Chris Davies and Eddie Howe weigh in on 'unbelievable' moment during Birmingham City 2-3 Newcastle United

Birmingham may have been defeated by Newcastle in the FA Cup fourth round but Saturday’s hosts can exit the competition with their heads held high.

The League One leaders gave an excellent account of themselves at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, taking the lead in the first minute and responding to two quick-fire Newcastle goals to get back level before eventually losing out to a late Joe Willock winner.

Blues didn’t take the traditional underdog approach of camping in their own box and hoping for the odd counter-attack, they stuck to their positive, high-tempo identity. There’s been a lot of talk about Birmingham’s current level given they’re clearly too good for League One and they showed on Saturday they’ve got capability to compete with the best of the best, all while maintaining their core strengths.

“Within all of this is the context that we’re a League One team playing against a really good Premier League team,” Birmingham manager Chris Davies said post-match.

“We have been on a good run and it was always going to be a massive test. From our point of view, we handled it well and showed a wider audience how we play and the spirit, the heart, the determination that is at the core of any good team.

"Any team that’s going to go anywhere and achieve anything has those fundamentals. They are the things I’m most proud of tonight. We do want to go on a journey, the fact is we’re in League One and it’s a big job to get out of it.

“We’re by no means out of it yet and we work hard to earn the right. There’s a long road of ambition ahead and we’ll go somewhere if we continue to play with that spirit and determination,” Davies added.

Chris Davies and Eddie Howe in awe of Tomoki Iwata goal

Ethan Laird’s rapid opener was a good goal in its own right with Blues becoming only the second team to score against Newcastle from a corner this season, but the strike from Tomoki Iwata to draw Birmingham level at 2-2 was out of this world.

Blues can count themselves in with a chance of winning the FA Cup’s goal of the season award as Iwata thundered a rocket into the top right-hand corner. The crowd shouted ‘shoot’ as the Japan international lined up to fire from 25 yards on the bounce but nobody would’ve expected the pure velocity on the strike. It nearly took the net off the goalposts, and that’s not exaggerating.

Davies, just as stunned as the 27,994 supporters in attendance at St Andrew’s, can’t recall seeing a better finish in the flesh. “It was as good of a goal that you’ll see anywhere. I’ve seen a lot of top goals live but that’s right up there for me, it was an incredible strike,” