‘Ridiculous Save’ – Birmingham City Fans React To Imps FA Cup Encounter

Credit Graham Burrell

Birmingham extended their unbeaten run to 12 games in all competitions with a narrow victory over Lincoln City on Saturday. Chris Davies and Blues fans shared their reactions to the FA Cup victory online, writes Kyle Fox. 

Blues had the best possible start, going 1-0 up within the first minute of the game. Birmingham worked the ball well down their right-hand side with a lofted ball through to Wright. He delivered a cross to the back post which was missed by Darikwa. Yokoyama got on the end of the cross, chested it down, and nudged it past Montsma before firing underneath Jeacock into the back of the net. Blues fans were pleased to see him score due to his lack of appearances so far this season, as was Birmingham boss Chris Davies in his post-match interview. He said:

“We made a fast start with a good run from Scott, a great ball from winger to winger, which is always nice to see. Ayumu showed great composure with a nice touch inside, calmly slotted it under the goalkeeper, and it was a great start for him. He’s been in and out of the side and hasn’t had much game time, so it’s good for his confidence.”

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Zach Jeacock was thrust back in to the Lincoln City side for this game due to an injury to George Wickens. He was also under personal pressure as he was going back to his old club. He managed to keep Lincoln in the game in the first half with a tremendous save. Alex Cochrane put in a great cross from the left hand side which facilitated a powerful Jutkiewic header which forced a brilliant, acrobatic and reactionary save from Lincoln’s No 31.

Their fans shared their surprise to the save and gave great credit to their old stopper for what was an excellent save.

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Chris Davies was pleased post match with his side’s performance in the first half in terms of the control they managed and scoring early on. The early goal really set them on the right path and allowed them to exert even more dominance within that first half as it meant Lincoln were chasing the game from pretty much the start. He explained this in his post match interview:

“In the first half, we were strong, made a great start by scoring in the first minute, and had good control. We played a lot of football in their half and created a few chances. I liked the look of us”

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The big moments in the second half came late on as it took till the 74th minute to see another goal. A goal which is arguably the goal of the third round and was scored out of nowhere. Lincoln had performed better in this half up until this point, managing to compete well with Birmingham, limit their chances and create their own. A moment of magic wiped out all the good work as the Scottish international Lyndon Dykes showed his quality. He brought the ball down on his chest whilst turning, flicked the ball over Monstma and hits a sweet half volley past the keeper. Birmingham fans and Chris Davies shared their admiration for the ingenuity of the goal:

“It was a goal worthy of winning any match. I told him he got a round of applause in the dressing room from the other players. To control the ball with his chest, flick it, and score a goal like that with three players around him was fantastic. It’s one of his best goals and one of our best goals of the season.”

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Credit Graham Burrell

After that, the game looked dead and buried as Lincoln probed to try and get a goal with no real clear openings in front of the Birmingham goal. Until, the 90th minute when Alfie Chang dived in inside his own penalty area towards Monstma. He jumped over the challenge but the referee saw enough in it to give a penalty to Lincoln. Not the best return for Chang who was making his return to playing for the first time since August 2023.

Makama stepped up confidently and took a good penalty which stayed just out of the full reach of Peacock-Farrell who got fingertips on it but could only push it further in to the corner of the net. However, supporters were frustrated with the decision from the referee to award Lincoln a penalty, as was Head Coach Davies:

“I thought he got the ball, and the player tripped over him while running away from goal. I didn’t think it was a penalty. I believe it would have been overturned with VAR, but it’s disappointing. Alfie has done well since coming on, but it is what it is. The penalty went in, and we had to regroup for the last few minutes, which we did.”

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Credit Graham Burrell

Birmingham ended as 2-1 winners which their fans and head coach felt was a fair and justified reflection of the game. Chris Davies had this to say about the second half however, as the fans also gave their reactions post the full time whistle.

“In the second half, I thought they came into it a bit more. I’d have preferred us to keep more control and play higher up the pitch. We were a bit too deep and couldn’t get a grip on the match. However, a moment of brilliance from Linden gave us a two-goal lead. We thought we’d see it out from there, but obviously, a late penalty made it a bit tight. Overall, we deserved the win.”

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