Davies Praises Birmingham City’s Strong Response After Exeter Victory

Birmingham City’s head coach, Chris Davies, expressed satisfaction with his team’s reaction following their unexpected defeat to Shrewsbury Town, as they went on to secure an impressive victory against Exeter City. Davies has now overseen 14 wins in his 21 matches at the helm of Birmingham City. The Blues had previously suffered a loss to a Shrewsbury team invigorated by their new manager, Gareth Ainsworth, in his inaugural game last weekend. However, Birmingham showed no lasting impact from that defeat in Devon. Tomoki Iwata’s early goal gave them the lead at a waterlogged St James Park. Jay Stansfield then sealed the win with a late penalty, marking an emotional occasion for the striker, who started his career at the Exeter academy and whose late father, Adam, established a significant legacy there. Davies conveyed his satisfaction to BBC Radio WM, stating, “I was really happy with the performance – probably our best of the season. We created numerous chances, scored two good goals and they only had two touches in our box, so I’m delighted. We looked really dangerous in possession. There were multiple times, particularly in the first half we had them really pinned back and we could’ve had two of three goals.” This victory solidified Birmingham’s position among the League One contenders, placing them in third. They are now one point behind Wrexham, who are in second, with Birmingham holding two games in hand. They trail leaders Wycombe Wanderers by five points, having played one fewer match. The loss in Shropshire represented only their second league defeat of the current season, and Davies had emphasized the necessity for the former leaders to recover strongly. He further commented, “We knew we had to react and challenge the players to make sure that there was, from what was a really disappointing day on the weekend. To a man, every single one of them reacted. It was a good template for us – a night game and pouring down with rain – and we had to come and look like a proper team with the right attitude and we had that.” Davies also commended Stansfield, who was making his first return to his former club since his reported record £15 million transfer to Birmingham during the summer. Stansfield had previously scored nine goals in 36 league appearances for Exeter while on loan from Fulham in the 2022-23 season. Jay Stansfield’s late father, Adam, who passed away from cancer in 2010 at 31 years old, also played for Exeter, and his jersey was exhibited in the stand at St James Park during the game. The striker, a native of Devon, was met with a warm welcome from the local supporters and acknowledged their appreciation at the final whistle, having netted his 10th goal of the season to secure the victory for the Blues. Davies remarked, “I don’t think there’s many people in the world who know exactly how Jay’s feeling. Credit to him, he didn’t let it [the emotion of the occasion] affect him. He was very focused, gave a really diligent performance, showed his quality and scored a goal. He’s family are very proud of him.”