Leeds slipped to their first defeat under Brian McDermott at St Andrews, Hayden Mullins grabbed the only goal of a tight game where Birmingham's quality just shone through.

Whilst Leeds under McDermott are definitely easier on the eye these days, clearly we lack quality. Although Birmingham have struggled of late, there is no denying that a midfield consisting of Nathan Redmond and Ravel Morrison would cause most Championship clubs trouble on their day.

Brian McDermott named an unchanged side to the one that beat Burnley midweek, ironically Leeds' last win on their travels came in this stadium on a freezing cold January night in the FA Cup 3rd round replay. In contrast Leeds basked in glorious sunshine with a noisy travelling fan base roaring their approval at the passing game Brian McDermott has tried to bring on.

In the early exchanges I thought that Leeds had a strong shout for a penalty waved away by referee Hooper, when Davies appeared to handle. Indeed the man in black seemed to let a lot go and I'm sure another referee would have dished out at least three or even four yellow-cards. Mr Hooper failed to reach for his top pocket once.

After Morrison clipped the bar, Leeds looked dangerous but admittedly most efforts were coming from long range, Varney unexpectedly found himself presented with half a chance when Butland spilled Austin's long range drive. The highly rated young keeper then turned over a Michael Tonge drive and just before the break dealt the same fate to a hopeful Ross McCormack strike.

During the first half, I mused how muted the home fans were. I cannot recall being in such a quiet stadium. Indeed the half-time penalty shoot-out competition seemed to stir more passion amongst the locals than the first-half had. It dawned on me I should perhaps be more empathetic towards my blue brethren because after all we know as well as anyone the dehabilitating effect that prolonged takeovers and mysterious foreign owners can cause.

Therefore I turned my pondering to the half-time entertainment, a Sea Cadet marching band from nearby and landlocked Sutton Coldfield.

Ross McCormack had a couple of decent chances,including a free-kick that clipped the bar, then another rare slip from Butland almost let in Sam Byram.

On the hour, Brian McDermott brought on Lee Peltier for Michael Tonge, however the St Andrew's announcer informed us that Peltier had replaced Rodolph Austin. How he could mistake Tonge for Austin we shall probably never know, however it was more clear that Peltier had gone right-back to enable Sam Byram to push on in midfield. A ditty about the consequences of Sam Byram being sold in the summer was getting a regular airing from the away end.

However within what possibly was our best spell possesion wise the Blues took the lead on 72 minutes, Redmond advanced and shot from the edge of the area, Kenny's double-handed parry dropped perfectly for Mullins to bundle the ball home. Finally the home fans made a little bit of noise but after less than five minutes they slipped back into their coma.

It seemed to knock the stuffing out of us and although Brian McDermott tinkered with the team, bringing on Drury and Morrison you just got that feeling that there was no way back for us and the game was slipping away from us.

This result and others elsewhere finally ensured that the play-offs are no longer mathematically possible, our place in next season's Championship was also confirmed as Birmingham's hapless rivals from Wolverhampton cannot catch us either. In the car home, the debate about who Brian McDermott should retain for next season was well underway and maybe today's defeat will be a twisted blessing for the new boss as despite all the euphoria over us arrival clearly there is lots of work to do!

Photo: Action Images

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