Garry Monk is considering appealing against any suspension handed to midfielder Craig Gardner after he was dismissed late on in the 1-0 reverse at the Riverside.

Gardener was given a straight red card for a lunge on Johnny Howson which compounded a miserable afternoon for the Blues, who could have lost by a greater margin.

Britt Assombalonga gave the home side the win, but he also hit the post, as did Stuart Downing. Howson had an effort cleared off the line as Boro poured forward, threatening to run riot.

After the game, Monk lamented the sending off, claiming there was no malice and that the referee was possibly unsighted.

“For me it wasn’t, I looked straight at it so I had the front on view," he told Birmingham Live. "There was no malice, it wasn’t done dangerously. The ref was the other side, he’s from the back of it so he’s given it."

Monk intends to appeal as a three-game ban beckons, delaying any potential partnership between Gardner and his brother Gary, a recent loan signing from Aston Villa.

"We will have to have a good look at that. We will consider an appeal. He was making an honest attempt to go for the ball. From my point of view it wasn’t a red card.”

The Verdict

I'm not so sure an appeal is the right move, it looked a stonewall red, certainly by today's standards.

The dismissal gave Monk something to focus on other than his side's performance, which simply wasn't good enough to trouble the home side.

Boro are expected to be at the top of the table, Birmingham expect very little after a challenging summer, so the game went as many expected it would.

Managers have to find something to talk about, but the reality is there is little for Garry Monk to truly be aggrieved with here, both in terms of the red card and the result.