Chris Davies lauds ‘special week’ for Birmingham after Norwich romp

Manager Chris Davies paid tribute to his players’ character as Birmingham rounded off ‘a special week’ with a 4-1 home win over Norwich.

Davies was delighted with the manner his squad dealt with the air of positivity that had been sweeping the club following the unveiling of their new £1.2bn ‘Powerhouse’ stadium.

Two goals apiece for Marvin Ducksch and Jay Stansfield helped the hosts to a third successive four-goal haul at St Andrew’s as new Canaries chief Philippe Clement began his tenure with a heavy defeat.

Davies, however, was beaming at the final whistle and said: “It has been a special week for the club.

“This was the 150th anniversary match and what with everything that was going on about the new stadium, my job was to make sure the players were prepared for it and they played as well as they could. So I was really pleased.

“We started the match with a real intensity – a relentlessness – one that feels familiar to us when we are at our best.

“We had a chance in the first minute – and that set the tone.”

Birmingham were a goal to the good inside the opening three minutes.

It was a simple strike as Alex Cochrane’s ball over the top of Jack Stacey down the Canaries’ right flank found Demarai Gray.

The Jamaica international got away from his marker to feed a low centre across the face of goal and Ducksch sidefooted into an empty net.

The former Germany forward spooned a chance over the bar before playing a part in the second goal in the 21st minute.

His pass found Patrick Roberts on the right and the playmaker’s deflected cross bounced up off the turf perfectly for Stansfield to nod home his ninth of the season.

Norwich pulled a goal back just past the half-hour mark when Stacey’s teasing low cross forced Birmingham goalkeeper James Beadle to palm out the ball, which Mathias Kvistgaarden collected and fired home.

But Norwich’s defence again looked likely to be breached and Ducksch went close before he grabbed his second on the cusp of half-time.

Gray’s inswinging cross found Roberts, who managed to divert the ball into the danger zone.

Tomoki Iwata headed the ball goalwards only for Vladan Kovacevic to save but he could only palm the ball out and Ducksch had the simplest of tasks to fire into an unguarded net from four yards.

That goal restored the hosts’ two-goal cushion and that advantage was extended nine minutes after the interval.

Gray was again involved as he managed to win possession from Kenny McLean before threading an inch-perfect pass into Stansfield’s path.

The England Under-21 international sped away from Shane Duffy and then clipped home his second off the underside of the crossbar.

Clement said: “It’s necessary to take big strides quickly, that’s true.

“But, on the other side, every side in the world who has 10 players out who could be in the starting XI will struggle – even world-class teams.

“I didn’t want to make the comparison but if you look at Manchester City last season, they missed a few players and it was a totally different team.

“And of course, it’s a bad situation. So the availability of players being fit and not being injured is a crucial part of football.

“We’re going to work hard and get everybody fit and back as quickly as possible.”