Birmingham manager Chris Davies praises strike duo after seventh successive win

Posted Wednesday, October 02, 2024 by PA

Birmingham manager Chris Davies insisted his strikers will not worry about missing chances after they beat Huddersfield 1-0 at St Andrew’s.

Alfie May’s 63rd-minute tap-in made it seven straight league wins to go five points clear at the top of League One against a team relegated with them in May.

May’s fifth goal of the season, set up by striker partner Jay Stansfield, made it Blues’ longest winning run since 1946.

Blues scored just once from 20 efforts but Davies is not concerned about the wastefulness in front of goal.

“They’re both goalscorers and I don’t think missing a chance will stop them getting in there,” the Blues boss said.

“Normally in a game like that we’d get a couple more goals, but we’ve scored an awful lot and the strikers have been scoring, so I wouldn’t criticise them for that.”

Davies praised Stansfield’s unselfishness to set up May.

“It was a really good team move – Jay tracked the defender out and then attacked the space without the ball, which is exceptional attacking play,” Davies added.

“Alfons (Sampsted) weighted the pass perfectly, and for Jay to have the presence of mind and the unselfishness to square the ball is what the best strikers do.

“If they see someone in a better position, they will square it and that’s exactly what he did.

“But you can only score if you’re in the finishing zone, and that’s what Alfie did.”

Blues had 70 per cent possession and Davies was delighted with his team’s performance.

“I was really pleased – it was the first time we have played two league games in such quick succession and we were very good,” he said.

Davies had a one-match touchline ban after three bookings and is relieved to be watching the next game from the technical area again.

“I didn’t like it,” he said. “I went in the stand for the first half and somewhere else for the second, but the staff did a great job.”

Huddersfield could have had two early goals but Mickel Miller drove wide before a curling free-kick from Antony Evans was saved.

Head coach Michael Duff said: “We had opportunities and where we’re at confidence-wise, we probably needed to score.

“We pinched the ball in really good areas but couldn’t find the killer pass.

“We were playing against a really good team who are riding high and they wore us down in the end.

“Our lads are at a stage where they’re not sure now, because they’re not winning in the first 20, 25 minutes.

“In the end we were soundly beaten. But a lot of it is confidence – first contacts, headers and duels where we were competitive in the first 25 minutes, in the last 25 minutes, we were not.

“That application, attitude and energy we showed, we need to bring that every week.”