BOURNEMOUTH BIRMINGHAM
WHEN visiting striker Clayton Donaldson put Birmingham ahead after 18 minutes yesterday, Bournemouth found themselves in unfamiliar territory in this season’s Championship.
“It’s the fi rst time we have fallen behind at home and it’s certainly not a position we are used to,” said Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe.
Three minutes later, they were in for another shock as Wales international David Cotterill made it 2- 0 to Birmingham.
But the Easter weekend culminates with Bournemouth back on top of the table, a step closer to the Premier League, after turning their fortunes around, even if they did it the hard way.
Strikes from Steve Cook, Callum Wilson, Yann Kermorgant and Charlie Daniels decided the outcome as this breathless Championship race enters the fi nal few weeks.
They were fourth in the ‘ as it stands’ table when they were 2- 0 down, but are now in pole position for promotion.
Howe added: “That’s what this division has been like. It’s incredible. But while it must be good for the neutral, it’s not so good for us.
“It was tough. Birmingham made it diffi cult as we knew they would. The key thing from our perspective is that we stayed in the game, kept fi ghting and got those crucial goals just before half- time.
“We could have gone under but thankfully we withstood that pressure and the crowd stayed with us.
“That mental strength was key because we know we’ve got goals in the team and we showed how potent we can be. Now we’ll know we can do it again.”
Birmingham manager Gary Rowett complained about a series of refereeing decisions that he felt went against Blues.
“They’re the best team in the league but it’s not good enough to be happy only losing 4- 2,” added Rowett. “We’ve got to have more discipline.”
There was not much of that in a fi rst half that was more like a game of basketball as the two teams piled forward with little thought of defence.
When Birmingham attacked, Bournemouth looked nervous and their defence cracked fi rst.
David Shinnie’s lofted ball found Donaldson charging through a vast gap between the central defenders and he chipped home with advancing