Birmingham City 6-2 Barnsley: FLW report as Blues take giant stride towards promotion | OneFootball

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

Birmingham City recorded a 28th win of their League One season, taking them to within one victory of an immediate return to the Championship with a 6-2 rout over Barnsley at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Despite coming up against a strong performance from Conor Hourihane's men in the first half after a third-minute red card from Mael de Gevigney, Blues proved too much for the Tykes as the second half progressed, with Alfie May at the double, as well as goals for Jay Stansfield, Luke Harris, Kieran Dowell and Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Chris Davies' side have now recorded the club's highest ever points total in a season and could wrap up promotion in the first of two clashes with Peterborough United in the next eight days following Wycombe Wanderers' defeat at Reading earlier in the day.

Barnsley's two strikes came through Davis Keillor-Dunn and Stephen Humphrys. But the side who have been impressive on the road this term saw their already fading play-off hopes effectively ended in the West Midlands sunshine.

Birmingham City 6-2 Barnsley

Backed by a raucous home crowd after developments at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, Blues looked to assert their authority from the get-go, with Stansfield seeing an early sight of goal blocked inside the penalty area.

However, the visitors were reduced to ten men after just four minutes, with referee Sam Purkiss showing no hesitation to dismiss De Gevingney after the French defender hacked down Keshi Anderson after the winger was sent through on goal.

Dowell's subsequent free-kick would brush the side netting two minutes before former Birmingham defender Marc Roberts was unable to bundle home a Luca Connell corner from inside the six-yard box.

The league leaders would then see an in-form Anderson spurn a glorious chance of his own with the net at his mercy, before Ethan Laird drifted into the box and saw a powerful stab at goal rise just high of the mark.

With 14 minutes on the clock, the Tykes looked to strike on the break, with Ryan Allsop tipping a strong effort from Adam Phillips around the post after the nine-goal man was played in by Keillor-Dunn.

Dowell then looked to add to his collection of goals in Royal Blue after drifting towards the area and playing a neat interchange with Stansfield, although the experienced Roberts was on hand to stop the Rangers loanee in his tracks.

Humphrys looked to bend a curler past Allsop which was well shut out by Laird, before the Blues full-back looked to get his name on the scoresheet for the second successive home outing, but his half-volley was diverted behind for a corner by Corey O'Keeffe on the half-hour mark.

Moments later, Stansfield looked to take advantage of an O'Keeffe back-pass but was unable to convert from yards out, whilst the hosts were nearly caught out on the counter-attack by Keillor-Dunn, who was unsuccessful in his audacious attempt at lobbing Allsop.

However, Blues would open the scoring on 34 minutes as Anderson was brought down by the Barnsley keeper, who was also unable to tip Stansfield's penalty past the post, with the club-record signing netting his 18th league goal of the campaign.

But, just a minute later, Davies' men hadn't learned their lesson from previous Barnsley set-plays, and Keillor-Dunn was able to capitalise for his 15th of the season, connecting with Conor McCarthy's flick-on under pressure from Allsop and Tomoki Iwata following a long throw from Roberts.

As the first half ticked into seven minutes of stoppage time, Christoph Klarer looked to restore the hosts' initial advantage after drifting into an advanced position, but his effort was always rising above Flavell's crossbar amid frustration from the masses in B9.

In the final minute of the first period, Iwata also looked to fire in another stunning strike, but the Japanese midfielder would also be left frustrated, before Hourihane's side could've taken a lead into the break as Humphrys evaded Anderson's challenge on the left flank and was able to fizz in a wicked delivery which Jon Russell was unable to nod home from five yards out.

However, just two minutes into the second half, first-half substitute May restored Davies' side's lead, showing a real poacher's instinct from inside the six-yard box after Ben Davies' initial shot off a Klarer knockdown deflected into the striker's path via Roberts.

The former Charlton man looked to double his tally straight from the restart, but couldn't generate the precision required to bend a curling effort past Flavell. Thankfully, from the striker's perspective, he would have to wait just five more minutes to score a second of the afternoon as he glanced home Alex Cochrane's neat cross into the bottom right-hand corner.

