Chris Davies was delighted as his League One leaders Birmingham bounced back to record a 1-0 victory over Lincoln at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.
Despite Blues’ dominance throughout the contest, Kieran Dowell’s 70th-minute penalty ensured victory after Tomoki Iwata was taken out in the box.
The hosts had to wait for their moment to strike, but Davies revealed pride at his side’s persistence to bounce back after defeat against Bolton last time out.
He said: “I thought it was a big win. Obviously, we had a disappointment in the week (so it was) good to bounce back.
“You don’t want to lose two games in a row, we haven’t done it this season and that’s a good point from our point of view, and I think we were utterly dominant in the game.”
When Blues were awarded their match-winning penalty in the 69th minute, Dowell was an unlikely taker, but Davies had no issue with usual spot-kick specialist Jay Stansfield handing over responsibility to the Rangers loanee.
He added: “I thought Jay was going to take it, but I’m comfortable with them deciding on the pitch who takes it. That’s ultimately their decision, obviously, they’re not fighting over it and everything like that.
“It was pretty clear that Kieran was going to take it and Jay was OK with that, and (it was) a high-quality penalty.”
Krystian Bielik started his first game since the beginning of February at right-back and the skipper impressed Davies with his inverted role.
He added: “He had a different role today than what he’s ever done before probably and I thought he did it pretty well. We know he can go into midfield and play and he can get forward from there.”
Lincoln boss Michael Skubala took positives despite his side’s defeat, expressing delight at how the Imps went toe-to-toe with Birmingham.
“They’ve got some quality players, but I thought we matched it. We were defensively so solid today,” he said.
Even after conceding midway through the second half, Skubala was impressed at how his side continued to hold their own as they pushed for an equaliser.
He added: “When we went one nil down, we pushed. And I think we could’ve nicked something, we could’ve nicked a draw here. And I think a draw is a fair result.
“I don’t think they had enough to break us down and I think the draw would’ve been a really good result and a really fair result. But I’m really proud of the lads.”
Skubala did, however, voice frustration over the manner of Blues’ eventual winner.
He added: “I haven’t seen it (the foul). He’s just maybe a bit clumsy but yeah (it was) frustrating for the penalty because you don’t want that game to be won on a penalty.”
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