Last week was a double-game week for Birmingham City, and with short rest between the two games. The Blues came away with 4 points from the fixtures. That was 2 points short of getting the team into the playoff spots, although that would likely have been temporary in light of this week’s schedule.
Both games were at home. Last Saturday saw the team take a 2-1 win over Leicester City Ibrahim Osman put the home side up after less than 3 minutes with an opportunistic goal capitalizing on some inattentive defending for his first score in a Blues shirt. The lead lasted until an equalizer in the 21st minute, but that was followed 9 minutes later with the Foxes’ second red card in two straight games. From that point the Blues were able to cruise, Jay Stansfield ultimately getting the game-winner and breaking a long scoring drought.
Leicester followed that up by building a 3-goal first-half lead over Southampton only to completely blow it in the second half for a 3-4 loss and 4 straight losses.
Tuesday evening’s game should have been relatively easy, with local rivals West Bromwich Albion visiting. Albion, whose home stadium is just 5.5 miles from St. Andrews, are 19th and should have been ripe for a loss. The game ended 0-0. Albion had just 1 shot on goal all game as compared with the Blues’ 5. Some heroic goalkeeping and 2 clearances off the line preserved the draw, leaving the home team utterly frustrated.
Birmingham City is now 10th in the Championship and just a point behind Wrexham, who hold the last playoff spot. The Blues are also tied on points and goal difference with Southampton, which means that Leicester sort of got their revenge. However, that could well stretch this week as the F.A. Cup 4th Round is on. The good news is that of the 4 teams between Birmingham and that last playoff spot only Preston North End is not playing in the Cup. They play Watford (12th) tomorrow so could jump into 6th and a 4-point lead over the Blues. A draw would be the best result here.
The Blues will be at home, playing Sunday (6:00am, ESPN2) against the Premier League’s Leeds United. The Peacocks, who were promoted from the Championship last season, are 15th in the Prem, not particularly impressive but still not a pushover by any means. Frankly, getting knocked out would not be bad as the Blues could then focus entirely on the league campaign.
The biggest news off the field for the team was the health of owner Tom Wagner. The 56-year-old suffered a stroke Wednesday and was rushed to hospital (it’s not clear if he was in England at the time). He is recovering but will step back from his management duties at the club (and, presumably, at Knighthead Capital as well) for the time being. Manager Chris Davies expects this to be a motivator for his team. The supporters’ club will unfurl a banner and lead applause in the 13th minute of Sunday’s game in recognition of Wagner (13 is reportedly his lucky number).
