Birmingham City manager Chris Davies believes his side didn’t get what they deserved after losing their unbeaten start to the Championship season against Leicester City last night.
The Blues returned to the Championship in May after their record breaking League One campaign saw them clinch the title in emphatic fashion. With the new era at St Andrew’s in full swing, they once again spent big over the summer to bolster their chances of back-to-back promotions.
The early stages of the campaign have shown that they are likely to be pushing for a top two finish. They were unlucky to only pick up a point on the opening day against another promotion rival Ipswich Town but followed that with wins over Blackburn Rovers and Oxford United. As a result, another three points last night would have seen them move to the top of the table, at least temporarily.
Davies Disappointed After ‘Dominant’ Display
In the absence of talisman Jay Stansfield, Birmingham could only muster one shot on target. This was despite having 11 shots on goal and in truth, Leicester were good value for their win. The Foxes secured the three points through goals from Abdul Fatawu in the eighth minute before Ricardo Pereira converted a second late on.
Speaking after the game, Davies admitted his team didn’t do enough in the final third but it was a ‘strong and dominant’ display:
“We are disappointed to lose the game. I thought we had the lion’s share of it and were strong and dominant throughout.
“I’ve seen a lot of Leicester and they couldn’t get a rhythm going. But we didn’t do enough where it mattered, maybe, in that final third.
“A lot of it was good, though. However, it was a poor opening goal to concede from our perspective.
“We recovered well from that, though. Then the second one was poor as well.
“All in all, though, I’ve had to pick the players up in the dressing room and remind them that, aside from the result, there were a lot of positives out there.
“We hesitated for their first one. Still, to be fair, there was quite a bit for their lad to do when he got the ball.
“But again, I like the way that we recovered. Last season, we were in League One and they were in the Premier League. We came here and dominated so for me, that’s a good sign.”
Writer’s View
It’s a bit of a stretch to say that Birmingham dominated Leicester. The Foxes were hardly sparkling but they certainly did enough to warrant the three points. Still, after all he has achieved in the dugout at St Andrew’s thus far, Davies is unlikely to admit his team weren’t at the races. He will no doubt watch this performance back and look to recover against high-flying Stoke City following the international break.
