GREAT ESCAPE IS ON AFTER JOTA GIVES BLUES A LIFELINE
Monk has side on the rise after win
BIRMINGHAM climbed out of the bottom three and have the chance to save themselves from the drop over the next six days.
Jota’s 21st minute penalty beat Ipswich and now Blues have Bolton on Tuesday and Burton on Saturday to set-up the big escape.
“There are many reasons to fight, but part of that fight, the motivation for it, was to try and move ourselves out of those bottom places,” said Birmingham manager Garry Monk.
“Psychologically that should help a little bit and, with the confidence too, keep boosting the players.
“It’s another three points, back to back wins, two clean sheets. You could see the tiredness in the players at the end, the fight they had.
“I am pleased with them, but there is no time, we’ve got to put the recovery in and get ready to play Bolton on Tuesday.
“We have set ourselves up to make some real progress in the next two games but it’s going to be difficult.
“They are fighting for the same thing as us. They key is to better that fight.”
Ipswich made more of a fight of it in the second half but lacked fire power and have now gone 367 minutes without a goal.
It’s a mirror image of the goal drought Birmingham have gone through this season but now with six goals in three games the future is brighter.
Keeper David Stockdale set-up Blues for their goal.
It was his throw that sent tricky Jacques Maghoma off on a run. He turned Cameron Carter-Vickers one way and then the other, the outcome being that CarterVickers found himself behind Maghoma and in trouble.
His tackle brought down Maghoma and Jota got himself ready to take the penalty.
When his moment came, Jota did not connect properly, but it was still good enough to beat Ipswich’s keeper Bartosz Bialkowski.
Eight minutes later Bialkowski ought to have been beaten again. Che Adams hit a powerful shot that deflected significantly,leaving Bialkowski going the wrong way, but still managing to make a good save with an outstretched right boot.
All the attacking intent in the first half was from Birmingham and for Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy it’s looking like a long goodbye.
McCarthy announced he was leaving the club at the end of the season and admitted it was an odd day for him.
“There was something missing. I wish I could articulate it better, but I’m a footballer manager not a poet,” said McCarthy.
“I thought I had experienced everything in 26 years as a manager but I’m experiencing something new. “Surreal. A strange feeling.” Ipswich have not won for four games and with five victories in 19 league games since thrashing Nottingham Forest 4-2 in December, they have slumped from seventh to 12th.
It’s that record, especially at home, that has brought the unrest with McCarthy’s reign.
Their away form has been better and after Jota’s penalty, his third goal in two games, Ipswich, as McCarthy would say were ‘at it’.
Stockdale needed to make a flying one-handed save to keep out Martyn Waghorn’s shot.
Within a minute though they should have been finished off as Jota got the ball to Lukas Jutkiewicz and his drive went wide. Jutkiewicz had a second chance in the 76th minute with a header from Jota’s corner that needed turning over his crossbar and McCarthy had to accept defeat. But he will be back. “I’ve not been losing games, battered and bruised, in a relegation fight and thinking I need a rest,” said McCarthy. “I’m ready to go. Neil Warnock’s 68, he’s got nine years on me, I’m happy to do those nine years. I don’t have a desire at all to pack it in.”