Birmingham City 4-1 Norwich City: FLW report as Blues celebrate 150 years in style against lacklustre Canaries | OneFootball

FLW report live from St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park

Birmingham City capped off a historic week for the club in fine fashion with a 4-1 success over Norwich City at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

After plans for the 62,000-seater 'Powerhouse' stadium were unveiled on Tuesday, a packed-out crowd witnessed a dominant performance from Chris Davies' side in Blues' official 150th anniversary game.

Marvin Ducksch got the ball rolling inside three minutes with his first goal for the club, before the lead was doubled by his forward partner, Jay Stansfield after 21 minutes through a smart close-range header.

Mathias Kvistgaarden netted his fourth goal for the Canaries and the first of Philippe Clement's tenure 12 minutes later, before Ducksch restored a two-goal lead on the stroke of half-time with another poacher's strike.

The hosts then made it four goals in three successive home games as Stansfield netted his ninth of the season in all competitions with a smart dink over Vladan Kovacevic inside the opening 10 minutes of the second period.

Birmingham City 4-1 Norwich City

It was almost the perfect start for Blues as they looked to build on two 4-0 home victories earlier in the month. Marc Leonard dispossessed Kenny McLean before picking out Demarai Gray, with the winger testing Kovacevic with a low drive inside the first minute.

Davies' side were rewarded for their positive start just two minutes later, though, as Ducksch couldn't miss from inside the six-yard box, with a low cross from Gray picking out the summer signing from Werder Bremen.

The striker could've doubled his tally for the afternoon and the season after eight minutes, with Patrick Roberts somehow keeping the ball in play, before Ducksch blazed over the crossbar from yards out.

Kvistgaarden forged Norwich's first opening after 18 minutes after being afforded time and space to venture forward. However, the Dane's effort was comfortable for James Beadle.

Blues would then make the visitors pay three minutes later, with Stansfield heading home his eighth of the season in all competitions as Sunderland loanee, Roberts, fired in a stunning delivery.

Many inside St. Andrew's were then aggrieved as Anthony Backhouse waved away strong appeals for a penalty after Ducksch appeared to be held back by Harry Darling before falling to the turf.

The aforementioned Kvistgaarden then offered Norwich a glimmer of hope as he fired home from 15 yards out after Beadle could only parry Jack Stacey's initial cross, before Oscar Schwartau missed a golden chance to draw level from an even closer range.

Birmingham could've restored their two-goal advantage four minutes before the interval, with Roberts heading wide of the mark after latching onto a raking cross-field ball from Leonard before Ducksch also fired wide seconds later, attempting to catch Kovacevic off-guard.

He would get his just rewards a minute before the break though, turning home from inside the six-yard box after a combination of Kovacevic and Darling kept out an initial Iwata effort.

Birmingham looked to start the second-half in a similar vein, with Gray, once again, the main instigator as a close-range shot following a neat interchange with Alex Cochrane was blocked by Shane Duffy.

The Jamaican international was at the front and centre of Blues' fourth strike just nine minutes into the half, stealing in ahead of McLean before setting Stansfield away with an inch-perfect through ball, leaving the England Under-21 international to lift the ball home in front of the Tilton.

Beadle was then on hand to smartly deny Jovon Makama on the hour-mark after the winger burst into the box, before substitute Emiliano Marcondes could also only fire a tame effort into the Brighton loanee's grasp.

Iwata then came inches away from adding to his collection of spectaculars, with the versatile figure bursting forward and smacking the right-hand upright with a stunning effort.

Midway through the half, Beadle pulled off two fine saves within a matter of seconds, initially palming a Marcondes header over the bar before tipping a close-range strike from Duffy past his right-hand post.

Josh Sargent's only chance of the game came five minutes from time, with the eventual spurned finish showcasing a striker devoid of confidence, as the USMNT international's goal drought continued.

With the game petering out to an eventual 4-1 scoreline, Blues have moved up to ninth in the Championship after a third win in four games, whilst Norwich's winless run has extended to 12 games, leaving the Norfolk side 23rd.

FT: Birmingham City 4-1 Norwich City

Player Ratings

Birmingham City

James Beadle - 7

Tomoki Iwata - 7.5 (Osayi-Samuel 87" - 6)

Phil Neumann - 6.5

Christoph Klarer - 7.5

Alex Cochrane - 7

Marc Leonard - 7

Tommy Doyle - 7.5

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

Jay Stansfield - 8.5 (Dykes 87" - 6)

Demarai Gray - 8.5 (Anderson 72" - 6)

Marvin Ducksch - 8.5 (Kyogo 72" - 6.5)

Unused Subs: Ryan Allsop, Jack Robinson, Eiran Cashin, Kanya Fujimoto

Norwich City

Vladan Kovacevic - 4.5

Jack Stacey - 5.5

Shane Duffy - 6

Harry Darling - 5.5

Kellen Fisher - 5.5

Mirko Topic - 5

Kenny McLean - 5

Oscar Schwartau - 6 (Forson 73" - 6)

Mathias Kvistgaarden - 7 (Marcondes 59" - 6.5)

Jovon Makama - 6.5

Josh Sargent - 6.5 (Mundle-Smith 88" - 6)

Unused Subs: Daniel Grimshaw, Jakov Medic, Pelle Mattson, Jacob Wright, Ruairi McConville, Tony Springett

Birmingham City vs Norwich City Attendance

The attendance at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park this afternoon was 28,080.

Chris Davies reacts as Birmingham City see off Norwich City in style

Reflecting on another dominant performance and fine week in B9, Davies began: "It's been a good week, lots of stuff going on.

"Obviously, it was our 150th anniversary week, a momentous week for the club. But, my focus and the players' focus was the football game on a Saturday and making sure we were ready for it and play as well as we can.

"I was really pleased with the way we started the match. An intensity, a relentlessness that feels familiar to us and when we're at our best," Davies added. "We had a chance in the first minute and that set the tone, gave the stadium a lift, and we went on from there.

When asked where the performance ranks in comparison to others this season, the 40-year-old claimed: "It's close. I thought those (last) two were good as well, to be honest.

"I liked the combinations. I thought some of the goals were very good. The first goal was an excellent move, really crisp and precise, and the good timings, movement without the ball, everyone really in good positions. But, a dynamic, quality goal," he explained.

"We look dangerous when we go forward. From my point of view, what I love about us at the moment is the intensity we're playing with.

"It's always, for me, defensive first. That's the most important part, making sure you're solid, organised and aggressive. When we do that, we, obviously, have the quality when we've got the ball," the Blues boss stated.

Philippe Clement's verdict as Norwich City defeated by Birmingham City

Reacting to his first game in charge of Norwich, Clement's initial thoughts were: "The first half, we clearly lacked intensity, duel power and structure.

"We didn't do, defensively, what we trained on," he added. "You will see, also, we didn't have much time to train, of course. One or two days with the players, with some, one, others two and with a few, four. But, not too many.

"It's things that they need to learn, also with one session, to keep our structure. It's good that you can have half-time then you can show something, and the second half was much better," Clement explained.

"We had better intensity, winning more duels, better structure, getting more chances than Birmingham and being braver on the ball and to keep the ball in a better way.

"Things to build on. But, of course, you need to have that kind of football for 90 minutes, or longer, to get good results against teams like Birmingham, who have an impressive home record.

When asked if he was disappointed by the first half in particular, the Belgian responded: "That's a hard question, because you don't expect, but always hope for more.

"It's also not a surprise because it's not the first time it's happened this season that a team lacks these things. They are things to work on," Clement claimed.