Chances were few and far between in a game devoid of incident and controversy – unlike most of the matches between the sides last term.
Even experienced campaigner Barry was at a loss to come up with a reason for the lack of goalmouth action at either end of the pitch.
“The only way I can explain it is that we showed each other too much respect,” he opined.
“Everyone was a little bit tentative on both sides and very wary of making a mistake. We all knew how much was at stake.
As a result there were precious few chances and it all ended up being a bit frustrating
...Gareth Barry
Barry was not really surprised that things turned out the way they did but urged Blues fans to seek out the positives in the 0-0 stalemate.
“Derbies quite often do not live up to expectation but after what happened to us last year we don’t feel as though we have lost ground,” he declared.
“We all have to look at the big picture and now we need to get on a long unbeaten run if we can.
“That’s two clean sheets in succession. We are in the top four and we have something on which to build with a home game to come. So we are in decent shape and there is no need for people to be down.”
