Match Report: Exeter City 0-2 Birmingham City
Blues got back to winning ways in the league thanks to Tomoki Iwata and Jay Stansfield goals at St.James' Park on Tuesday night.
Birmingham City returned to winning ways with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Exeter City on Tuesday night.
Tomoki Iwata gave the visitors the lead for his fifth league goal of the campaign and victory was secured when Jay Stansfield tucked home a penalty on an emotional night.
Davies made two changes to the starting XI, the experienced pair of Ben Davies and Alfie May returning to the team in place of Ethan Laird and Luke Harris.
It meant the team was moved around with Krystian Bielik moving to the right-back, Keshi Anderson to right wing, Alex Cochrane wider on the left and Jay Stansfield inside off the left.
Blues ought to have led within three minutes when Joe Whitworth pinged the ball against the head of Anderson, who found May. The striker tried to compose himself but too long to turn and finish allowing for the block.
Eleven minutes had gone when Blues took the lead. A consistent bout of pressure down the right, which saw Anderson enter the box and Stansfield denied by a block, ended with Bielik’s cross being cleared as far as Iwata on the edge of the box. The man from Japan controlled on his chest before rifling the ball across the turf into the bottom corner.
It ought to have been two a couple of minutes later, Cochrane’s delivery from the left finding Willumson free only for the giant Icelandic international to head wide.
Willumson was again wayward in the air, climbing above Crama to meet Paik's delivery but unable to turn the ball home. That came after Cochrane fed Stansfield to prod wide and the left-back was enjoying himself, slipping in Paik whose cross hit Anderson and Crama, forcing Whitworth into action.
The second half was something of a non-event. Willumson's free-kick over the bar was one of two shots at goal until the 78th minute, the other a Stansfield header.
Exeter did finally have a noteworthy effort at goal on 78 when Magennis headed down into the ground. Blues immediately went up the other end with Stansfield and Anderson efforts blocked.
The game was sealed with ten to play. Crama got his clearance wrong and Willumson was able to quickly deliver. As I write this, I’m not 100% sure what the decision was for – there was a potential handball and also a challenge on Anderson when meeting the loose ball. Either way, it allowed Stansfield to score and complete his homecoming in style.
The second settled the visitors. Anderson broke into the area but couldn’t fire past Crama before Cochrane whipped a free-kick over the bar. Magennis tamely struck into the hands of Allsop for Exeter’s only shot on target before Stansfield sliced wide from distance.
A win. A clean sheet. Much needed.
Lineups
Exeter: Whitworth; Sweeney Crama Francis; Niskanen McMillan Woods (Doyle 72) Harper (Richards 72) Aitchison (Watts 88); Magennis Bird (Cox 59). Unused: MacDonald; Fitzwater McDonald.
Blues: Allsop; Bielik Klarer Davies Cochrane; Paik (Leonard 85) Iwata; Anderson Willumson Stansfield (Harris 95); May (Dykes 76). Unused: Peacock-Farrell; Laird Gardner-Hickman Yokoyama.
Tactics
Blues changed personnel and positions but not the shape of the team. The addition of third centre-back gave reason for many to believe it was three at the back but it remained 4-2-3-1.
Davies joined Klarer as the centre-back with Bielik playing on the right, stepping infield to create a three in possession, and Cochrane on the left being given license to get high. Iwata and Paik sat in front, the latter having more license to float. Anderson stayed high and wide on the right, Stansfield inside from the left with Willumson off May.
In terms of our defensive shape, the best I could get from the highlights was the Magennis chance late in the game – Exeter's only shot on target. You can see the back four with Cochrane having tucked in, Leonard (who replaced Paik) and Iwata just in front. Stansfield stepping out to the left with Anderson on the right.
In possession, it became more of a 3-4-2-1 with Stansfield and Willumson inside off May, who led the line. Cochrane and Anderson got around the outside.
In the example below, Blues have gone more direct.
Exeter played a 5-1-2-2 out of possession, essentially, with Bird and Magennis leading the line, Aitchison and McMillan backing them up with Woods sitting at the base. The midfield three would push up to try and support the attack and cut off anything centrally. That left their backline 5v5 against Blues’ so every so often, Blues would either go long and play on the seconds with the opposition midfield having pushed up leaving Stansfield and Willumson ready, or have somebody drop off so another could spin into the space.
You can see Bielik tucking in. Cochrane is quickly getting forward around the outside. Willumson is in space with Francis (the left-sided centre-back) concerned by his presence leaving Anderson with Harper out of shot.
In the same move, Stansfield lays the ball to Cochrane who takes a touch out of his feet and delivers. Sweeney (right-sided centre-back) has stepped out to close Stansfield leaving Blues 3v3 in the area. On this occasion, Willumson heads wide.
