Cotterill won’t turn on Blues boo boys
BIRMINGHAM boss Steve Cotterill refused to criticise his club’s fans for turning on the team after a defeat which dumped them into the Championship drop zone.
The visiting fans at Oakwell made their feelings clear as they watched their team fail to score for the fourth game running.
Marc Roberts had an early headed chance for Blues, but was denied by Adam Davies and instead Tom Bradshaw opened the scoring for the hosts moments later.
Ezekiel Fryers doubled the lead in the second half from a free-kick.
Cotterill admitted his players were lacking in confidence and said: “I think that you have to carry on working through those setbacks as a manager. You can’t give in to anything.
“We’re inches away from going 1-0 up and that’s happened a couple of times.
“That would probably give us the fillip and the boost that we need out there at the moment.
“To then go and concede is a real kick in the teeth.
“I think at the moment we’re looking for the perfect shot, which you don’t get.
“For whatever has been sung today, whatever’s been chanted, I won’t criticise our fans like I don’t criticise my players. I won’t do that.”
Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom was pleased with the way his players neutralised Birmingham’s attacking threats.
He said: “We’ve probably dominated games as much, if not more, than that at Oakwell and either drawn or lost, so it’s nice to put in a good performance and get a good win.
“We were in a strong position early doors, which was good.
“I’ve just been speaking about hitting the target.
“They think I’m silly when I shout it that much but if you shoot you do get cheap goals. I’ll not stop shouting at them if they don’t hit the target.
“It’s not about trying to score but trying to hit the target.
“For Fryers’ free-kick, he’s aiming for goal or somebody to get a touch, and that was his idea.”
IT WAS a battle of the baseball caps between managers David Wagner and Tony Pulis.
But in the end the West Brom boss would have preferred a crash-helmet, with Baggies fans screaming for his head with angry chants of: “We want Pulis out.”
Pulis’ strugglers are now without a victory in nine Premier League games. They have only won two of their last 20 matches in the top flight which they could be in danger of leaving.
No such gloom and doom for Huddersfield who climbed to 10th, despite having Christopher Schindler sent off in the 57th minute for a second bookable offence. Rajiv van La Parra’s wonder-goal decided the game – his first in the big time.
Wagner was in a great mood to celebrate his second anniversary as Huddersfield boss today, The Terriers winning successive top-flight home games for the first time since November 1971.
He said: “I love it. We have one of the best atmospheres in the Premier League at the minute.
“I am absolutely delighted. We got into their faces and scored a wonderful goal. It was a deserved win.
“I think we can show we have arrived in the Premier League. It’s good. But it is only 11 games. Nothing more.” Pulis, however, was left cursing West Brom’s lowest points tally after 11 games since 2005-06 – when they were relegated.
He stood defiant in the face of all the stick and said: “I think anyone who has been on a poor run of games is going to take criticism. I have been in the game a long time to know that happens. What you have done previously goes out the window.”
The action came thick and fast with Huddersfield fans screaming for a 15th-minute penalty.
Kieran Gibbs challenged Van La Parra and the match-winner plunged to the turf but referee Roger East waved away frantic appeals.
Tom Ince pumped up the volume with a couple of snap-shots but West Brom almost snatched the lead in the 22nd minute when Jay Rodriguez found himself in the clear.
You would have put your last quid on Rodriguez scoring but Schindler bravely blocked and the chance was gone.
The game looked like heading for a stalemate until that wonderful Van La Parra goal on the stroke of half-time.
There seemed to be nothing on 30 yards out but he suddenly curled in an unstoppable belter into the top corner.
That strike certainly whetted the appetite for the next 45 minutes but there were more personnel changes than goal attempts with Pulis making a rare triple substitution with 30 minutes left.
Wagner, though, would have reserved a huge pat on the back for keeper Jonas Lossl for a double save in the dying minutes.
The first came from substitute James McClean, again without a poppy on his shirt and then from fellow sub Matt Phillips.