Birmingham City players shaken by injury to teammate Liam Ridgewell

Apr 14 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

“We will miss him, miss him very badly. He’s a strong character, we just hope everything will be all right with him and he can make a good recovery.

“The result doesn’t mean too much when you’re thinking about one of your team-mates in hospital. It was a bit low there in the dressing room.”

Johnson, again outstanding in the Blues’ engine room, said Taylor’s controversial dismissal was harsh.

Referee Michael Oliver, only 23, brandished the red card and awarded a penalty to Plymouth, which was dispatched by Paul Gallagher.

Johnson said: “It was a big game, there was a lot riding on it for everybody. You need to be 100 per cent sure first, if it’s a penalty and, second, if it was a sending-off.

“Common sense should have prevailed. I can’t see how he could have been 100 per cent sure.

“Maik was absolutely gutted. He likes a joke, he’s a character, but he was distraught afterwards.

“We have to pick ourselves up and get on with it.”

Manager Alex McLeish was also full of sympathy for his vice-captain, one of Blues best performers this season.

“I don’t think it is anybody’s fault, it was maybe just the way he landed,’’ he said.

‘‘His knee seemed a bit open at the time as he played the pass and I felt at the time that it was probably a knee ligament injury with the way it seemed to happen but he’s bust his leg.”

The injustice of the penalty and Ridgewell’s injury stirred St Andrew’s considerably.

Johnson said: “The crowd reacted to the adversity as well. They gave us a real big shot in the arm. We knew we had to stand up and give that extra little bit.

“One-nil down, 10 men, you take the result with the way the other results have gone. So it wasn’t a bad day in that respect.”

Sheffield United could only draw against 10-man Nottingham Forest, Reading squandered a 2-0 lead at Blackpool and Cardiff City continued to surge on.

So it was very much as you were, and Johnson said: “At this stage of the season, you have to keep your destiny in your own hands. We did that.

“It’s similar to a golfer leading a tournament: if you’ve got yourself in front you’ve just to do better or match your opponents.

“It’s probably going to go to the wire. We knew that for a long time. We showed resilience, but we will miss Maik and Ridge massively.

“Hopefully we can overcome that and keep our noses in front.”