Birmingham moved into the Sky Bet Championship play-off places with a 2-1 win at home to Watford.
The Blues made it four wins in a row at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, while Watford continued their miserable performance despite a strong second half performance.
Watford have looked positive recently but Birmingham were rewarded for their patience in the first half. Baek Seung-ho took the lead in the first half, and Demarai Gray doubled the lead with his outstanding performance in the first half.
The home fans had cause for concern in the second period when Ousmane Mamma’s strike brought Javi Gracia’s side back into the game, but it was not enough to prevent them losing their five-game unbeaten record.
Baek Seung-ho celebrates scoring against Watford.
Chris Davies’ side bounced back to victory after a weekend draw and moved into seventh place, one point behind Bristol City in the play-offs.
The visitors got off to an almost perfect start when the ball fell to Thomas Ince outside the area and he decided to crack with an effort that flew past James Beadle’s desperate dive but went just wide of target.
Watford allowed Birmingham to have the ball but they were the ones who looked more threatening going forward. Beadle was the first to make the save to prevent Maamma’s dig, far from danger.
Demarai Gray and Jay Stansfield celebrate together.
Visiting goalkeeper Nathan Baxter made a perfect first-time save from Phil Neumann after Jay Stansfield’s clever free-kick.
Birmingham found a breakthrough just after the half-hour mark.
Hector Kyprianou aimed to walk away with possession, but Paik took his pocket and Paik took a few touches before fiercely beating Baxter outside the box.
And the Blues had some breathing room two minutes from time when Gray got the ball on his right foot inside the area and singled out the top right corner.
Watford celebrate getting back on track at St Andrews.
Watford’s recent form has shown they are not out of contention. Beadle had to finger Marc Bola’s close-range effort over the bar to prevent them from halving the deficit.
Birmingham should have gone three points up when Jeremy Ngakia played a lazy pass straight to Stansfield in the danger zone and Marvin Ducksch rifled his line in from close range.
The home fans were nervous as the Hornets cut the lead in half.
Tuesday, December 9, 7:30 PM
Kickoff at 8pm
Watford threatened to do so on a few occasions but finally got their chance when Maamma latched on to Bola’s ball and worked towards goal, hitting it too hard for Beadle to block.
Birmingham did well to stem the tide after the goal but Mamadou Doumbia forced a third save from Beadle to show they were still in the contest. However, Birmingham held on to the three points.
manager
Chris Davis of Birmingham:
“We performed well. It was another challenging game but a great win for us.
“I thought (Jay Stansfield) was really good. His energy, his intensity and his play for the second goal was top-notch. It’s not just that he goes forward, he does it the other way as well. He’s very professional and does everything right.”
On Birmingham’s away game, Davis said: “We are who we are. We’ve been very close in some away games. It’s difficult to naturally generate some intensity away from home, but we’ll get a few points.”
“I have Watford fans in my family but I am at Birmingham City now. We have to take each game as it comes. Next up is away to Southampton and we have a few days to focus on that.”
Saturday, December 6th 12:25 PM
Kickoff at 12:30 PM
Javi Gracia of Watford:
“After a good second half we had moments where we could have taken control and scored but we couldn’t.
“The first half was the same. It was an equal game. They had their chances and we paid for our mistakes. They showed their quality. Demarai Gray, it was a great goal. We were close to equalizing, but in the end we couldn’t.
“We are getting better every day. We are young, but I am sure we will improve in the next games. We will improve and give our supporters what they deserve.”
