Curtis Davies reacts to "bold" decision made in Birmingham City v West Brom | OneFootball

August Priske's last-gasp header for Blues against their local rivals was ruled out

Former Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion defender Curtis Davies weighed in on the debate which surrounded August Priske's disallowed goal in the final minutes of Tuesday night's West Midlands derby at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

It has been well-documented that Blues and Albion have endured extremely contrasting campaigns in the Championship this season, with Chris Davies' side still harbouring ambitions of back-to-back promotions through the play-offs, whilst the remainder of the term from Eric Ramsay's perspective is all about ensuring survival in his first months in charge at The Hawthorns.

With Birmingham entering the encounter on back-to-back victories amid a seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions, it was the hosts who were fancied, by many, to continue their strong recent form and pick up a 13th win from 32 games, which would have seen them rise into the top six for the time being.

However, Davies' men, and the majority of the 27,037 crowd in B9, were left constantly frustrated by a flurry of chances which didn't hit the back of the net, as well as two major talking points surrounding the man in the middle, Adam Herczeg, and his officiating team.

The last of those came when Priske thought he'd secured a huge three points for the Second City outfit in the final minute of allocated second half stoppage-time with a glancing header in front of the Tilton, before his, and the Bluenoses' wild celebrations were instantly cut short.

Curtis Davies weighs in on controversial Birmingham City, West Brom flashpoint as August Priske winner ruled out

Priske was introduced as a second half substitute in place of Jay Stansfield, who hadn't been able to build on his first goal since November against Leicester at the weekend.

The £6m signing has made all of his four appearances for Birmingham thus far as a substitute, as he looks to showcase exactly why his services were courted so heavily in the winter transfer window amid interest from European top-flight sides.

After Birmingham felt that nothing was going their way in terms of luck, especially when Charlie Taylor's remarkable goal-line clearance earlier in the half denied Ibrahim Osman's fizzing volley from reaching the bottom corner, such fortunes appeared to have changed when the Danish forward glanced home Kai Wagner's last-gasp corner past the impressive Max O'Leary, with bedlam ensuing inside St. Andrew's as a result.

However, the celebrations were immediately ground to a halt as Priske and his teammates wheeled away straight in front of the linesman, who made no hesitation to call for an offside, with replays showing that O'Leary's chances of saving the header were impacted by fellow Blues substitute, Demarai Gray.

Speaking on Sky Sports post-match, Davies believed that the call was strong, but correct.

"Correct decision," the pundit stated. "I think it's a really bold call from the linesman.

"But, when we see it here, you see Demarai Gray just on top of O'Leary's toes.

"I think he probably gets away with that if he doesn't do what he's about to do, which is to flick his head towards the ball," Davies explained.

"Because of that deliberate flick towards the ball, I think that's where he effectively comes in to play, and it's rightfully disallowed.

"Really frustrating for Birmingham, you know. Priske with an unbelievable header.

"O'Leary's getting nowhere near it anyway, but it's definitely offside for me," he added.

Chris Davies issues response to August Priske's disallowed goal

Davies wasn't the only man to weigh in on the debate post-match, with his namesake and Blues boss, Chris, also issuing his thoughts on the late drama at St. Andrew's in his press conference.

"I've seen it back," he said.

"I think it's one of those where you could say, by the letter of the law, there's a potential offside. You see them given, though, you see them given a lot. Especially in this league.

The Birmingham chief was also left debating the potential outcome of a key first-half flashpoint too, where Paik Seung-ho, who would suffer a blow to the shoulder in the same phase of play, saw a crashing header blocked by Callum Styles, with the ball then appearing to strike the hand of the Albion utility man.

"I thought there was a handball off the line from our early header," he claimed. "If there's VAR, that has to be a penalty."

It wasn't all bad for Blues, though, as they moved back into the division's top 10, and will host Premier League opposition in Leeds United in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.