"This group" - Tom Wagner sends Birmingham City message after fresh promotion boost | OneFootball

Blues further extended their advantage at the top of the League One table against Stevenage

Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner issued his reaction to Blues' latest success in League One, as they defeated Stevenage 2-1 at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Tuesday night.

In what was one of Birmingham's games in-hand, the third-tier leaders would extend their lead at the top of the table to 14 points with 11 games to play, courtesy of Wrexham's slip-up on the road, as Phil Parkinson's side were defeated 2-0 by play-off hopefuls Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

A second Kieran Dowell penalty in the space of three days and Seung-Ho Paik's first goal of a stellar season proved to be the difference as Chris Davies' side recorded yet another maximum in B9, despite Jake Young's fine consolation, which came in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.

Tom Wagner reacts as Birmingham City see off Stevenage at St Andrew's

The American, who has completely transformed the fortunes of the club since his takeover back in July 2023, was present in the Second City for the midweek fixture, issuing a pre-match message to the Bluenoses, in which he stated he was "looking forward to seeing everyone for a couple of pints pre-match and an exciting game."

And afterwards - as has become the norm - he took to his Instagram story to heap further praise on the players.

Wagner was quick to emphasise the mammoth gap which has now been opened up between Blues and both Wycombe Wanderers and the aforementioned Red Dragons, saying: "14 points clear."

"Proud of this group. Keep Right On!! @bcfc," the Blues owner concluded.

Chris Davies' verdict as Birmingham City secure another League One success

A 25th win in 35 league games now gives Davies a win percentage of 71.42% and a points-per-game record of 2.34, which, if maintained, would see Blues achieve a haul of 107 points, one better than Reading's current EFL record, which has stood for 19 years thus far.

The West Midlands side have also continued an unbeaten home record in the league, which will now stretch over the course of an annual year, last losing to Watford 1-0 on March 16th, 2024, winning 19 of the 22 matches at St Andrew's in said timeframe.

Despite only mustering two shots on target in midweek - which ultimately decided the contest - Blues were dominant in several other metrics, such as keeping 73.1% of the ball across the 90, with Davies pleased with how his side performed in the first 45 minutes in particular.

“I thought the first half was one of our best performances of the season, at home,” the 39-year-old told official club channels. “I really liked how we approached the game.”

“Stevenage are notoriously a very good defensive team who don’t give many chances away, but we looked fluent and moved the ball well, both wide players looked dangerous, and we were really strong."

Birmingham have also won eight straight league games in B9 for the first time in 33 years, as a then nine-game run of home wins mainly coincided with another promotion from this level under Terry Cooper.

“From our point of view, it’s a great record. We love playing at home, the support we get is incredible and every game is something special," Davies added.

Birmingham City take another step towards the Championship

Despite being in the position which many outsiders and supporters expected to be in, Tuesday night's win further echoed how efficient and strong Davies' side are in comparison to a multitude of sides in the league, even just seven days after suffering a third defeat of the season at the hands of Bolton Wanderers.

However, Birmingham have shown a strong reaction to the disappointment at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, as well as taking advantage of Wycombe and Wrexham dropping points.

If it already wasn't, it now seems as if the League One title is a foregone conclusion, with Blues needing just six wins from 11 to reach the 100-point mark, and just eight points to achieve a club-record points haul, with the current figure of 89 coming from their last stint at this level under Barry Fry, where they won the title and EFL Trophy in the same season.

Davies is on course to match, if not better those achievements, and with the club also receiving an extra allocation of tickets for their Wembley date with Peterborough United next month, it is set to be a party atmosphere for those in Royal Blue across the final two months of the season.