|I have been staring at a blank page, wondering how even to start this report! It was a real 'back-to-the-eighties' match, with Saints trying frantically to score more goals than they were letting in at the back. They managed it in the end. Just.

From a team point of view, it was good to see Downes restored to a starting role, as we look so much better when he plays. Balanced against that was the absence of the injured Walker-Peters, who was replaced by Manning, and with no Fraser, it was back to Brooks, Adam Armstrong and Adams.

To say the match didn't get off to the best of starts is an understatement, as Saints went a goal down within two minutes. Birmingham straightaway punted the ball forward to where a left back would be in normal circumstances, but not today. The only player there was Birmingham's Japanese No.11, Miyoshi, who simply lobbed the ball over Bzunu's head to make it 1-0. I noted that it was going to be a long afternoon.

If that wasn't bad enough, Birmingham came straight back, and Bacuna's shot hit the upright and then bounced off the back of the diving Bazunu to go for a corner. Fortunately, Birmingham seem to be as bad at corners as Saints, so that came to nothing.

Then, at last, Saints showed some attacking intent, with Adam Armstrong flighting a dangerous cross from the far left, which Brooks couldn't quite connect cleanly with.

Then, after a fair bit of Saints probing, they suddenly played a wonderful succession of passes out from defence, ending with Brooks playing a perfectly weighted pass to Adam Armstrong, who made no mistake in slotting the ball past the keeper to equalise. 1-1.

This was now a riveting match to watch; you couldn't take your eyes off it for a minute as it went from end to end, with every attack looking as though it would result in a goal.

Then, it started snowing, reminding us that it wasn't Spring yet. It was not the lovely dry snow you find in skiing resorts but the wet sort you see in the Midlands on a gloomy early-March day.

The seasonal Midlands weather didn't slow Saints down, and Adams, who used to play for Birmingham and should be used to this, shot from distance, which deceived the keeper, but it hit the post.

Saints then won a corner, and for once, Saints worked a lovely routine that was obviously from the training ground. Brooks took the kick but made a short pass to Stu Armstrong. Brooks advanced towards Stu and took the return to send a pass arcing across to where Manning was waiting at the far post. So far, so good, but somehow, the keeper kept it out, and it was eventually cleared. The players deserved more.

Brooks was creating havoc down the right wing, and next, he played Smallbone in, whose first-time shot was just parried clear by Ruddy. The Birmingham keeper was having a busy old afternoon.

So much of the Saints' build-up play was intricate, clever, and a joy to watch, but guess what? They were then undone just before halftime by a classic 'route one' move. Ruddy rolls the ball wide to a defender, who lobs the ball over defenders and midfielders alike. Caught by surprise, Bednarek's attempted header only succeeded in helping it along to drop at the feet of Stansfield, the only blue shirt in the Saints half. Now, in front of all the Saints players racing back, Stansfield bears down on goal. Bazunu tries to narrow the angle, but the Birmingham player shoots over him to make it 2-1.

There was still time in the half for Saints to lay siege to the Birmingham goal, with Adam Armstrong hitting the angle of the crossbar and upright, followed by Smallbone shooting just wide. The players in blue would have been relieved to hear the halftime whistle.

There were no changes in personnel on either side, and the second half carried on where the first left off - end to end.

Brooks then demonstrated precisely why he is so highly thought of. Smallbone passed to Brooks out on the right wing with not the slightest sign of danger to Ruddy in goal. The Welsh international sidestepped one tackle, moved infield, looked up at the goal, and curled an exquisite shot up over four blue shirts and the keeper into the far corner. Goal! 2-2.

Saints stepped up several gears, and an Adams shot was deflected wide for a corner. Smallbone took the corner, but it wasn't good and was cleared. The Birmingham defence was getting sloppy under the pressure, and they soon coughed up the ball. Smallbone was the first to react; he stepped forward and sent a cross over everyone to Ché Adams at the far post. The Saints No.10 was having a fine game, and it initially looked as though he had blown it as he slipped, but quickly regained his feet; meanwhile, two defenders were closing him down, but he still managed to shoot through a crowd of players, into the goal, all while he was slipping again! Goal! The second goal in less then five minutes and Saints were ahead for the first time in the game. 2-3, what a game this was turning out to be, and there was still more than half an hour left.

Just when you thought the game couldn't get any more dramatic, it did. A couple of minutes after Adams' goal, Smallbone was bearing down on the Birmingham goal for the umpteenth time when Sanderson, their big central defender and captain, simply body-checked him. There was no attempt to get the ball whatsoever. The ref didn't hesitate. A straight red card, and off Sanderson went.

Birmingham now had some rearranging of the team to do, and Martin decided to freshen up Saints a bit, replacing the now-tired Brooks with Edozie and withdrawing Smallbone, who had been booked for Aribo.

As so often with ten men against eleven, it is the ten, straining every sinew, that make the running, and Birmingham soon had success down Saints left with Laird, the left back, turning Manning inside out before passing to James, whose shot across goal hit the far post and bounced out, right to the feet of Bacuna, who made no mistake and buried it. 3-3!

Martin rolled the dice one more time, sending on Rothwell, Sulemana, and Mara for Manning Downes and Adams. Madness, I thought. It shows how wrong you can be.

It was like a cup tie now, with Saints absolutely going for it. The Birmingham goal was under siege. I lost track of which Saints player was being denied at the death. And then... and then. In the 95th minute, Bacuna conceded a corner defending from Edozie. Stu Armstrong took the corner and sent it high beyond the far post, where Harwood-Bellis headed it down to Joe Aribo, who swivelled and hooked the ball into the net. Pandemonium! 3-4 in the 96th minute. Lost for words.

What. A. Game.

Man of the Match? The entire team. Again.