Chris Davies dilemma escalates as Birmingham City star makes yet another costly error

Birmingham City could welcome a different goalkeeper between the sticks for their next English third-tier fixture as the errors continue to rack up for the current first choice, Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

The 27-year-old made an absolute howler on international duty, costing Northern Ireland in their 1-0 defeat to Bulgaria on Sunday. Peacock-Farrell, receiving the ball in an awkward spot, attempted to play it sidewards to Daniel Ballard but instead fed Aleksandar Kolev who squared to Kiril Despodov to net the only goal of the encounter.

That wasn’t Peacock-Farrell’s only recent error as he made a costly heavy touch in Birmingham’s 2-1 win at Leyton Orient on August 24. The former Burnley man’s poor ball control allowed Ollie O’Neil to skip in an intercept, creating an opportunity for Ethan Galbraith to equalise. Blues went on to win that game but Peacock-Farrell’s mistake made it a tougher challenge than it needed to be.

Davies’ intent to play out from the back is clear to see and regular goalkeeping distribution mistakes will make it difficult to persevere. This could be time, then, for boyhood Bluenose Ryan Allsop to step up and take the baton after some decent displays in the Carabao Cup and Football League Trophy.

When the pair were signed in quick succession early in the summer transfer window, many eyebrows were raised as it was difficult to work out a clear number one. Blues’ decision could now pay off, though, as Allsop’s presence should keep Peacock-Farrell on his toes - and it means Davies can take the Northern Irishman out of the spotlight while he builds back some confidence.

It might be very early on in the season, but next week’s clash with Wrexham is still so crucial in the race for promotion. As a result, the goalkeeper choice is also pivotal. The good news is Davies still has seven days to contemplate his decision.