Davies commented: \u201cI think we\u2019ve improved. It\u2019s a third of the way through and we\u2019ve seen a bit of everything. In the last few weeks I think our performance level has improved.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are creating more chances than we were early on in the season.<\/p>\n “I think we\u2019ve been fairly defensively solid but we\u2019ve added more of a goal threat, so that\u2019s been the improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really hard league, it\u2019s so demanding. As I said to the players, we\u2019re always disappointed when we lose a match but underlying that we\u2019ve shown we can compete against some really good teams home and away.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to refresh now for the winter months. The fact we know we can compete, we know we can get results, we know we can play well, it bodes well.\u201d<\/p>\n