DEBUT THRILL FOR JEACOCK!
Blues fan stars as Bela hits winner
TEENAGE Blues supporter Zach Jeacock celebrated his debut with Birmingham City’s first win for seven months.
The goalkeeper got the nod over Neil Etheridge, the £2m new boy, and his second-half double save was crucial to Blues’ win.
Jeremie Bela’s 37th-minute header gave Birmingham their first victory since beating Barnsley 1-0 back in February.
That dismal 16-game run saw Blues slump close to relegation and cost boss Pep Clotet his job.
“I am very pleased for the fans, even though they weren’t here today,” said Clotet’s successor, Aitor Karanka.
“There were bad times for seven months. At least they can enjoy it now and have one pint at least.”
Karanka said he had inherited a Birmingham team blighted by continual defeats and the problem was to rid them of that losing mentality.
“I think it was a good performance. The main thing was the spirit and the commitment,” said Karanka.
“We had five or six players on the pitch who weren’t here last season.
“I’d been thinking all week how we could manage those players – whether to start with them or keep them on the substitutes’ bench.
“I decided to put them on from the beginning because we needed to change something.
“They were really hungry and really good.”
But Birmingham were lucky. They needed 19-year-old Jeacock to make that second-half double save to keep them ahead.
Karanka revealed he had told Jeacock on Tuesday that he was playing. “Jeacock was calm
and he took that confidence and calmness on to the pitch,” added Karanka.
“If he was nervous, he didn’t show it.
“Etheridge only joined us on Friday and didn’t know the players. I told our goalkeeping coach on Tuesday that Jeacock would be playing and to get him ready.”
Jeacock, 6ft 3in tall and Birmingham-born, only became a goalkeeper five years ago.
And yet here he was saving a close range low header from Brentford sub Emiliano Marcondes and his follow-up shot in the 62nd minute.
Bela’s goal, his first since just after last Christmas, was excellent.
Blues’ new winger Ivan Sanchez had shown he can cross a ball well and his corner was superbly hit, Bela running for the near post to connect with his head.
It was the first time Blues had led in a match since July 8, when they were one-up. They couldn’t hold on then and lost 3-1 at home to Swansea City.
Brentford had the opportunities to do what Swansea did.
Beaten for a place in the Premier League by Fulham only five-and-a-half weeks ago, Brentford had their chances to turn the game around.
While Ollie Watkins, sold by Brentford to Aston Villa for £28m, was scoring on his debut in a friendly against Manchester United, Bryan Mbeumo missed a hat-trick of chances.
He had a shot blocked, skied a gift into the empty seats and had yet another chance in the second half.
Josh Dasilva also thundered a shot against a post and Sergi Canos’ overhead kick found the crossbar.
Birmingham beat Brentford 1-0 in the opening game of last season, despite being dominated.
Bees boss Thomas Frank said: “We had seven chances to Birmingham’s two. We definitely should have got the equaliser.
“One hundred per cent we deserved to win the game.
“Last season Birmingham had only one chance against us, so they improved on that.
“On another day we could have won by three or four. We did more than enough to win.”