GARRY’S BIRTHDAY BLUES

Birmingham 0 Boro 1 BY JOHN WRAGG

IN-FORM Patrick Bamford ruined Garry Monk’s birthday and his debut as Birmingham manager.

Monk hardly played the striker (above) when he was Middlesbrough boss after spending a club record £15million on Britt Assombalonga.

But Bamford got his own back as Boro climbed into the top six.

Adama Traore’s cross allowed him to net from a yard out in the 39th minute. It was Bamford’s seventh goal in four matches – more than he had scored in his previous 63 games.

Monk, 39 yesterday, is the Blues’ fifth manager in 15 months with a brief to get them out of relegation trouble.

Their performance improved, but Birmingham still slumped to a sixth successive league defeat.