Birmingham City Move Further Clear In Promotion Race
Birmingham City remain firmly on course for a return to the second tier of English football after another unbeaten month allowed the Blues to extend their lead in EFL League One.
The Vertu-backed side headed into February on the back of a twelve game unbeaten run in the league and that run continued at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park against Rotherham United.
The league leaders had a brief early scare when Sam Nombe headed Rotherham into a first half lead, but a second-half double from Jay Stansfield was good enough to secure the three points and keep the Blues four points clear at the top.
Two cup games followed as Stevenage were dispatched in the Vertu Trophy before a narrow home loss to Newcastle United in the FA Cup, thanks in part to a controversial goal for the visitors that brought the scores level after Birmingham had taken an early lead.
Focus then turned back towards the league and a 4-0 win over Cambridge United – including goals from Stansfield, Kieran Dowell and Luke Harris – saw the lead extended out to seven points, before another home win over Charlton Athletic made the gap to Wycombe Wanderers a solid nine points with a game in hand.
Following a hard-fought success over Bradford City earned a trip to Wembley for the Vertu Trophy final, the winning run in the league came to an end on the road at Reading against a side pushing to try and break into the play-off positions.
Although unable to break down the Reading defence, a goalless draw saw the unbeaten league run extended to 16 games and a straightforward 2-0 victory over Leyton Orient with goals from Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Ethan Laird meant a nine point lead to take into March.
Birmingham still have a game in hand over the chasing pack, with the new month starting with a home tie against second-placed Wycombe before six additional games that include a trip to Bolton Wanderers.
| February Results - EFL League One | ||||
| Birmingham City | 2 | - | 1 | Rotherham Utd |
| Birmingham City | 4 | - | 0 | Cambridge Utd |
| Birmingham City | 1 | - | 0 | Charlton Athletic |
| Reading | 0 | - | 0 | Birmingham City |
| Birmingham City | 2 | - | 0 | Leyton Orient |
Win A Toyota Aygo X!
To celebrate our role as title partner of the Vertu Trophy, we are giving away a Toyota Aygo X to one lucky person at the Wembley final on 13 April.
Ahead of the final, two people will win a pair of tickets to attend the game and when there, will take part in a special activity to determine who wins the car.