Birmingham City 2-1 Watford: FLW report as Paik and Gray stunners see Blues edge past Hornets | OneFootball

FLW report from St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park for this Championship fixture

Birmingham City made it four successive wins at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Watford.

Having scored four times in their past three home outings, two stunning first-half strikes from Seung-ho Paik and Demarai Gray proved decisive for Chris Davies' men in this particular encounter, with the highly coveted Othmane Maamma providing the Hornets with a lifeline on 61 minutes through a well-taken finish of his own.

Birmingham City 2-1 Watford

The Hornets were the first to strike a warning sign, with Tom Ince receiving possession inside the first minute and hitting the side netting with a fierce drive.

Blues' first effort saw Seung-ho Paik make a smart run in order to latch on to a pinpoint Tommy Doyle corner, with the South Korean firing just wide of Nathan Baxter's left-hand post.

James Beadle was forced into a smart save after 14 minutes, with the England Under-21 international beating away Maamma's curling effort after the Moroccan was found in acres of space on the edge of Blues' box. The 20-year-old then fired a second strike just wide four minutes later.

Birmingham were then denied an opener after an impressive save from Baxter. Quick thinking from Paik saw Jay Stansfield slipped in after a free-kick, before the Hornets keeper showed strong reflexes to turn Demarai Gray's improvised effort behind.

The combination of Maamma and Marc Bola continued to cause problems for the hosts, although Gracia's men wouldn't be rewarded on 29 minutes as no man in yellow and red could turn home the latter's inviting cross.

After an even half-hour, it was Blues who seized the initiative, with their opener all down to the work of Paik, who put in an inch-perfect tackle on Hector Kyprianou before slamming home his fourth of the season from 20 yards.

The visitors' first response came eight minutes before the break, with Bola firing a snapshot into the Tilton, before Phil Neumann put his head where it hurt to block an Imran Louza free-kick.

However, it was 2-0 just three minutes before the break as Stansfield impressively weaved his way past Kevin Keben's challenge before setting up Gray, who netted for the third game in a row at St. Andrew's with a stunning strike which flew past Baxter.

In the opening exchanges of the second period, Birmingham immediately set about adding a third, with Stansfield heading narrowly over the bar from Patrick Roberts' fizzing delivery.

Imran Louza then stepped away from the challenges of Stansfield and Gray before picking out Bola through an exquisite cross-field switch, with Beadle smartly denying the onrushing left-back.

Jeremy Ngakia was the most relieved man inside St. Andrew's after 54 minutes, with the full-back's loose pass finding Doyle, who played in Marvin Ducksch. However, the in-form German striker couldn't make it four goals in three games on this occasion, somehow spurning his low effort wide of the post from close range.

Just moments after somehow heading wide Ngakia's cross, Watford's brightest spark, Maamma, slotted home his first goal of the season on 61 minutes after more impressive work from Bola to pick out the in-demand forward.

With 14 minutes remaining, Blues substitute Lyndon Dykes was able to advance towards goal after outmuscling Ngakia, before his ball intended for Stansfield proved too strong for the club-record signing to latch on to and secure the points.

As the encounter entered the final 10 minutes, Watford continued to search for a leveller, although Mamadou Doumbia's rather tame effort from close range caused Beadle no harm.

Davies' side looked to seal the three points five minutes from time as Doyle attempted to find the back of the net first-time from a corner, but his audacious effort lacked the required accuracy.

The visitors then saw strong appeals for a penalty dismissed by Adam Herczeg amid appeals of handball against Alex Cochrane following a fizzing cross from the recently-introduced Moussa Sissoko.

As the clock struck 90, Beadle had to stay alert as Louza's through ball almost found Bola once more. However, Birmingham would see the game out and move up to seventh on goal difference, whilst Javi Gracia's side remain 15th on 24 points.

FT: Birmingham City 2-1 Watford

Player Ratings

Birmingham City

James Beadle - 6

Bright Osayi-Samuel - 6.5 (Sampsted 73" - 6)

Phil Neumann - 7

Christoph Klarer - 7

Alex Cochrane - 7

Seung-ho Paik - 7.5

Tommy Doyle - 7.5

Patrick Roberts - 7.5 (Koumas 91" - N/A)

Jay Stansfield - 7.5 (Leonard 91" - N/A)

Demarai Gray - 7.5 (Anderson 69" - 6)

Marvin Ducksch - 6.5 (Dykes 73" - 6)

Unused Subs: Ryan Allsop, Jack Robinson, Eiran Cashin, Kyogo Furuhashi

Watford

Nathan Baxter - 6

Jeremy Ngakia - 7.5

Kevin Keben - 6.5

Mattie Pollock - 6

Marc Bola - 7.5

Tom Ince - 6 (Chakvetadze 59" - 6.5)

Hector Kyprianou - 6 (Kayembe 60" - 6)

Imran Louza - 7

Othmane Maamma - 7.5 (Sissoko 85" - 6)

Luca Kjerrumgaard - 6 (Semedo 59" - 6)

Mamadou Doumbia - 6

Unused Subs: Alfie Marriott, Max Alleyne, James Morris, James Abankwah, Nampalys Mendy

Chris Davies reacts as Birmingham City see off Watford

Reacting to his side's latest home success, Davies began: "I thought it was an excellent win.

"I was very aware going into the game, the level of opposition we're playing against today. I think you could see some of the speed and quality they had in their side that always keeps the game alive. Even if they're defending, they can break away," he explained.

"It was one of those games where you had to be tuned in.

"I thought we made a good start. Really pleased with the goals we scored, coming from really aggressive defending moving into good attacking moments," the Blues boss added.

"Second half, we could've made it 3-0. We've, again, pressed to score but couldn't quite get that goal. And then, they have that spell.

"You can anticipate them having that pressure within the match, and I thought they got hold of the ball, and we were a little bit deep, which I'm more than fine with, not having to press every single time and be compact.

"We just got a little mistake with our organisation and they skipped in and scored, which is a little bit disappointing.

"But, it's more the reaction from that that I liked," Davies continued. "I don't think, following the goal, they created a big chance.

"I thought we defended well. Obviously, you want a little bit more possession phases, more control. But, they're human beings, it's natural that you see the game out.

"I thought they did that really well. We could've been a little bit more controlled with the ball to push them back and take a bit of energy from them.

"But, by the time the game finished, I thought we were OK."

Javi Gracia's verdict as Watford defeated by Birmingham City

Reacting to his side's narrow defeat in the Second City, Gracia said: "We knew before coming that today would be a tough game.

"In my opinion, it was an equal game. In the first half, they dominated more than us, but both teams had good chances.

"We didn't take the chances we had, and they did with two great goals," he claimed.

"After that, in the second half, I think there were some moments where we played better. We had more chances and played more in the opposition half and dominated the game.

"But, when you dominate, you have to score and take the chances you have. We didn't do that.

"We tried until the end. The other team (Birmingham) are a good team. But, nothing to say, we will try to prepare better for our next game," Gracia added.

The attendance at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park tonight was 26,086.