Phil Neumann and Jhon Solis scored in a 2-1 win for Birmingham City over Bristol City
Birmingham City wrapped up their season at St Andrew’s with a 2-1 victory over Bristol City.
Phil Neumann and Jhon Solis notched for Blues before Tomi Horvat scored what proved to be a consolation from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute.
The victory means Blues have taken 10 points from the last 12 on offer and are currently 10th in the table with 63 points – which equals their best Championship points tally since they finished fourth under Chris Hughton in 2012.
FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! All the latest Blues news on Birmingham Live’s Birmingham City FC Facebook page
Neumann’s resurgence continued with his third goal of the season and it was a finish a seasoned striker would be proud of.
Demarai Gray whipped in a free-kick from the right that Neumann side-footed into the corner on the volley to give Blues an eighth minute lead.
A first goal contribution this calendar year seemed to energise Gray and he almost scored direct from a free-kick. A powerful strike from 25 yards curled around the wall and smacked the outside of the post.
Blues’ press was interesting to watch in the first half and Chris Davies orchestrated it from the sidelines.
Wingers Carlos Vicente and Demarai Gray tracked Bristol City’s full-backs to prevent dangerous diagonals to Ross McCrorie and Cameron Pring when the Robins tried to play out from the back. With Vicente and Gray otherwise engaged, Solis pushed up to join Jay Stansfield and August Priske to pressure the ball and it delivered a goal for the Colombian in the 29th minute.
Goalkeeper Radek Vitek played a short pass to Sam Morsy and Solis applied enough pressure to force the Bristol City midfielder to skew the ball up into the air. Spotting Vitek was out of position, Solis volleyed goalwards first-time and that speed of thought and execution resulted in a goal given by goal-line technology.
Blues tried to find the killer third after half-time and Priske was the width of the post away from his first goal in England.
The Dane raced onto a clever pass from Stansfield and dinked the ball over the onrushing Vitek but the post came to Bristol City’s rescue.
Emil Riis should have halved the deficit a matter of seconds after coming on as a substitute. Tomi Horvat fizzed a ball across the six-yard box to take James Beadle out of the equation but Riis somehow failed to make a connection. Replays showed the ball actually went through Riis’s legs.
The visitors pulled one back eight minutes from time when Horvat dribbled into Blues’ box before being upended by Stansfield. Horvat picked himself up and sent Beadle the wrong way from the penalty spot.
Davies responded by bringing on Alex Cochrane for Stansfield in an attempt to see the game out.
Despite a couple of Bristol City set pieces in dangerous positions, Blues managed to end their league season at St Andrew’s with another win.
James Beadle 6
The 21-year-old made one commanding claim in the second half but there were moments when the ball was at his feet that the crowd panicked. Beadle was sent the wrong way by Horvat from the penalty spot.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 7
Osayi-Samuel blitzed past his marker shortly before he was replaced and you wonder why he doesn’t do it more often, with all the pace that he obviously possesses. The Nigerian is in the team for his defensive contribution and once again he was solid in that department.
Phil Neumann 8
Neumann produced a fantastic finish to get the ball rolling for Blues and it was another uncompromising defensive performance from the German.
Christoph Klarer 7
A typically solid showing from the man on course to be named Blues’ Player of the Season for the second year running. Klarer stepped into midfield to make sure Bristol City didn’t have a spare man when Blues pressed early on and relished the opportunity to engage man-to-man.
Kai Wagner 7
The left-back just looks at home in the Championship. It was by no means his most eye-catching display, but Wagner was well positioned and solid throughout.
Jhon Solis 7
A superb press on Morsy and finish for his first Blues goal was the highlight of a game in which Solis was unusually sloppy in possession. He was replaced by Iwata to a standing ovation and everyone wants him at St Andrew’s next season.
Paik Seung-ho 7
A coming together with opposite number Jason Knight seemed to get Paik going in the second half. The South Korean showed some good touches and moved into an advanced position late on for the second game running.
Carlos Vicente 7
Vicente improved on Wednesday’s showing and did a job on Pring before the Bristol City left-back was taken off at half-time. The Spaniard has well and truly moved ahead of Patrick Roberts in the pecking order now.
Jay Stansfield 7
Another game full of energy and enthusiasm from Stansfield in the number 10 position. He couldn’t grab another goal but Stansfield created a big chance for Priske with a slide rule pass that we wouldn’t usually associate with the forward. A tad rash to give away the penalty.
Demarai Gray 7.5
Gray’s first start since Easter Monday resulted in a first assist since December inside eight minutes. The winger almost added a goal with a well struck free-kick and was generally tidy in possession.
August Priske 6.5
Robbed of a first Blues goal by the bounce of the ball after what looked like a well thought out and executed finish under pressure from a defender and a goalkeeper. That chance, in which Priske out-paced a defence and almost produced the perfect finish, bodes well for a striker who Blues want to develop quickly.
SUBS
Tomoki Iwata (for Solis, 60) 6
Powered around in midfield for the final 30 minutes and did well to shut down Sinclair Armstrong on a counter-attack.
Ethan Laird (for Osayi-Samuel, 70) 6
Thought he should have had a penalty after one dash into Bristol City’s box but the referee wasn’t interested. Laird looked eager to make an impression after losing his place.
Tommy Doyle (for Gray, 70) 6
Zipped a few passes around in what is almost certainly his final outing at St Andrew’s in Royal Blue.
Alex Cochrane (for Stansfield, 85) N/A
Not used: Allsop, Robinson, Fujimoto, Roberts, Ducksch
Attendance: 27,210
