BARNES THE STORMING SHOWMAN
STAR striker Jonathan Kodjia could face yet another lengthy spell out as Aston Villa try to step up their Championship promotion bid.
FROM FRONT PAGE plastic bottles thrown at him.
Villa players had to wait in the dressing room after the game, until Birmingham supporters had been cleared out (a City steward deals with a pitch invader, above).
A Villa spokesman said: “Ahmed was hit by a coin in the first half of the game and it was handed over to a steward.”
The derby was held up repeatedly as free cardboard clappers, put on every seat at St Andrew’s by the hosts, were hurled at players.
West Mildlands Police labelled it “an awful and naive idea” and said they would have advised against it – if they’d known it was being planned.
Villa boss Steve Bruce slammed Brum for the clappers, which were used as weapons by Blues fans, and claimed his players could have been badly hurt. “They were rolled up, plastic bands around them and they became like a rock,” said Bruce.
“Thankfully, no one has been caught by them, but they could have. Two of the players got hit.
“So whoever has made that ridiculous decision of having clappers like that today, I don’t think they will do it again.”
Birmingham manager Steve Cotterill said: “I knew the clappers were being thrown about but it might have hindered us, because it slowed down our momentum.
“That is a decision I’m sure the club will look at in the future. I don’t know where it came from.
“I don’t have a view on the clappers, whether they were good, bad or indifferent.
“All I would say is when the clappers came on the pitch, they slowed our game down a bit, which didn’t help us.” BARNSLEY winger Harvey Barnes is gaining a reputation as a player with an eye for the spectacular.
The 19-year-old on loan from Leicester scored a goal-of-theseason contender in the South Yorkshire derby at Sheffield Wednesday to earn the Tykes a hard-fought point.
He caught the eye for England Under-18s in the summer’s Toulon Tournament, finishing as the trophy’s joint-top scorer as he helped the Three Lions win it.
The teenager (above, centre) says he enjoys scoring special goals. “I was pleased to see my goal go in, it was a happy moment for me,” said Barnes.
“If it does open up to have a shot I do back myself to at least test the keeper. I will always take the shot on if it opens up.
“I haven’t scored a tap-in yet. It is something I have definitely got to work on, mixing it up and getting in the box to be on the end of crosses.”
Wednesday were ahead at the break in the most fortuitous circumstances. Adam Reach slipped just inside the area and his left-foot shot cannoned against his right foot before looping over the despairing Adam Davies in the Barnsley goal.
If the Owls’ opener was fortunate, the Barnsley leveller was the opposite. Barnes cut in from the left, 20 yards from goal, and curled home a stunner.
It’s now just one win in six for Wednesday and captain Tom Lees moaned: “We’ve put ourselves in this position and we’ve got to get out of it.”