Jay Stansfield ended his goal drought as Birmingham City twice fought back to draw 2-2 with Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Andrew's on Sunday, but wasteful finishing remains a concern for Chris Davies' side.
Blues trailed to first-half strikes from Fer Lopez and Ladislav Krejci, but Stansfield's thunderbolt and a Jackson Tchatchoua own goal secured a share of the derby spoils. It was the second time in a week that Birmingham were involved in a Championship thriller that ended level.
Stansfield strike signals a return to form
No one can say a Stansfield goal hasn't been coming. He missed a sitter at Wrexham and two good chances versus Southampton before finally breaking his duck with a thunderbolt against Wolves.
The way Stansfield latched onto Patrick Roberts' clipped pass and smashed it into the roof of the net evoked memories of his goal-scoring heroics of 2023/24. It's been a while since Stansfield struck a ball with such meaning.
Stansfield is the poster-boy of the Knighthead era – and the man Tom Wagner was willing to spend almost anything on to bring back following relegation in 2024 – so it was fitting that the 23-year-old prompted the first fist-pump in celebration from Blues' returning chairman.
Wagner and Davies will hope that Stansfield is well and truly up and running after a run of two goals in the previous 36 matches.
Full throttle football and a hybrid style
It was actually quite strange to hear Wolves manager Cesar Peixoto describe Blues as 'direct and dangerous on set pieces' in his post-match press conference. You would never have thought we would reach this point when Blues were passing teams to death under Davies two years ago.
The fact of the matter is they have changed – they hope – for the better. What we have seen in the last two home games is a good template for Blues to follow moving forward. There has been variation in how they have utilised the physical presence of centre-forward August Priske, speed and energy down the sides and, on occasions, Blues have played through the press.
James Beadle, Phil Neumann and Bright Osayi-Samuel moved the ball beautifully down the right side at one point in the second half to evade Wolves' press and set up a promising counter-attack. This is the hybrid style Davies hoped to get to.
Quality is needed in the final third
Blues wasted countless opportunities to score the winning goal in a week where they have squandered more chances than they have taken. Unfortunately for Blues, three of their biggest chances fell to centre-backs Christoph Klarer and Phil Neumann, while the latter couldn't find Luis Vazquez in a goal-scoring position after racing upfield in stoppage time.
“If anything he could have taken another touch, but he's probably never been in that situation since he was about 12,” Davies joked about Neumann's foray forward post-match.
Vazquez missed a relatively straightforward pass through to Marvin Ducksch, Tomoki Iwata couldn't convert from inside the box after Jose Sa kept out a Ducksch free-kick in stoppage time and there were other instances where Blues were wasteful. But, if they can find a cutting edge and quality in the final third, this week's performances bode well for the 41 games ahead.
Midfield problems mount and first impressions of Millar
Earlier this week a few members of the press engaged in a debate over which player Blues would struggle to cope without and almost all of the votes went to Jhon Solis. Blues' do-it-all midfielder has become so integral since arriving from Girona, initially on loan in January before £6million was shelled out to make it permanent in the summer, that you worry when he isn't there.
Away games at Norwich City and Derby County without Solis would be far from ideal and Davies didn't sound overly confident when asked about the Colombian's condition post-Wolves. This does, however, represent an opportunity for Paik Seung-ho to re-establish himself in Blues' midfield. Paik showed improvement against Wolves and his set piece delivery was right on the money a few times, albeit he could have used the ball more purposefully when in space in midfield.
Three monstrous matches await Blues before the international break, when Davies hopes some of his midfield problems will ease.
Liam Millar provided some composure and quality in a frenetic first half at St Andrew's. The debutant didn't rush in possession and beat three players with quick feet and close control to delight his new supporters. There wasn't a great deal of space for Millar to get in behind and one thing Wolves' struggling right-back Tchatchoua does possess is plenty of speed so that might not have been the Canadian's best bet, but he showed enough in nearly 70 minutes to suggest he could be a useful addition. Millar will likely get another start at Carrow Road on Wednesday and has the speed and ability to do damage if spaces appear.
