Birmingham 2-3 Hull: Tigers Claw Themselves Into Play-Off Contention
Credit: Rob Atherton / shutterstock.com
Chris Davies’ Blues continue to find life back in the Championship more difficult than they had imagined in pre-season, whereas their opposition are enjoying a fantastic start to the campaign after they flirted with relegation last time out.
This is the first time Davies has had to face any adversity in his managerial career, his first head coach role came just last season in Birmingham’s record-breaking rout of the third tier and all was rosy. Everyone was keen to see how he’d react if things started to go against them, and at the moment it doesn’t look good.
The home side dominated possession and had the majority of the chances but were unable to make it count when it mattered. They were yet to lose at home this season before this weekends’ game, but this result marks a fourth consecutive game without a victory and takes them to just one win in eight across all competitions. Something has to change quickly, they spent big in the Summer on high-profile players and the board will need their faith in Davies to be rewarded, football is a cut-throat business so don’t be surprised to see question marks around his future if things don’t start to turn around soon.
It was a bad day to have Jack Robinson in your fantasy team. He scored the opener after ten minutes, albeit in his own net, and followed up with two yellow cards for dissent in quick succession on the hour mark to see his afternoon cut short. This was Robinson’s second dismissal in just four appearances for his new side and the Birmingham faithful have not taken to their new boy, there is plenty of clamour for him to be dropped permanently and replaced by fellow summer arrival Phil Neumann. If he carries on as he is doing, the fans don’t have to worry about him being available to play most of their matches anyway.
Jay Stansfield cost Birmingham, depending on whose fans you consult, anywhere between £15-100m. He managed to score a brace today to take his tally to 42 in blue and white. His first was a classic striker’s finish, lingering around the six-yard box and tapping home a smart finish on the volley as he followed up on a rebounded effort from a teammate. 1-1 with just under half an hour played.
It looked like the scores would remain level into the break, but Hull midfielder Regan Slater decided against it. The visitors broke forwards on one of their rare forays into the box and crossed the ball in from the right. Slater was unmarked in the box and diverted a beautiful header back across goal into the top corner to give his side the lead in the last seconds of stoppage time. A brilliant time to score for Hull and Birmingham had it all to do to come back into the game in the second period.
Robinson’s red card ceased all hope of a Birmingham win, although the hosts did still push forwards for an equaliser with the man disadvantage and managed to limit Hull’s chances at the other end. Sergej Jakirovic’s side defended admirably and soaked up the pressure from Birmingham with ease. They looked comfortable in defence and frightening on the break, a far cry from their bumbling mistake-ridden and confidence-shy approach last season under Ruben Selles. Promising signs for the Tigers.
The standard of officiating in the EFL is often derided, and for good reason. The latest stain on their record came in this match as Stansfield was brought down on the break by Hull midfielder Matt Crooks. Already on a booking, Crooks was dismayed as he saw the referee reach for his pocket to give him a second yellow. The yellow card came, but it was given to John Egan in error and the match continued with Hull having their full quota of eleven players and Birmingham rightfully incensed. These headline errors are obviously unacceptable, but the general standard across the divisions is really poor and something has to be done to make sure every team across the football league is confident that whoever’s in charge of the game has the ability to make the rights calls under pressure. It will take a long while to build up the trust between the officials and players, coaches and fans back to where it should be.
Birmingham’s best chance of equalising came, bizarrely, from their goalkeeper James Beadle. He had made his way up for a late corner and found himself with a free header only a few yards from the goal. To be fair to him, it’s probably not something he spends hours practicing, so his header sailed harmlessly over the bar. What an end to the game that would have been.
Hull finally hammered home their man advantage in stoppage time, breaking forwards clinically on the counter and sliding the ball to an unmarked Joe Gelhardt in the box for the Leeds loanee to bury his third of the campaign. There was a faint glimmer hope for the home side as Jay Stansfield converted an extremely late penalty to bring the game back within a one goal margin but there wasn’t enough time, or Birmingham players on the pitch, for them to mount any meaningful comeback. Full-time, 3-2 to Hull.
The Championship, eh? Who doesn’t love it? Jack Robinson scoring an own goal and getting sent off for dissent in the same match, mistaken identity causing Hull to avoid a deserved sending off and a goalkeeper nearly scoring an injury-time equaliser. It’s the best league in the world.
As much as the drama is excellent, the standard of play from this season’s Championship roster has been comparatively poor to previous years. Hull are certainly in the play-off race, but who isn’t? It’s hard to make an argument for anyone bar the troubled Sheffield Wednesday not being capable of making a few tweaks and shooting up the table into the play-offs, and simultaneously easy to see any of the current top six dropping out. The level across the league feels very even at this stage, and it’s making for great viewing. Anyone can beat anyone, not that everyone is exactly proving that at the minute, and every team has players that can make the difference in key moments.
As far as these sides are concerned, Hull will be ecstatic with their start. It began a bit shaky, but three wins from four and the excellent form of Ryan Giles, Oli McBurnie and Joe Gelhardt will be enough to put a smile on even the most hardened Hull fans’ faces. They have a clear identity, direction and system and a centre forward that knows where the goal is, and in this division that’s sometimes all you need to push you into contention. Long-term, they’ll hope this run continues, but many people had them as relegation-certs before a ball was kicked so any position above 22nd is a welcome bonus.
The current Birmingham administration hasn’t had need to pressure Chris Davies as of yet, as their main man delivered the best possible season for them last time out. We’re yet to truly get to grips with how they operate, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see their trigger fingers start to get a little twitchy if the tide doesn’t turn Birmingham’s way sooner rather than later. They have the ambition, and the backing, to join their city rivals Villa in the Premier League, but are currently equidistant from the play-offs and relegation and risk being buried under a pile of marginally better Championship sides. We haven’t seen enough to know how Davies will cope under the pressure, but he has the squad at his disposal to deliver on the board’s expectations and they have shown glimpses of what they’re capable of this season.
Two sides with opposing expectations at the beginning of the season now looking with wide-eyes at the end of the table they didn’t expect to be muddled in with. It’ll be interesting to see how things look come Christmas.