Birmingham moved to within one point of qualifying for the Sky Bet Championship play-offs with a 2-1 home win over Watford.
The Blues made it four wins in a row at St Andrews @ Knighthead Park, but Watford’s dismal away performance continued despite a brave second-half effort.
Watford, who have been in good form of late, were still in good form, but Birmingham were rewarded for their patience in the first half, with Baek Seung-ho taking the lead and Demarai Gray doing some fine work to extend their lead to two points before half-time.
The home fans had reason to be concerned when Ousmane Maamma’s goal brought Javi Gracia’s side back into the game in the second period, but it wasn’t enough to stop them losing their five-game unbeaten run.
Park Seung-ho celebrates his goal against Watford
Chris Davies’ side have steadily returned to winning ways after a draw at the weekend, moving them into seventh place in the play-offs, just one point behind Bristol City.
The visiting team got off to an almost perfect start, but the ball fell to Thomas Ince outside the area and he took a shot, which evaded the desperate dive of James Beadle but went just wide of the target.
Watford allowed Birmingham to have possession, but it was Birmingham who were the ones looking forward and threatening, with Beadle making the first save from a dangerous distance after a dig from Maama.
Demarai Gray and Jay Stansfield celebrate together
Visiting goalkeeper Nathan Baxter, coming on for the first time, brilliantly denied Phil Newman from close range after Jay Stansfield took a smart shot from a free-kick.
Birmingham broke through after the 30th minute.
Hector Kyprianou held the ball and looked to make a comeback, but he was poked in the pocket by Pike, who, after a few touches, smashed Baxter from outside the box.
And the Blues had an edge two minutes before the break thanks to a great shot from Gray, who moved the ball onto his right foot inside the area and fired into the top right corner.
Watford celebrate one point back at St Andrews
However, Watford’s recent form shows they are not out of contention and Beadle had to finger Marc Bourla’s close-range shot over the bar to stop them halving the lead.
Birmingham should have taken a three-point lead when Jeremy Ngakia played a lazy pass straight to Stansfield in the danger zone, setting up Marvin Dachsh, who waved off the line from close range.
The home fans became nervous as the Hornets cut the lead in half.
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Kickoff at 8pm
Watford threatened to do so several times, but finally took advantage when Maama latched onto Bohra’s ball and fired a shot on goal that Beadle was unable to stop.
Birmingham did a good job of stopping the flow after the goal, but Mamadou Doumbia forced Beadle into a third save to show they were still in the competition. However, Birmingham held on to their three points.
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Chris Davis of Birmingham:
“We have been playing pretty well and it was another challenging game but a great win for us.
“I thought (Jay Stansfield) was really good. His energy, his intensity, his second-goal play was at a high level. It’s not just what he does forward, it’s what he does backwards. He’s very professional and does everything right.”
On Birmingham’s away form, Davies said: “We are who we are. We’ve been very close in some of our away games. It’s difficult to create natural intensity away from home, but we’ll be looking to pick up some points.”
“There are Watford fans in my family, but at the moment I’m strictly Birmingham City. We have to work on each game as it comes. Next up is Southampton away, but we’ve got a few days to focus on that.”
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12:30pm kickoff
Watford’s Javi Gracia:
“After some good moments in the second half, we had some moments to dominate the game and score, but we just couldn’t do it.
“It was the same in the first half. It was an even game. They took their chances and we made up for our mistakes. They showed their quality. Demarai Gray, great goal. We were close to equalizing but in the end we couldn’t get it.”
“We are getting better every day. We are still young but we will definitely improve in the next game. We will grow and give the supporters what they deserve.”
