Birmingham City player ratings after thier impressive pre-season form against Cheltenham as they came from behind

Birmingham City recorded a 3-2 win over Cheltenham Town to extend their impressive pre-season form

Birmingham City twice came from behind to maintain their perfect pre-season record with a 3-2 win at Cheltenham Town.

Keshi Anderson marked his official debut with a goal to cancel out Ellis Chapman’s early strike before George Lloyd gave the Robins the lead for the second time in the 31st minute. Blues hit back twice in quick succession through Jordan James and Juninho Bacuna to lead before half-time and Cheltenham couldn’t respond.

A first half packed with goals ignited in the 15th minute when Chapman became the first man to beat John Ruddy in pre-season. Blues failed to clear a free-kick and Chapman found space on the edge of the box to fire through the crowd and open the scoring.

Blues reacted rapidly to level through Anderson, who was officially confirmed as the club’s eighth summer signing before the game. Anderson expertly chested down Ethan Laird’s cross and squeezed a shot underneath the crossbar

Cheltenham regained the lead six minutes later after Rob Street exploited some space behind Manny Longelo to square for Lloyd. Lloyd got across the near post and poked beyond Ruddy.

After being breached twice, Blues finally shifted into gear and took control of the game. James equalised via a big deflection 10 minutes before half-time to take his tally to three in three games. How Keshi Anderson helped solve Neil Critchley's 'conundrum' for Blackpool against Birmingham City | Blackpool Gazette

Blues saved the best till last in a frenetic first half. A patient passing move ended with Bacuna collecting the ball on the edge of the box and curling it past Cheltenham stopper Luke Southwood.

Siriki Dembele tried to get in on the act at the start of the second half but he overran the ball after being played through on goal by Anderson.

Aside from that, the second half was a non-event as Blues cruised to a fourth straight pre-season win. Their warm-up matches conclude next weekend with a trip to Peterborough United.

John Ruddy 6

Ruddy got a hand to Chapman’s opener but he couldn’t keep it out. He stood no chance with Lloyd’s goal after being left exposed by shoddy defending from those in front of him.

Ethan Laird 7

The right-back was involved in lots of Blues’ good attacking play, in addition to his work at the other end. He grabbed the assist for Anderson’s goal before being taken off as a precaution at the start of the second half.

Dion Sanderson 6

Sanderson is still feeling his way into pre-season after just 60 minutes of action before today. He kept things simple at the back and looked stronger as the game wore on.

Marc Roberts 6

Roberts had to adapt to play on the left side of Blues’ defence and did OK. Aside from one pass where he inexplicably beamed the ball out of play when under no pressure, Roberts’ distribution was improved on other pre-season showings.

Manny Longelo 6

Defensively Longelo isn’t perfect, but going forward he is certainly exciting. He got caught out a couple of times in the first half before showing his class going forward with one superb delivery to find James in the second.

Jordan James 7

James continues to influence games in pre-season and will claim his third goal in three games, despite a huge deflection wrong footing Southwood. The midfielder is really staking his claim to be a starter and thriving in a new role on the right.

Ivan Sunjic 6

The Croatian started his fourth consecutive pre-season match and tried to hold things together in a midfield packed with attacking talent. Sunjic’s passing could have been better.

Juninho Bacuna 7

Bacuna seemed to enjoy himself on his first pre-season start and scored the pick of Blues’ goals. He is among Blues’ most technical players and showed off some excellent vision at times on a more than useful outing.

Keshi Anderson 8

Anderson was the pick of Blues’ forwards on the day his signing was officially announced. The 28-year-old scored his first goal for the club with a brilliant finish and combined well with his teammates.

Siriki Dembele 6.5

There were some flashes of quality from the diminutive Dembele, who again played on the left wing. One touch to take down a raking pass from Laird at the beginning of the second half was sublime. He was a little bit rusty in front of goal when chances presented themselves to him.

SUBS

Neil Etheridge (for Ruddy, 46) 6

The back-up goalkeeper was a little shaky in possession but he wasn’t punished.

Marcel Oakley (for Laird, 53) 6

Oakley has been awarded a lot of playing time in pre-season and seems to have impressed Blues’ coaching staff. A foray into Cheltenham’s box should have resulted in a shot at goal but Oakley was crowded out by the experienced Curtis Davies.

Kevin Long (for Sanderson, 67) 6

Long played 20-odd minutes on the left side of a back three and went untroubled.

Alfie Chang (for Bacuna, 67) 6

The youngster retrieved possession a couple of times and kept things neat and tidy in midfield.

Tate Campbell (for Dembele, 67) 6

Campbell slotted in on the right side of a back three and looked very comfortable. He has the physical attributes to play at the back, as well as his preferred midfield position.

Lukas Jutkiewicz (for Anderson, 67) 6

Jutkiewicz was starved of service and flung himself at a few crosses in hope.

Brandon Khela (for Sunjic, 67) 6