Birmingham 3-1 West Brom: John Eustace’s Blues climb to fifth place after West Midlands derby victory

Birmingham leapfrogged West Brom into fifth place in the Championship table after coming from a goal down to win the West Midlands derby 3-1 on Friday night.

John Swift’s sixth goal of the season gave the Baggies the lead after six minutes, but the Blues equalized through Juninho Bacuna’s penalty, which was controversially awarded after Cedric Kipre and Koji Miyoshi both slipped as they competed for the ball.

Dion Sanderson scored a looping header to turn the game in favor of the hosts before the break, before Gary Gardner slotted in a superb free-kick late on, five minutes after his introduction.

The Blues climb from 12th to fifth thanks to their second consecutive victory, with West Brom falling to seventh.

The nighttime pleasure of the derby for the Blues

With West Brom unbeaten for five years and with just one defeat to their name since matchday one, it perhaps didn’t come as a huge surprise when they scored first after just six minutes.

A Birmingham clearance failed to reach its intended goal, allowing Grady Diangana to take control of the ball and set up Swift, who slotted into the net via the inside of the right post.

The Blues were struggling to find rhythm after dispatching so early, but when referee James Linington pointed out the spot after the aforementioned incident between Miyoshi and Kipre, Bacuna’s calm and composed finish gave them the luck they needed.

Seven minutes before halftime, they turned the situation around. A Bacuna shot was deflected behind, with the following corner remaining alive long enough to be headed towards Cody Drameh on the right, whose cross to the far post was curled over Alex Palmer by Sanderson.

Just before the hour mark, Darnell Furlong had the chance to stage a grandstand finish when he entered the box and met Matt Phillips’ cross, but slipped the ball agonizingly wide. And the Baggies’ night only got worse from there.

Swift left, clutching his right calf, with 15 minutes of 90 remaining and, soon after, the match was over, when Gardner launched a magnificent free kick over the wall and into the top left corner to win a fourth sequence. Derby victory for Birmingham.

Eustace: A special evening for Birmingham

John Eustace, Birmingham City Manager:

“I enjoyed the result. There were a lot of emotions throughout the match and I was very proud of the boys’ efforts tonight. They were fantastic. I think it’s the first time we Coming back from a home goal for a couple of years.

“The boys are showing great character at the moment, good attitude, everything we want them to do. We have a very strong professional group in there, no egos. Everyone wants to do well for each other. It was a special evening.”

Corberan ‘angry and upset’ following sanction decision

Carlos Corberan of West Brom:

“It’s difficult for me to have a good view of the match. We started very well and it’s true that, at certain moments, we didn’t manage the match well enough in the attacking half. But I think it’s obvious that the penalty unfortunately changed the game.

“It was an action that had a big impact on the match. I didn’t think it was a live penalty; I immediately looked at the TV and it wasn’t a penalty. The more you watch, the more you can be angry and upset.”

And after?

Both teams are back in action following the October international break.

Saturday October 21 at 3 p.m., Birmingham go to the Riverside to face Middlesbroughwhile Brom West host Plymouth at the Hawthorns.