Jack Currie’s early sending-off divided opinion between the two managers after Birmingham beat 10-man Leyton Orient 2-0 at St Andrew’s.
Currie’s red card in the 12th minute, for a late challenge on Tomoki Iwata, changed the game, allowing Blues to cruise for much of the proceedings.
Although the Os defended valiantly, and even entered the half-time break level, the pressure proved too much and Taylor Gardner-Hickman gave Birmingham the lead in the 53rd minute.
Blues continued to dictate play and put the result beyond doubt when Ethan Laird beat Josh Keeley at his near post in the 84th minute.
Os boss Richie Wellens could not hide his frustration over the early red card, which he believes ruined an opportunity to assess where his side are.
“In my opinion, it wasn’t a sending-off. Jack kicked the ball first…I don’t think the referee ever came to this side of the pitch near our bench, he never came to this side. There’s a reason for that,” Wellens said.
“I wanted to really see how good we were. We’ve got a load of young players playing against this club that are going to win the league. And I wanted to see how far we’ve come.
“I really wanted to see how far the players had come and test them and see what information that gives me going forward. But apart from the first 10 minutes, I didn’t get any.”
Birmingham boss Chris Davies offered a polar opposite view on the incident, as he admitted he was thankful Iwata was not seriously hurt by the challenge.
“It was a definite red card. He’s come off the ground, studs,” Davies said. “Tomoki’s just lucky that he’s not injured him badly there. If that’s in the Premier League with VAR, that’s it, he’s off, no doubt, a 100 per cent red card.”
Gardner-Hickman was in the right place at the right time to give Blues the lead at the start of the second half, and drew high praise from Davies for his performance and versatility.
“He’s done everything and he is very versatile and it was a great winger’s finish, arriving for a tap-in at the back post. Any winger would be proud of that. But I just think with Taylor, you give him a job and he’ll do it,” Davies added.
Ange Postecoglou insisted his controversial cupped ear celebration to Tottenham fans in a 1-0 loss at Chelsea had been misinterpreted on another bad night for the Australian.Spurs slipped to a 16th defeat in the Premier League this season thanks to a 50th-minute header by Enzo Fernandez, but it only told half the story of a typically frenzied London derby.VAR was required to rule out a fine strike...
Chelsea climbed back into the Premier League’s top four as Enzo Fernandez’s header early in the second half earned a 1-0 derby win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.Enzo Maresca’s side were under pressure after limping into the international break playing football that had ceased to excite home fans, but they largely had the better of a disappointing Spurs team that failed to tak...
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender