Ridgewell - Davies is hard work

Ridgewell: Two points dropped

Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell admits he found Bolton striker Kevin Davies a handful during their 2-2 draw on Sunday.

The Blues blew a two-goal lead despite playing over half the game with an extra man following the sending off of Trotters goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Davies inspired the comeback after pulling one back from the penalty spot before fellow-veteran forward Robbie Blake equalised with a sublime free-kick on 81 minutes.

Former Southampton striker Davies has been in exceptional form in the twilight years of his career, prompting calls for an England call-up from Bolton fans.

Ridgewell was disappointed not to have taken three points from the position Birmingham were in, but was not surprised given the effectiveness of Davies' presence.

"He is a difficult customer," said the 26-year-old of his opponent. "You know it is always a difficult game against him.

"He likes a battle and you have got to try to play him as best you can. It's a difficult venue to come to and it's a point gained from the start of the day but it is disappointing.

Dropped points

"We were 2-0 up going into the 70th minute and we have come away with a draw. It is definitely two points dropped from that point of view.

"Going into the season you want to be unbeaten and that is a positive for us but it just feels like a defeat coming away when we should have won."

Birmingham, who host Liverpool after the international break, were last season's surprise package and finished ninth in the Premier League after achieving promotion the previous campaign.

Boss Alex McLeish hopes to build on that success and has drafted in four new signings this summer while Ridgewell believes the psychological affect of dropping two points will not derail their progress.

He said: "The new players who have come in have been brilliant. The mood is still the same and still upbeat and I think you can see on the pitch how that is.

"We'll just look to try to maintain that while we are trying to get up the league. This result is disappointing but we will go into the international break and look forward to Liverpool."