And this was the aim throughout. Work the ball into a good position out wide, draw bodies out and deliver into an area where we had an advantage.
This shows for the goal. When Bielik delivers, both Bird and Aitchison have been drawn to him. Harper and Francis are out wide. It leaves Blues with a 5v4 advantage in the middle of the pitch so when the cross is delivered, we can attack the second ball, which Iwata does to perfection.
Another example of this is when Paik made a run outside of Cochrane and delivered. The chance came to nothing, but you can see Stansfield, May and Anderson all marked with Willumson free at the back post.
In terms of our opposition, they did show an attempt to try and draw Blues on but didn’t really get it right. Blues stepped high leaving Exeter with only Whitworth free as a spare man. It did mean they could go long and Blues’ defence had to be aggressive up against Bird and Magennis to win the key battles, something they did well on the night.
When Exeter won the ball back from Blues, their aim was to search for Magennis quickly. If Magennis was able to win the first ball, they would look for Harper or Niskanen on either flank. Harper had a little more joy than Niskanen but both found themselves outnumbered or unable to deliver with quality.
Players
It was one of those nights where almost everybody fell between a 6 and 7.5, nobody truly standing out but nobody failing to do their jobs properly.
Ben Davies returned and looked composed and assured. It meant Christoph Klarer stepping into the middle of the back three in possession, a role where he largely dominated in his duel with Magennis, and Krystian Bielik stepping over to the right. He was okay. He was aggressive in the challenge, stepped up high to press and moved the ball okay, if a little safe. However, he committed five fouls and his inability to cover large distances was a concern. His final foul with about 30 seconds to go may have seen him sent off on another day.
Cochrane looked at ease down the left and the quality of his delivery is generally excellent. Anderson had a good battle down the right with the nippy Vincent Harper. Stansfield played off the front and was positive in his actions but ran into trouble more than once. May got the chance to lead the line and was okay.
For Exeter, it was a tough night. Harper did okay down the left. Crama has a good size and can cover ground, a young man to keep an eye on. And though he toiled away with little support most of the night, Magennis at least had a scrap and gave what he could.
Conclusions
Blues entered this one without a win in three and on the back of an awful display at Shrewsbury. The victory was the most important thing. That we got that and the performance was a bonus.
Chris Davies claimed post-match that it was our best display of the season and it’s difficult to argue against it. We dominated the ball, dominated the territory, won the shot-count 19-3 and didn’t have a spell in the game where we looked vulnerable. There was no awkward first ten. There was no major let-off in the second half.
I think the circumstances should be considered as well. Travelling down to Exeter City, Tuesday night, rain hammering down, a poor run of form. We got the job done in a professional, controlling manner.
Should Davies continue with the flipped version of his normal system? It’s hard to say. Yes, this was an excellent performance, but it was also against a side that struggled to provide any kind of threat going the other way. It will be interesting to see if we stick with it for Blackpool, especially looking at players such as Laird and Yokoyama and wondering where they fit in. It may be that the system stays in use until Wright and / or Hansson return so we have more natural wide players.
It was an intriguing night in terms of the off-field narratives at both clubs. Blues have American ownership, major sponsorship deals, new stadium being set up, have broken transfer records and there is a confidence / arrogance about the way we are pushing forward. Exeter, meanwhile, have come through real hardship, are fan-owned, rely heavily on their academy and sales of top talents to keep moving forward. To many, this will have been a match-up between everything right and wrong in modern football, and yet it’s clear which model is likely to pay dividends in the long run.
Seeing the Stansfield jersey draped around before kick-off was lovely to see, as was the ovation when he was subbed towards the end. He comes across as a competitive but humble and honest young man and it’s no surprise that he’s adored by his home club and the club he now calls home.
Davies has promised changes for the game against Blackpool and it will be interesting to see how many are made, particularly with Stockport at home on Wednesday and Barnsley away on Saturday – not exactly “easy” fixtures.
I assume Peacock-Farrell returns in net. Gardner-Hickman, Leonard, Harris and Dykes likely return to the XI. It will be interesting to see whether Laird and Yokoyama get run outs from the start given the switch of system in midweek. Does Dion Sanderson get a recall to give somebody a rest? Is Lee Buchanan ready for action? It could be four changes, it could be eight or nine.
Despite the changes, it does feel as though Davies is insistent that his team is good enough to keep moving forward in cup competitions and I would like to think the players stepping in will good enough to tackle a side struggling for consistency in League One. If nothing else, it will be a good opportunity for those players to stake a claim for more opportunities.
Thanks Ryan. Excellent analysis as ever. We should have scored a couple more in the first half but in awful conditions, as you say, the team did well. Cochrane is an unsung hero.