Birmingham City recorded an impressive 3-1 win over top-flight favourites Wrexham, with David Beckham, Tom Brady and Rob McElhenney watching from the stands.
It was an intimidating start to the game, but Wrexham quickly silenced the St Andrews crowd when Jack Marriott was brought on to replace Paul Mullin, who had scored against Shrewsbury.
After Birmingham failed to break their lines from a set-piece, the striker was first to react in the penalty area, firing the ball into the bottom corner of the goal after just three minutes.
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Jack Marriott scored Wrexham’s first goal in their League One match against Birmingham City.
Tensions were running high on the pitch after the game kicked off, but Jay Stansfield eased the tension by beating Arthur Okonkwo’s block to equalise – his first goal since completing a permanent move from Fulham this summer.
It was an attack that was out of sync with the game, but it certainly gave Chris Davies’ side a boost, and Willem Willumson was soon followed by a threatening strike.
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Jay Stansfield helped Birmingham City equalise against Wrexham in the first half.
Birmingham picked up where they left off after the break and their dominance eventually paid off as Stansfield smartly headed home his second goal of the game into the far corner.
Davis made two changes to his starting line-up, bringing on Stansfield and Tomoki Iwata, the latter adding a third 16 minutes into the game, netting a stunning long-range goal that would have made Beckham proud.
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Tomoki Iwata’s sensational debut goal put Birmingham City 3-1 ahead in the second half.
As the game heated up, captain Christian Bielik’s late red card slightly tarnished the win, but it is unlikely to draw the attention of fans, as Birmingham are level on points with top-flight Wrexham.
The blue carpet was rolled out as Hollywood arrived at St Andrews.
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Check out Brady and Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney’s best reaction as the Blues ran out 3-1 winners.
The prospect of two teams competing for the First Division title going head-to-head was so exciting that even Hollywood couldn’t resist.
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Tom Brady, who owns a stake in Birmingham City, spoke to Sky Sports before the game.
Birmingham chairman Tom Wagner, minority owner Tom Brady and Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney all made a big presence around the stadium before the game, answering media questions.
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David Beckham, Brady, Rob McElhenney and Gary Neville all attended St Andrews.
After leaving off the list perhaps the greatest American football player of all time and co-owner of Wrexham’s Hollywood, there was only one person fans were desperate to see.
News of Beckham’s arrival swept through the crowd just before kick-off, if not in the crowd that swarmed the pitch. It’s fair to say it only added to the party atmosphere.
Beckham and Brady celebrate at St Andrews
Beckham has faced Birmingham twice during his career, most notably at Old Trafford in the 2002/03 season, scoring a goal and assisting as Manchester United won 2-0.
Stansfield, record transfer fee already repaid
Sky Sports’ Patrick Lowe:
“There were understandably raised eyebrows when Birmingham paid more than £15m to bring former fans’ favourite Jay Stansfield back to the club following his successful loan move to the West Midlands last season.
“But with a superb equaliser to get his team back into the game and a looping header to give his team the lead, he has already started to show that he is worth every penny.
“Stansfield admitted he was enjoying the pressure of the price tag in his post-match press conference, with Birmingham’s numbers “out of his hands” amid a positive start.
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Birmingham City went 2-1 ahead at Wrexham thanks to Stansfield’s second goal of the game.
“His chairman was in the stands to see the striker score his first two goals since his record-breaking move and can sleep soundly knowing the results are already starting to show after leading them past their promotion rivals.”
Davis: Our best performance to date.
Birmingham President Chris Davis to Sky Sports:
“I think that was our best performance. We had patches and periods in the game, but by a long shot it was the best game we’ve ever played.
“It was a really tough start. It was the first goal we conceded from a set piece and we were strong in that area. But I didn’t see any change in the players’ reaction. It was like it never happened.
“We played well, got the ball into good areas and made them defend. From our perspective it was a wave of attack. Then we came out quick in the second half and scored the second goal. That was really good.”
Parkinson: Wrexham’s sacrifice due to error
Rexham President Phil Parkinson to Sky Sports:
“I thought we were great from the start. We scored, we changed the play well, we stopped them really well. With the first effective shot, they scored again.
“I just told the players that we haven’t had many frustrations in terms of goals conceded recently and our response to that wasn’t what it needed to be. We’ve conceded too cheaply and too often.
“In the second half we sat too deep and didn’t attack quickly enough and we collapsed at two good moments.”
