Ten-man Birmingham City struggled to take anything from a game that on paper should have been an easy victory for them against relegation threatened Plymouth Argyle. The game was turned upside down when the Blues had goalkeeper Maik Taylor sent off for a foul on lively attacker Jamie Mackie.
The hyperactive striker caused the home side difficulties from the first minute with his quick runs straight through the defence. The 22nd minute sending off saw a penalty for the greens, converted by top scorer Paul Gallagher with ease.
The game went from bad to worse for Birmingham as defender Liam Ridgewell was taken away from the field on a stretcher following a clash with Mackie. The first half ended 0-1 with the home side very much on the back foot.
Plymouth attacked the game in the second period of this scrappy bout, however, a free kick decision went in favour of the Blues, resulting in a miss by Argyle goalkeeper Romain Larrieu for Franck Queudrue to take advantage.
Young striker Ashley Barnes nearly added to his goal tally, but was twice ruled offside with the game ending in a draw. The away side would never have expected to be disappointed with an away draw with promotion chasing Birmingham, but by half time, it looked like Plymouth could steal all three points.
With three games left, Argyle stand four points clear of relegation, but their toughest game off the run in has passed and they took an unexpected point. With QPR, Doncaster and Barnsley games coming up, two wins will guarantee safety, but it is likely that only one or two points will keep Plymouth in the Championship for another year.
Patrick MacGougan
