MONK SALUTES BLUES COMEBACK
BIRMINGHAM may not be mathematically safe in the Championship yet but Blues boss Garry Monk acknowledged that coming from behind to beat Sheffield United was a massive step toward survival.
Monk was ecstatic with the character and determination his side showed to overcome Chris Wilder’s visiting play-off hopefuls and move five points clear of the bottom three, with Marc Roberts cancelling out Mark Duffy’s opener after half an hour, and Jacques Maghoma racing through on goal to complete the turnaround midway through the second period.
“It was very special in terms of the atmosphere,” Monk enthused afterwards. “It was a real gutsy performance of togetherness and fight, and quality at times.”
“With our situation, getting the three points and other results going our way is a huge step forward.”
The visiting Blades took the lead within seven minutes when Lee Evans fed Duffy in the right channel after the ball turned over in the middle. Former Blues attacker Duffy drove into the box before switching onto his left foot and firing a wellplaced low shot inside David Stockdale’s right post.
Evans came close to getting on the scoresheet himself moments later, forcing Stockdale to punch his bending 25-yard effort over the bar, and the Blades remained in the ascendency throughout the early stages.
But Birmingham gradually clawed their way back into the game and produced a spell of pressure, which eventually culminated in an equaliser shorty after the half-hour.
A well-worked corner routine from the left saw Maghoma’s low delivery first backheeled deftly into the goalmouth by Lukas Jutkiewicz,and then fired into the roof of the net from point-blank range by the arriving Roberts.
The hosts picked up where they left off after the break, with Jutkiewicz drawing a good low save from Blackman within a minute of the restart after Jota’s cross to the far post.
And they finally took the lead with 21 minutes left when former Blade Che Adams lobbed the ball into the space behind the visiting defence for Maghoma to run onto and slot beyond Blackman.
Monk admitted afterwards that he was relieved to see Maghoma find the back of the net after recent profligacy with one-on-ones.
“We’ve been practicing one-v-ones for the last two weeks because we’ve missed quite a few of those situations in some of the games, so it was nice to see one go in,” he said.
And the former Swansea boss feels that the atmosphere at St Andrew’s shows that the fans are fully behind the players as they fight for survival.
Monk added: “They’re fighting and showing belief, and that’s the most important thing. That’s why the fans are coming home and away and that’s why we got the atmosphere we had today because they believe in these players.”
Meanwhile, United manager Wilder conceded that defeat has all but ended the Blades’ hopes of back-toback promotions.
“All over the pitch, we didn’t play well enough,” Wilder reflected.
“The damage hasn’t been done today. When you play well, like we have done for quite a lot of the season, and you don’t win games, they’re the games that kill you. That will be what we’ll look back on.
“Unless something drastic happens with other teams, we are going to miss out.”