STOKE CITY RESERVES 0
BIRMINGHAM CITY RESERVES 0

The Reserves played out a goalless draw with Birmingham City in their first Barclays Premier Reserve League South game of the season to be held at Nantwich Town's Weaver Stadium.

A quiet first half was followed by a more productive second, but the killer instinct of a Ricardo Fuller, watching from the sidelines, was the missing factor that would have finished off the visitors.

With no recognised centre forwards in the team, it was left to Tom Soares and Michael Tonge to lead the line for Mark O'Connor's side.

Danny Pugh would head the diamond in a midfield also containing Amdy Faye and Diego Arismendi, with Salif Diao occupying a holding role.

The game started slowly and it wasn't until the seventeenth minute that City produced the first chance of the game.

Pugh fed Soares a ball through the inside right channel and he held off a defender to put in a shot at goal that proved comfortable for Birmingham keeper Colin Doyle.

Arismendi then went even closer to breaking the deadlock in the 26th minute.

Andy Wilkinson went on a mazy run down the right after bringing down Danny Higginbotham's cross field pass, and supplied the Uruguayan with a neat ball into the area.

Arismendi took his first touch well but his second saw him steer the ball narrowly over the bar from close range.

With a minute of the first half remaining he was presented with another chance when Soares put in a high cross to the back post, but he couldn't generate enough power on a header to trouble Doyle.

There were no substitutions at the break but there was a change in the team moving forward.

The visitors began brightly and James O'Shea jinked and weaved his way down the left before sending an effort narrowly wide of Steve Simonsen and his far post.

Carsley would then try and catch Simonsen out with a quick free-kick after being fouled by Amdy Faye, but the early shot would fail to even hit the target.

Tonge did respond for the Potters on 55 minutes, when he curled a right footed effort just wide of the far post from the edge of the area.

The Potters were playing some good football but just couldn't get an attempt on target, highlighted no more so than midway through the second period.

Arismendi, Pugh and Griffin interchanged passed down the left before the latter put in a ball to the far post.

Soares made up ground to reach the cross but his outstretched could only send the ball wide of the back stick.

Pugh and Tonge would put further crosses into the box but there was just never enough attacking instinct by a player to put them away.

Academy hotshot Louis Moult was introduced with little less than twenty minutes remaining to try and change that and he went close just after coming on.

More quick short passing between Griffin, Tonge and Soares allowed Moult through on goal but with a defending pressuring he fired narrowly wide.

With five minutes remaining, the hosts created another opening with Griffin bombing forward down the left.

He squared for Pugh who half-volleyed the ball just over the bar from the edge of the area.

Tonge and Wilkinson would both keep the Birmingham keeper on his toes in the dying moments but their headers wouldn't produce a much need goal either.

The draw maintains the second string's unbeaten home start the season ahead of the trip to Fulham next Tuesday.

After the game, Mark O'Connor praised the side's effort saying, "When I looked at the team before the match I did wonder where the goals might come from but we had a good second half and were unlucky not to get all three points."

CITY (4-1-2-1-2): Simonsen; Wilkinson, Cort, Higginbotham, Griffin (c); Diao, Amdy Faye (Moult 72), Arismendi; Pugh; Soares, Tonge. Subs (not used): Parton (gk), Lund, Wedderburn.

BIRMINGHAM (4-5-1): Doyle;  Preston , Jacob Rowe, Ridgewell, Luke Rowe; O'Shea (Redmond 87), McPike (Joyce 90), Carsley, Sammons (c), Hronec (Asante 70); Jervis. Subs (Not Used): Butland (gk), Dunphy.