Birmingham boss Chris Davies happy with ‘huge win’ at Leyton Orient

Head coach Chris Davies insisted Birmingham deserved their “huge” win at Leyton Orient.

Blues, favourites to return to the Championship at the first attempt, went in front through Keshi Anderson and after Ethan Galbraith levelled, Alfie May grabbed a winner, with all three goals coming in the opening 20 minutes.

“I thought it was a good performance again and we were the better team,” Davies said. “We had more of the ball and created the much better chances in the game.

“We got off to a wonderful start, got our goal and then had a little bit of a setback but that didn’t stop us, we continued to persist and got that second goal quickly.

“To win away at any level in any league is never easy so we had to stand up and be ready for the challenge and we dealt with everything extremely well.

“We restricted them to very few chances and I thought we defended very well and our goals came from our pressing.

“Our centre-backs stood up and won their duels and were strong and physical and the full-backs defended their areas well. Overall it was a solid defensive performance.

“Alfie May works extremely hard and was involved in both our goals. It’s three goals in three games for him but for me it’s what he does off the ball by working hard and setting the tone for the team.

“It’s a huge win for us.”

Defeat for Orient left them one place off the foot of the table and still searching for their first point of the campaign.

Boss Richie Wellens pulled no punches in apportioning blame for the defeat.

“There is no hiding from it, our goalkeeper (Zach Hemming) has cost us points,” he stated. “We could easily be sitting here with six or seven points, so he needs to look at himself in the mirror and get better but I thought our response was fantastic.

“I thought we were the better team. They have quality, obviously, but for me we were far better and the second goal was a bit of a killer for us, but we should have got something out of the game.

“I’m disappointed but proud at the same time. You only have to look at what they have and what we’ve got.

“The difference between us and them was that in the final third they were a bit sharper. They play and run, they play one touch and they’re very good at it. It’s those little moments where we weren’t as good as them.

“We need more from our subs. I’ve been disappointed with them so far.”