Birmingham City manager Chris Davies and Bristol City boss Michael Skubala were in disagreement over the contentious late decisions that shaped their 2-2 draw at St Andrew's. The match, Birmingham's first home game of the season, was decided by a stoppage-time penalty converted by Demarai Gray after a dramatic final ten minutes.
Late Drama in the Championship Clash
Bristol City were heading for victory with five minutes remaining after Dom Ballard's back-heeled volley put them ahead. Scott Twine had opened the scoring in the first half, only for an own goal from Robins goalkeeper Sam Tickle to level the match. The game then took a chaotic turn when Blues midfielder Jhon Solis thought he had equalised with a close-range finish from a set piece, but referee Will Finnie and his assistant ruled it out.
The officials judged that substitute Marvin Ducksch had impeded Tickle's vision from an offside position. In stoppage time, however, Finnie awarded Birmingham a penalty after a long throw-in from Alex Cochrane created chaos in the box. Rob Atkinson headed the ball away, but following a lengthy pause, the referee pointed to the spot for a handball by Jason Knight. Gray confidently converted to secure a point for the hosts.
Davies and Skubala Offer Contrasting Views
Davies expressed disbelief at the disallowed goal, saying: “The disallowed goal… I would have been furious to be honest, I was in disbelief that they would disallow that goal from Jhon Solis for something involving the goalkeeper. I just don’t see it and I don’t think they even appealed for it. That would have been very painful.”
He added on the penalty: “We forced an error. There was a handball. We forced it with a bit of a melee in the box and I think that’s a penalty that we deserved. It was a pretty eventful end.”
Skubala, however, gave a different account: “I didn’t see it at the time but I've seen it back. The linesman has given it for a handball from Jason Knight but Rob Atkinson heads the ball. It’s a crazy decision that didn’t need to happen. The referee has two angles, his angle and the linesman’s angle, and I think the decision is not the right one.”
On the disallowed goal, Skubala said: “That was offside. He’s got that one right but maybe the occasion has got to the linesman in the corner. Rob Atkinson heads the ball and we go away with three points.”
Birmingham's Performance Concerns
Birmingham were fortunate to escape with a draw after conceding numerous chances to the Robins. Striker Lorent Tolaj missed two gilt-edged headers, while James Beadle made strong saves from Twine and Jed Wallace. Davies acknowledged his team must improve to secure wins in upcoming Championship fixtures.
He reflected: “I’ve got mixed feelings. The one side is obviously we came back, but as I said to the players that was quite a way below our level and we have to be honest about that and reflect on why and what we could have done better. The fluency of our attacking play, 65 percent of the ball, I would want us to generate more chances. We are obviously using set pieces a little bit more which can break the flow up but I would want us to generate more chances.”
Davies also noted defensive issues: “On the flip side we ended up giving quite a few counter-attacking chances away. It reminds me in some ways of my first game against Reading in League One which we drew to get a point with a late penalty. We had a similar kind of performance. Perhaps it’s that first day feel, the tension and expectation and everything, that contributed to that level of performance. It wasn’t the worst but it could have been a lot better.”