But, as they'd showcased plenty of times in the first half, the Reds had plenty of spirit left in the tank, and Humphrys was able to reduce the deficit back to one after being slipped in by Phillips, with his shot going under the body of Allsop and over the line on the hour mark.

Iwata was then presented with yet another shooting opportunity after Barnsley had managed to head clear a dangerous Paik corner, but the Japanese midfielder was unable to find the target through a swarm of bodies, before Connell was able to thwart a two-man Birmingham attack as May looked to play in Stansfield for a brace of his own.

Davies would then reap the rewards of another substitution as Harris scored his third of the campaign, with the Fulham loanee taking over May's initial run through the middle, before slotting a composed finish past Flavell in front of a buoyant Tilton.

Nonetheless, the visitors continued to play their part in a compelling contest as Humphrys forced Allsop into a fine save, as the former Wigan Athletic man flashed a venomous effort across the experienced keeper.

Stansfield had moved out to the left flank for the second period and looked to add to the party atmosphere with a fierce effort that beat the young Reds keeper all ends up, but cannoned off the inside of the post.

May's stunning substitute display then continued eight minutes from time as he played in Dowell, who fired past Flavell after being gifted plenty of time and space to pick his spot in the bottom corner.

The best was then well and truly saved till the end for the Bluenoses as substitute and cult hero, Jutkiewicz, rounded off the scoring in the final minute of normal time, with promotion now within touching distance for the runaway league leaders.

FT: Birmingham City 6-2 Barnsley

Player Ratings

Birmingham City

Ryan Allsop - 6

Ethan Laird - 6.5 (Sampsted 67" - 6)

Christoph Klarer - 7

Ben Davies - 7

Alex Cochrane - 8

Paik Seung-Ho - 6.5 (Leonard 83" - 6.5)

Tomoki Iwata - 6.5

Willum Willumsson - 6.5 (May 37" - 9)

Kieran Dowell - 8

Keshi Anderson - 7.5 (Harris 67" - 7)

Jay Stansfield - 8 (Jutkiewicz 83" - 7)

Unused Subs: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Grant Hanley

Barnsley

Kieren Flavell - 4

Mael de Gevigney - 4

Marc Roberts - 5

Conor McCarthy - 6

Adam Phillips - 7 (Jalo 71" - 6)

Jon Russell - 6.5

Luca Connell - 6.5 (Nwakali 86" - 6)

Corey O'Keeffe - 7 (Lembikisa 86" - 6.5)

Stephen Humphrys - 7.5 (Lewis 86" - 6)

Max Watters - 6 (Bland 8" - 6.5)

Davis Keillor-Dunn - 7.5

Unused Subs: Adam Hayton, Connor Barratt

Attendance at Birmingham City vs Barnsley

The attendance at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park this afternoon was 25,018.

Chris Davies reflects after Birmingham City start season-defining week with 6-2 rout

Speaking to the press post-match, Davies was quick to reflect on how his side ran away with the game in the second period after initial signs of frustration started to creep in after a cagey first half.

"It was, obviously, a great win for us," the Blues boss began. "Six goals at home was the headline.

"Obviously, them going down to 10 men in the first half, we probably suffered from a little bit of the classic '11v10' and you think it's going to be smooth and straightforward, when it never is like that.

"I thought there was a bit of frustration creeping in, maybe in and around," he added. "I was really conscious to not add to that frustration with the players.

"We weren't at our best and I told them that, but it was important to stay very calm and clear-headed and focus on what we do and not try to think that, because they've got 10 men, we need to try something different and be really disciplined.

"I thought, second half, we started really quick, got a goal and really, we didn't look back."

When quizzed about De Gevingney's red card in the early exchanges, Davies was in no doubt that the referee had made the right call.

"I think what made it a red card was the touch," he said. "He's played a ball in behind, he's the last man, Keshi's (Anderson) took a touch across him towards goal.

