Birmingham boss delighted after ‘dominant’ win against Bolton – Yahoo Eurosport UK

Chris Davies felt his Birmingham side produced one of their best performances of the season so far against Wanderers.

The Blues have made it five straight home wins at St Andrews to maintain their place at the top of the League One table.

Tomoki Iwata scored an early goal and Jay Stansfield sealed the result with a late penalty.

“It was dominant, I’d say that’s the word to describe it,” Davies told club channels.

“We started very well, aggressively and scored a goal. But I think the fluidity with the ball that we had was one of the best we’ve had this season.

“We were quick in possession, we were patient, but it still looked like we were trying to go forward and attack.

“We were moving well in the right spaces at the right times, looking for the right runs.

“We were good on the ball and I think that dominance kept control of the game, we gave away very little defensively.

“But when you’ve only scored one goal, the longer the game goes on, that door is left open if they can get a counter-attack or a set piece. We needed that second goal so I was pleased when it came.”

John McAtee had a great chance to bring Bolton back level before Stansfield’s penalty, but Ryan Allsop rose to deny the striker from close range.

“Bolton are a good side at this level, they were play-off finalists last year and narrowly missed out on the Championship,” Davies continued.

“I think they’ll be around that this year. They try to play the ball, some decent players, so we had to not give them time and press aggressively. It takes a lot of hard work and intensity, the players achieved it.”

He added: “They had a bit of a spell where they looked dangerous for a few moments and Ryan made a really big save.

“They got through the gap and he still had it to go, the striker, but Ryan stood up well. His initial position was good and he makes the save with his left foot.

“That’s what goalkeepers have to do, they have to be good at all the other things, but at the end of the day their job is to make saves at important times and that’s what he did again.”