Chris Davies says it is ‘great’ to see Birmingham go top of the Championship
Jay Stansfield’s double secured a 2-1 win over 10-man Swansea.
Chris Davies admitted it was a “great” feeling to see Birmingham hit top spot in the Championship with a 2-1 win over Swansea.
Jay Stanfield’s double, the second three minutes from time, proved enough to secure victory against the 10-man Swans, who had cancelled out Stansfield’s opener with a Christoph Klarer own goal.
Birmingham boss Davies said: “It’s great to be at the summit and to have touched the summit of this league with everything we’ve been through and the whole journey.”
Goalscoring hero Stansfield said the Blues are determined to stay there. “It’s got to be the aim,” he said. “I think once you’re there, it’ll only be our fault for us not to be there.”
On his late winner, Stansfield added: “It was special. It was a massive game, they’re a really good team and to see everyone erupt like that is special.”
Ross Stewart missed a penalty early on for Swansea after Jenson Seelt went down in the box under pressure from Alex Cochrane. Then the Swans were reduced to 10 players later in the half after Marko Stamenic was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Ethan Laird.
Swansea manager Vitor Matos disagreed with the decision, feeling that Stamenic had not made contact with the Blues full-back.
He said: “My view is that Marko [Stamenic] touched the ball with the first foot, touched the ball with the second foot. There’s no contact on the player, or no direct contact on the player.”
Meanwhile, Davies commented on the penalty, which he felt was a harsh punishment.
“I was really disappointed with the penalty. I’ve watched it back so many times and I just can’t understand why the referee’s given that. I mean it’s incredible, the lad’s just thrown himself on the floor.”
Despite receiving a red card inside 30 minutes, there were times in the second half when Swansea looked more likely to take three points from the game.
Matos was able to recognise some positives from the game, even though his team lost out late on.
He said: “You need to play to win no matter what situation you are in. That’s the real heart and soul of a good team. Find ways to compete and find ways to stay competitive, whatever the context is.
“Unfortunately, sometimes life is like that, you get knocks. It’s up to us to find ways to bounce back again. When I look to the performance, I have no doubt that that will happen.”