Birmingham City ended Wrexham’s hopes of qualifying for the Championship play-offs with a 2-0 win over St Andrews.
Wrexham had a chance to move within two points of sixth-placed Hull City with a win, but they squandered the chance with a sloppy and lackluster display against a Birmingham side who were not looking up to the challenge.
Chris Davies’ side had lost three in a row, but controlled the game from the first whistle to end their losing streak, with Wrexham barely having a reaction.
Vicente pounced on the loose ball and dived behind the defence, almost breaking the deadlock before half-time, but was thwarted by one of Arthur Okonkwo’s six saves.
However, the winger made amends for his mistake just four minutes after the restart, running past George Thomason at the back post to meet Kai Wagner’s cross and firing a header into the top right corner.
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Christoph Klarer added two points to Birmingham’s lead when he headed a cross from a corner at the back post without Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo getting close to the ball.
Okonkwo’s mistake in failing to take a corner allowed Christoph Klerer to score his second goal from close range, giving Birmingham their first win in over a month.
Wrexham’s run of defeats after a crushing 5-1 defeat at fellow promotion candidates Southampton means they are four points clear of the top six with four games remaining.
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Carlos Vicente’s header at the far post gives Birmingham City the lead against Wrexham.
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Chris Davis of Birmingham:
“This was one of our best performances this season and one of our best wins. We were very aggressive, went to the ball first and played fast.
“I don’t think they had any shots on goal. It was a completely dominant performance and the players today came together and pushed as hard as they could.
“We have to stay humble because it’s an unforgiving league. I like the spirit and fight I’ve seen so far.”
“Do we need to close out the season big to take the pressure off? Maybe, I don’t know. We’ve felt the pressure since day one. We’re used to it. We’re going to give it our all in every game.”
Birmingham manager Chris Davies celebrates after defeating Wrexham
Phil Parkinson of Wrexham:
“It was an even game in the first half. We expected them to go direct, but he (Chris Davis) changed the way they played.
“We didn’t pay attention to the last pass and the game went on. We had the flow of the game, but we conceded a goal very poorly, so that decided the game.”
“In the first half, we had the right flow of the game. They were aggressive and moved forward quickly. Today’s goal really hurt us.
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson
“I don’t mean to criticize individuals in any way. It’s all about the team. Those are just moments. Those two moments are really terrible from our point of view.
“Scoring goals wasn’t a problem all season. We were always a threat. But today that wasn’t the case. In the second half we just couldn’t find the breakthrough.”
“The moments where we should have done better defensively decided the game.
“We’re still in a mess. It’s not over.”