"Keshi's quicker than all the defenders and he's got five yards on them and he gets tripped up. As the last man, you can't foul, you're going to get sent off."

The man in the St Andrew's hotseat would then pay tribute to the long-serving Jutkiewicz, who netted his first goal in B9 since August 2023, as well as referencing chants from the crowd before the 36-year-old netted his second league goal of the season.

Davies joked: "I was worried for the stewards at that point because the fans said they were going to get on the pitch when he scored! The esteem and respect we all have for him is huge, and the celebration was as big as I've seen for a player.

"Very professional, works hard every day. He means a lot to this club and I know how much that'll mean to him scoring that goal. We're delighted for him. The challenge for Jukey is, as I said to him, let's add to it, there's many games to go.

"I was told before I came, from people that had been here, that he's one of the main men, one of the key players.

"As a manager, you're only as good as your senior players - that's the reality of it. If you've got the wrong senior players at a football club, you're in trouble.

"He's our most senior player and he's an outstanding professional. For me, my first season as a manager, I couldn't have wished for a better example to the rest of the team."

Blues now know they could seal an immediate return to the second tier with victory at the Weston Homes Stadium in midweek, with Davies stating he has plenty to ponder ahead of a potentially celebration-filled week for the club against the same opponent.

When asked if he would select a full-strength side in PE2 ahead of the EFL Trophy Final next Sunday, the former Spurs assistant responded: "I'll see how everyone is. I'll see where they all are, physically really.

"We've obviously played three games after the international break, some of them played a lot of minutes, some have come back from injury and all sorts of things like that.

"I've got a lot to consider, thinking about what's needed. You know, we want to win the next game, that's the most important thing in football.

"Obviously, we know Wembley is there at the weekend as well. These are the things I've got to consider. We'll see how the boys are physically and we'll go from there.

"It's there for us, you can see it. You can see what it could be. But, that's something we've got to make into a reality with our performances.

"The focus will be, right, let's go and recover. Let's think about how we go down there, away from home, try to get a result and we move on from there," Davies concluded.

Conor Hourihane reacts as Barnsley suffer heavy defeat at St Andrew's

Speaking after the defeat, Hourihane believed that Blues' five goals in the second half took away from the game's full picture after a strong first-half performance from his side.

"I agree (the scoreline doesn't reflect the performance," the interim Tykes boss began.

"I thought first half, the lads were outstanding. I said that to them. We created the better of the chances, played through them at times.

"Obviously, the first half was really, really pleasing. But, the start of the second half, the goal's just killed the flow of it. I said, if we can kill the first 15 minutes, stay in it, then in the latter stages we'll get our chances and create again.

"But, obviously, the way we started the second half is probably the biggest disappointment. If we start the second half in the way we played during the first half, we would've had a right good go.

"Since September, that's the only time they've conceded two goals at home, I think. So, there's positives to take, the lads kept going. But, obviously, the disappointment is the goals we've conceded."

The Cork-born man was also in agreement regarding De Gevigney's dismissal, but was left frustrated by a lack of consistency regarding previous decisions against his side.

"I looked back at it, to be honest, I thought it was a red," he claimed.

"What I feel disappointed with is, yes, that's probably a red, but obviously, the one we had at Wigan a couple of games ago was just as much of a red as that, and we didn't get the decision.

"Over the last couple of games we've not had the rub of the green, not had the luck I've been looking for.

"Obviously, we went down to 10 men today, a poor goal on Tuesday night and then the Wigan red card. If that goes with you, you might think you might go on and win the game.

"The group are playing well at times. But we're just not getting that rub of the green that you obviously need," Hourihane concluded.

Birmingham City league position as promotion comes within touching distance

Blues now know they are just one victory away from securing promotion back to the Championship, which has looked like a formality for most of the season.

Alternatively, the celebrations could also begin if Wycombe fail to take three points against Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium.

The League One title could also be secured prior to their Wembley trip if they defeat Peterborough in midweek and Wrexham fail to defeat Wigan Athletic at the Brick Community Stadium next Saturday.