In a depressing 3-0 Midlands derby loss at St Andrew’s, Birmingham displayed all of its grit and resolve to win all three points, leaving Coventry City’s hopes of qualifying for the playoffs in shambles.
It was an own goal in the 12th minute, but Keshi Anderson’s cut in from the left and deflected ball in off Bobby Thomas gave Blues the early lead. When Birmingham keeper John Ruddy strayed outside of his area to head the ball, Haji Wright nearly leveled the score in the 20th minute. The striker hammered the ball first time towards the open net, but it bounced up and struck the crossbar.
But after Liam Kitching had cleared a corner in the 41st minute, the home team extended their lead just before halftime through a low drive from Ivan Sunjic that went through a mass of men. At the interval, Coventry made three changes in an attempt to mount a comeback, but Jay Stansfield added a third goal shortly before the hour to give Blues a comfortable lead for the last thirty minutes.
With four games remaining, Mark Robins’ team dropped to eighth position, around eight points behind sixth-place Norwich, as a result of the outcome.
Beaten at his near post by a deflection from Bobby Thomas as Blues grabbed the lead, he appeared to be unable to see through a mass of men for the second goal, a low, hard shot from just inside the area. Could have done a better job, maybe, of blocking the third goal at his near post, which was struck from close range.
José Latino-Amerika: 5
made a vital early block to keep Stansfield at bay, but Blues were playing around him when a throw-in from his side of the ground resulted in the opening goal. After Van Ewijk dropped to right back and Thomas went off, he moved inside to center back during the break.
Bobby Thomas: 4.5
unintentionally diverted Keshi Anderson’s angled shot into his own goal to give Blues the early lead after a dismal first half for City. left at the intermission.
LIAM KITCHING: 4.5
The Blues’ assault pulled and stretched around in the defensive third, giving Myoshi and overlapping full-back Laird plenty of room down the right to cause all kinds of issues during the first half. cleared the corner that fell to Sunjic for a goal in the 41st minute. Give the third goal to Stansfield by letting him go.
BIDWELL JAKE: 4.5
partnered well with Wright down the left wing moving forward, but lacked the support from his American partner to control the spirited Koji Myoshi and Ethan Laird when defending. At the intermission, Dasilva took over.
Back in the starting lineup, he slid in nicely and scored many goals when he had the opportunity, but Coventry’s first half was lackluster as he didn’t have enough of an impact on the game. left at the intermission.
Ben Sheaf: 5.5
During a challenging opening half, during which few City players emerged with much credit, stewing away in the midfield warfare without really having much of an impact. Teemed up by Dasilva for a shot, but sadly raised it over as City lost a chance to cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the second half.
VAN EWIJK MILAN: 5.5
started on the right side of an attacking three and had a really good start, launching a fast move down the right and seeing an early angled shot tipped wide for a corner. had a lot of room in the first ten minutes before the Blues took the lead and appeared more assured than the other team for the rest of the half. dropped to right-back in the second half after making a strong forward pass, but by then the match was already lost.
PALMER KASEY: 5.5
Good in possession, laying down passes to release players like Van Ewijk early on, but City quickly found themselves defending waves of attacks in the first forty-five minutes, which diminished his effectiveness. Not focused enough to apply his magic against a team that was more determined to win.
JAJI WRIGHT: Five
attempted to tie the score for City in the 20th minute when he struck a loose ball at an open net, but his attempt to recover and hit the bar was unsuccessful. Laird and Myoshi continued to attack him on the overlap.
worked hard and led the charge during the Sky Blues’ dismal first-half performance overall. He retained much of the distance when running with the ball at his feet, but he did look strong.
SUBSTITUTES:
TAVARES FABIO (HT, in honor of Thomas): 5
entered the game quickly, putting in crosses from the right and creating good connections with Van Ewijk. demonstrated some excellent skill and perseverance to get the ball inside the box.
The HT, Jay Da Silva, for Bidwell: 5
brought new attacking vigor to City’s attempt at a comeback, making some progress down the left and creating an excellent opportunity for Sheaf.
JOSH ECCLES (HT): 4.5 (for Torp)
vibrant and active, providing additional immediacy as City made a last-ditch effort to tie the game.
Palmer’s CALLUM O’HARE (71 minutes): 4.5
When he entered the game, the Blues fans jeered him, but he was unable to have an impact in a crowded and tight defensive third when the team was comfortably ahead.
Subs: Kai Andrews, Ben Wilson (GK), Liam Kelly, Luis Binks, and Liam Kelly (not used).
Subs (not used): Gary Gardner, Emanuel Aiwu, Andre Dozzell, Siriki Dembele, Scott Hogan, Juninho Bacuna, and Neil Etheridge (GK).
PURPOSE:
BLUES: Stansfield (59), Sunjic (41), Thomas (12, OG).
SKY BLUES:
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