Chris Davies admitted he has “a lot to consider” following Birmingham’s 6-2 thrashing of 10-man Barnsley at St Andrew’s in Sky Bet League One.
Despite boasting a man advantage for all but three minutes of the game, it took a 33rd-minute Jay Stansfield penalty for Blues to find the breakthrough.
Barnsley replied through Davis Keillor-Dunn just two minutes later and entered the break level, a scoreline more than merited by their spirited display.
But Alfie May’s eight-minute brace at the start of the second half put the Tykes on the back foot and, although Stephen Humphrys pulled one back in the 59th minute, Barnsley’s mountain only grew.
Blues’ lead was extended first by Luke Harris in the 72nd minute and then by Kieran Dowell 10 minutes later as Davies’ side pulled out of sight.
There was to be more action late in the game, however, as Lukas Jutkiewicz added a sixth in the 89th minute, putting Blues within a single win of promotion back to the Championship.
Although victory against Peterborough on Tuesday would seal Blues’ return to the second tier, Davies admitted that there were a lot of factors heading into the game, given they face Posh in the Vertu Trophy final next Sunday, too.
“I’ll see how everyone is. I’ll see where they all are physically. We’ve played three games in a week after the international break. Some players have played a lot of minutes. Some are coming back from injury and all sorts of things like that,” Davies said.
“So I’ve got a lot to consider, thinking about what’s needed. We want to win the next game. That’s the most important thing in football but, obviously, we know that Wembley is there on the weekend as well. So these are all things I’ve got to consider, see how the boys are physically, and we’ll go from there.”
Despite the emphatic final score, things were not always plain sailing for Blues and, level at half-time, Davies sensed unease among his players.
He said: “I thought there was a bit of frustration maybe creeping in, and I was really conscious at half-time just to sort of not add to that frustration with the players. And we weren’t at our best, and I told them that.”
Interim Barnsley boss Conor Hourihane was quick to accept the red-card decision which saw Mael De Gevigney dismissed in the third minute.
“I looked back at it. I’ll be honest with you, that was red,” he said. “I think what I feel is disappointing is that that’s probably a red, but then, obviously, the one at Wigan that we had a couple of games ago was just as much of a red. We didn’t get the decision.”
Mikel Arteta said he is ready to give his life to deliver a trophy for Arsenal after he apologised to the club’s fans for ending the season empty handed.Declan Rice’s second-half strike fired Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Newcastle and confirmed their place in the Champions League.However, the Gunners failed to launch a serious title challenge to Liverpool this season, and they are set to ...
Jamie Vardy reflected on an “amazing” and “rollercoaster” career with Leicester after scoring a landmark 200th goal in his 500th and final appearance for the Foxes.The 38-year-old former England striker reached the goal milestone in the 28th minute of Leicester’s home match with Ipswich when he latched on to James Justin’s through ball and expertly slipped it be...
Mikel Arteta apologised to Arsenal supporters for failing to deliver on his dream of ending the club’s two-decade wait for a Premier League title.Declan Rice’s second-half strike fired Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Newcastle and confirmed their place in the Champions League next season.However, the Gunners failed to launch a serious challenge to Liverpool this season and are set to finish ...
Interim boss Liam Fox welled up with tears as he reflected on his “pride” at leading Hearts to four straight wins before departing his boyhood club as they prepare to confirm Derek McInnes as their new manager on Monday.With McInnes set to bring his own backroom staff with him from Kilmarnock, it was announced on Saturday that Fox – a childhood Jambo who started both his playing ...
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor heaped praise on her side’s new celebrity investors after multi-millionaire entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian and his wife, tennis great Serena Williams, flew over for their FA Cup final triumph at Wembley.Sandy Baltimore scored a brace either side of a Catarina Macario goal as Chelsea sealed an unbeaten domestic treble with a 3-0 victory over Manchester United in fron...
Declan Rice’s second-half strike fired Arsenal to a 1-0 win against Newcastle at the Emirates and a place in next season’s Champions League.Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya kept his side in the match with a string of fine saves prior to the interval before Rice delivered from range with 55 minutes gone.Arsenal’s victory moves them five points clear of third-placed Newcastle with jus...
Marco Silva says Harry Wilson will “want to play Brentford every week” after he stung the Bees for a second time this season with the winner in Fulham’s 3-2 west London derby victory at the Gtech Community Stadium.Wilson, who had his contract extended until next summer this week and also scored a stoppage-time double in Fulham’s 2-1 win over Brentford in November, replicate...
Tony Docherty thanked Lyall Cameron for an outstanding career at Dundee after the midfielder signed off in style with a double in victory over St Johnstone.Cameron, who penned a pre-contract with Rangers in February, inspired a 2-0 win that eased the Dark Blues away from the relegation play-off place.The 22-year-old netted after 28 minutes and rounded off a man-of-the-match display with a stoppage...
Nuno Espirito Santo and his Nottingham Forest players dedicated the 2-1 win over West Ham which kept their Champions League hopes alive to stricken team-mate Taiwo Awoniyi.Striker Awoniyi is recovering from emergency abdominal surgery, having been placed in an induced coma, after colliding with a goalpost in last weekend’s Premier League home draw against Leicester.The 27-year-old revealed o...
Michael Wimmer says he is delighted with how Motherwell have ended the season after wrapping up their William Hill Premiership campaign with a 1-1 draw at Ross County.The Steelmen trailed to a Ronan Hale goal on the half-hour mark but improved drastically in the second half and dominated the game in Dingwall.That pressure eventually told, with Moses Ebiye heading in an equaliser with seven minutes...
- 1 Richie Wellens hails Leyton Orient’s ‘outstanding’ victory over Stockport
- 2 We will see – no Unai Emery assurances over future of tearful Emiliano Martinez
- 3 Arsenal offer £135k deal to seduce target
- 4 Mikel Arteta ready to give his life to deliver silverware for Arsenal
- 5 Leyton Orient book Wembley date by beating Stockport on penalties
- 6 Chelsea beat Manchester United in FA Cup final to seal domestic treble
- 7 Mikel Arteta apologises for failing to deliver Arsenal a Premier League title
- 8 Liverpool cleared to complete signing
- 9 Brendan Rodgers hits out at ‘needless challenge’ on Reo Hatate
- 10 Marc Guehi to land transfer to Real or Barca