Birmingham manager Chris Davies hailed his side for “winning ugly” following the runaway League One leaders’ hard-fought 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.
Davies had top-scorer Jay Stansfield’s 85th-minute penalty to thank for their club-record 37th victory of the season after Blues were pushed all the way by lowly Rovers.
Keshi Anderson’s stunning early strike had put Birmingham ahead but Rovers belied their lowly status when they hit back through Gatlin O’Donkor’s close-range header.
It was a classic end-to-end game but Stansfield slotted in his 22nd goal this season from the penalty spot after Taylor Moore handled.
“It was one of those ugly types of games and we handled it all pretty well,” Davies said.
“I told the players that this is one of those games they’ll remember for a long time because these are the ones you want to win the most.
“It’s when it’s ugly and it’s far from perfect but you still get through the challenge to end up winners. It was a really good win for us.
“From what I’d seen of Rovers they normally like to play football but tonight was quite direct and they tried to press us.
“It was one of those ugly types of games and we handled it all pretty well. There were a lot of duels and a lot of second balls.
“We started brightly and I was really frustrated we didn’t build on it and we got done on a set-piece which gave them oxygen and belief but we got through the challenge.”
Rovers boss Inigo Calderon told his players not to be too downhearted by a defeat which left them just three points clear of the relegation zone.
“We were better than the best side in the league for 85 minutes but that’s not enough and we’ve got to do better,” Calderon said.
“Our mistakes were punished by a good side. Football can be brutal and unfair but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to keep going.
“I feel frustrated, but I feel proud of the boys.
“Football has been unfair on us but we can’t waste time on that because life is unfair and we have to keep going.
“When you’re down there the mistakes always seem to get punished by the good sides.
“I’ve not seen the statistics but I think we had more chances than them which is something good for the boys but that makes me feel even worse, although we can’t waste time thinking about how unlucky we are.
“After their early goal I thought it would be a long night but we recovered well. Football is testing us and we have to be ready for the game at Bolton on Saturday which will be tough.”
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