Birmingham City manager Chris Davies has admitted his side were below par in their 3-1 defeat against Bolton Wanderers at the Toughsheet Community Stadium last night.
The Blues have taken League One by storm this season and headed into the clash in Greater Manchester in the midst of an 18-game unbeaten run. This had seen them open up a 12 point gap on second-placed Wycombe Wanderers, who have played a game more.
They knew they were in for a difficult night against a revitalised Bolton. The Trotters have turned they form around under the stewardship of Steven Schumacher, who replaced Ian Evatt at the end of January.
Despite that, another three points looked a formality when Emil Hansson gave the visitors the lead in the 23rd minute. Although they dominated large periods of the opening exchanges, they allowed Bolton to equalise through John McAtee six minutes before the break, giving the hosts a huge boost. They then took advantage to secure the three points after goals from George Thomason and Aaron Collins.
“Uncharacteristic” – Davies Reflects On Off Day
Following the game, Davies admitted his side weren’t at the races in the second half, allowing Bolton the opportunity to pick up a huge win in their quest for a play-off place. Speaking after the game, the 39-year-old said:
“Some of it was quite uncharacteristic from our point of view, there was potentially a little bit of fatigue in there and tired bodies but we started the game very well and scored a good goal.
“I was really disappointed to concede just before half-time but I thought we were by far the better team in that first half and that goal we conceded gave them a real lift. It gave them a bit of belief that they didn’t have beforehand.
“After that they were better than us and we were soft with the second goal and it was an uncharacteristically poor third goal from our point of view, then you’ve got a mountain to climb and we didn’t look like climbing that mountain.
“Aside from the pain of the defeat, there’s an acknowledgement from me of what these players have done in these last 18 games, to go unbeaten since that Shrewsbury game and win the amount they have, they deserve credit for that. They are hurting in there, they are feeling it.”
Writer’s View
It was indeed a disappointing night for Birmingham, but it won’t derail their title hopes. They have a healthy cushion at the top, although Wycombe’s win against Burton has seen that cut to nine points. The Blues will now dust themselves off and hope to return to winning ways against Lincoln City on Saturday afternoon.
