Huddersfield Town were beaten by a 10-man Birmingham City outfit yesterday, despite the Blues missing a penalty early on.

Joel Coleman denied Lukas Jutkiewicz from the spot before Birmingham were reduced to 10 men - Che Adams being sent off for a lunging tackle on Martin Cranie.

But the relegation-threatened Blues took the lead in the first half through a Jonathan Grounds header before Craig Gardner converted a second-half penalty to seal the game for Harry Redknapp's men.

Here Rory Benson looks at five things he learned from Town's penultimate league match of the season.

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1. The play-off preparation has started

With 10 changes made to the side which started at Molineux, David Wagner is clearly intent on keeping his players fresh for the play-offs.

Philip Billing went down with what looks like a serious knee injury in the final knockings of the game and that blow highlights why Wagner would rest every player in the final two matches if he could.

Expect to see a similar side out against Cardiff next week with the likelihood of a few other starters getting on for half an hour as Wagner looks to find the balance between wrapping them up in cotton wool and keeping them match fit.

2. Joel Coleman could well be next season's number one

The second-choice goalkeeper was Town's stand-out player at St Andrew's, with Coleman denying Lukas Jutkiewicz from the spot.

With Jurgen Klopp keen on bringing Danny Ward back into the Liverpool fold next season, Coleman will be looking to impress and stake his claim for the number one jersey next term.

He has done so in his previous appearances this year and he once again showed that he is capable of being Town's first-choice stopper.

3. League placing doesn't matter

Head coach Wagner has previously said that a home tie in the second leg of the semi-final is not much of an advantage because the European-style away goals rule is not in play.

And the boss proved on Saturday that he places more emphasis on resting his players than assuring a third or fourth spot.

As Wagner has previously stated, the play-offs are a completely different competition and he believes form will count for nothing, so the final day match against Cardiff is likely to hold no relevance for the boss.

4. Martin Cranie is Town's utility man

Cranie has been used as a right-back all season by Wagner, with the 30-year-old deputising for Tommy Smith.

But the defender proved his versatility yesterday with a strong showing as Mark Hudson's centre-back partner.

Cranie has been utilised in the heart of defence previously in his career, but his performance at St Andrew's will confirm his ability to play there to Wagner who has been reluctant to use the defender as a centre-back.

This will surely take a weight of the head coach's mind, with Cranie able to cover while Jon Gorenc Stankovic recovers from an ACL injury.

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5. It was a game to experiment in

After the game, Wagner said he was keen on playing Cranie in the middle to see whether he could do a job in the heart of defence.

The head coach also switched to a back three in the second half and even tested out Dean Whitehead in the back line.

With a play-off spot secure, yesterday was the perfect opportunity to try a few things out before the competition and work on a few things which could potentially cause Town's play-off opposition some problems in two weeks time.