COTTERILL PAYS FOR BLUES SLUMP Axe falls following fifth loss in a row
STEVE Cotterill was a mixture of fighting talk and semi-resignation after a defeat that summed up Birmingham’s season. Little did he know the writing was on the wall.
Less than two hours after an earnest Birmingham effort was undone by a goalkeeping error from David Stockdale and the lack of a genuine goalscorer, the Blues board acted and sacked Cotterill following a fifth straight league defeat.
Michael Morrison’s towering 87th-minute header wasn’t enough to claw back the damage done by Forest goals from Joe Lolley and Matty Cash, or to save Cotterill from his fate.
After the match, but before he had learned of his sacking, Cotterill refused to blame his players – and had a mild dig at the board for failing to strengthen his hand during the January transfer window.
“My players know their manager is under pressure but were fantastically committed,” he said. “We were the better team and created enough chances to have got something out of it. We have made individual errors throughout the season and you can’t legislate for that.
“Today was the story of Birmingham City’s season. Our top goalscorer has scored six goals – and that’s our problem. We had a chance in January to strengthen but that didn’t happen.”
Forest, fresh from their fivegoal show at QPR, got an early boost when Lolley’s change of pace gave him space for a low 20-yarder that Stockdale got a hand to but failed to keep out.
The home side were unable to fully capitalise as Cotterill’s men spurned half-chances. Maikel Kieftenbeld slashed wildly from 18 yards after good work by Jacques Maghoma, while Harlee Dean couldn’t connect when Craig Gardner picked him out from a free-kick.
Cash smashed a shot against the underside of the bar in the 51st minute from Lolley’s astute pass but Forest had to defend stoutly against a series of Birmingham free-kicks and corners.
Ironically a botched Blues set-piece led to Forest’s decisive second as Ben Osborn swung a delightful pass out wide to Cash, who stepped inside to net with a venomous low shot with 79 minutes on the clock.
Still, it wasn’t the end of the road for Birmingham as Morrison’s fierce header from Gardner’s corner ensured a nervy last few minutes.
Costel Pantilimon stood up to a barrage of late crosses as Forest edged to their first home league win under new boss Aitor Karanka.
And while Karanka was upset with his team taking their foot off the gas, he claims a pep talk to midfielder Cash paid dividends.
Karanka said: “We started really well but we thought the game was over. They were more aggressive and intense than us but it’s important to win when you don’t play well. Had the game finished 2-2 that would have been a fair scoreline.
“I told Matty last week to make the most of his ability he has to score goals. He has done that. The crowd were with us even in the last minute when we were defending. In my first two games here 20,000 had left the ground by then.”
Theirs was far from a vintage performance although there are signs that the experience of midfield duo Ben Watson and Jack Colback is making them a tougher nut to crack.