Birmingham City started the day on excellent form, winning the last five games in all competitions. Bristol Rovers had failed to score any goals in their last two games, with a string of losses making this their worst scoring streak since May 2021, when they went five games with no goals. the Blues were rightly the favourite as they looked to creep to the top of the League One table, just one point behind Wycombe Wanderers with a game in hand.
The freezing wind blowing across St Andrews was opposed by boisterous flames and fireworks prior to kick-off. Since US company Shelby Companies Limited took over at the beginning of the 23/24 campaign, talks have been had with the improvement of the experience as a fan at the stadium. The atmosphere was reminiscent of a club that is here to achieve automatic promotion.

A perfect start for the Blues?
The first ten minutes of the game was undoubtedly the best period of the game for The Blues. Birmingham City were without key players Emil Hansson and Alex Cochrane, but you could never tell with how they controlled the game throughout. The away side’s confidence in defence was lacking, so despite having kick-off, possession was quickly lost.
In-form striker Jay Stansfield shone all game, and quickly started with a low shot that was easily saved by the Gas’ goalkeeper Josh Griffiths, who, judging by his performance against Barnsley a few weeks ago, has been one of Bristol’s strongest players this season.

In-form striker Jay Stansfield shone all game

The visiting team struggled to resist Birmingham’s long ball over the top, as their defence was seemingly all over the place at the start of the game. The high line was not working, and just six minutes in, the Gas’s lacklustre defence paid the price. When referee Sebastian Stockbridge disregarded penalty appeals for handball and instead awarded a corner, Lee Buchanan tucked away a bouncing volley into the bottom corner to score his first goal for the club.

The game was Birmingham’s to lose from there. Despite the Bristol Rovers fans still making tremendous noise in the away end, it was the home fans you could hear after Alfie May riled them up once more. Ironic jeers could be heard from the away end, celebrating the success of winning the ball in such a one-sided game thus far.
Birmingham City’s long ball was proving difficult to handle as Keshi Anderson dominated the right-hand side. After a string of offsides for the winger however, The Gas had their first chance at an attack, but a poorly designed set-piece routine led to more counter-attacking football for the home side.

Before the second goal, there were two shouts for handball inside the penalty box from the home side. Following the numerous offside calls, there was a rouse of jeers from the home team when the referee finally awarded a penalty. 22-year-old Jay Stansfield finished in the bottom right corner, doubling the lead for the hosts. Stansfield now has 10 goals in 13 games, becoming the joint-second highest scorer in the league.

Birmingham City’s long ball was proving difficult to handle

The penalty came at the perfect time; fans were beginning to criticise the hosts, suggesting they were not capitalising on the Gas’ precarious defence. There was more relaxation in the stadium now, and as the first half was ending, the fans at St. Andrews were satirically encouraging their players to take a shot whenever the ball was at their feet. The Blues had a healthy advantage going into the second half.

Birmingham City remain calm under looming title pressure

St. Andrews was now under the floodlights. Despite a more apprehensive second half from both teams, Birmingham had a fast start again with a fast shot on target from Paik Seung-Ho following a run from Stansfield. Worries did emerge again when Stansfield was holding his ankle 49 minutes in, and five minutes later, the attacker was down injured. Injuries are a worry for Birmingham currently, especially for such a key player in their battle for promotion, but fortunately, he was back on his feet after effective treatment on the sidelines.

Bristol Rovers also came into the game more, with Clinton Mola making an effective run through midfield, yet nothing came of it when he was dispossessed. The Gas began to show they do have more to offer the Blues, yet their chances were hastily wasted when they won a freekick and it was defended effectively by the home side. The Gas made their first substitution of the night, with defender Michael Forbes coming off for forward Chris Martin – a change that hinted they wanted more from this game.

After a series of chances for Birmingham City, I did feel for Keshi Anderson when two shots from him were blocked an hour into the game. After dominating the right-hand side for the Blues, he deserved to be praised for his consistent pressure on the defenders.
Bristol Rovers were still struggling to handle Birmingham’s high press, prompting a change in tactics and personnel. Replacing Jamie Lindsay was Grant Ward, as Gatlin O’Donkor made way for Isaac Hutchinson. 24-year-old Isaac Hutchinson made an immediate impact with a shot that was nicely blocked by Christoph Klarer.

After a period of possession for the Gas, Birmingham finally calmed the game down by making a triple substitution at 77 minutes in. A standing ovation for Jay Stansfield introduced Luke Harris, while captain Krystian Bielek and striker Alfie May made way for Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Lukas Jutkeiwicz respectively. Alfie May clearly did not want to be taken off, with clear frustration shown to his manager.

The substitutes made a decent impact also, with the last ten minutes being all Birmingham. Lukas Jutkiewicz should’ve made it three, with a lovely cross from Keshi Anderson going just behind him. Once going down, Anderson received yet another standing ovation as he was taken off and replaced by Marc Leonard.

A final rash shot from Bristol Rovers’ Shaq Forde well into the fifth minute of injury time just about summed up the visitors’ day, as the away fans again jeeringly celebrated the fact they had a shot. The game finished with a rare touch from Birmingham’s goalkeeper as the crowd cheered the Blues’ sixth win in a row.

The crowd cheered the Blues’ sixth win in a row

Encouraging signs for Birmingham City
Chris Davies reacted to the run of good form after the game, commenting that there ‘could’ve been more in the second half’, following how there is ‘always that little bit of jeopardy in the game at 2-0’. Davies is proving to be an effective appointment thus far in League One and is holding his team to a high standard of football that is proving to be invaluable to the club.

What’s next for both teams? It doesn’t get any easier for Bristol Rovers, as they host third-placed Wrexham on Saturday the 21st of December. The following Monday, Birmingham City travel down to the relegation-battling Crawley Town, looking to add to their run of success. Currently sat one point below league leaders Wycombe Wanderers with a game in hand, it is must-win games like these that give the Blues more of a chance at securing automatic promotion back to the Championship.

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