Alex Cochrane clinched Birmingham City’s victory at Stevenage as they moved through the 100-point barrier
At Stevenage, Alex Cochrane gives Birmingham City the lead.
The manager of Birmingham City, Chris Davies, feels that his League One winners sent a statement when they defeated Stevenage and surpassed the 100-point milestone.
“With fifteen minutes left at Lamex Stadium, Alex Cochrane used a laser finish into the corner from at least 25 yards out to end a close game.”
With three games left, the Blues are presently 102 points, one point below Wolverhampton Wanderers’ League One record.
“I’m very proud,” said Blues manager Davies. “Not many teams would have done that, I don’t think, got over a hundred points in a season.
“I thought it was a good message to send out tonight. I’ve been speaking to the players, we don’t want to jog over the finish line, we want to sprint over it and they looked like a team that wanted to do that tonight.”
The Blues had the ideal evening in Stevenage, topped off by Cochrane’s first goal of what has been a strong individual campaign. His left-back, in Davies’ opinion, was a worthy scorer.
“He’s been an immense player for us and doesn’t get enough credit. He took it really well,” added Davies.
“You could see he was reluctantly celebrating it and that’s Alex. He’s a team player and you need players like that
“Alex has been so consistent, the best left-back in the league by far, but he just goes about his business so quietly with no fuss.”
In related news:
Birmingham City has three games remaining and currently has 102 points. Next season, either Wycombe Wanderers or Rexham will automatically join BCFC in the Championship.
The Blues have recovered at the first attempt after being demoted from the second division the previous season. Twelve months ago, together with Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United, they placed in the bottom three.
Last summer, Chris Davies was hired as their manager. Since then, he has won 72% of his games as manager.
The Stags need one more point and are not yet safe from relegation. They currently play Bristol Rovers, who are in twenty-first position.
The team led by Nigel Clough was promoted from League Two the previous season. Along with Stockport County, Wrexham, and Crawley Town, the Nottinghamshire team also went up.
A few of our writers offer their predictions for the game here.
Harry Mail
“Birmingham City should be too strong here if they show up and play to their best. BCFC haven’t slowed down since sealing their promotion and are still carrying momentum.
“The Blues have strong strength in depth and even if they decide to make changes, the starting XI that they put out will be capable of getting the win. They will be in confident mood at the moment.
“Mansfield Town are nearly safe but still have a bit of work to do still. MTFC will be in for a tough test in the Midlands here though.
“The Stags have let in 13 goals in their last four matches. They leaked five against Reading last time out and will likely get beat again.”
James Ray
“Mansfield Town aren’t quite safe yet but I don’t think the bottom four are going to get enough to catch them. The Stags will be determined to get more points on the board nonetheless, just to be sure.
“Against Birmingham City though, I really can’t see the visitors getting anything. BCFC are still fighting for every point as they look to break Reading’s 106-point record and I can’t see Mansfield standing in their way, to be honest.
“The Blues have rotated the team and continued to pick up wins. They’re just too good for League One and I think that shows again here this weekend.”
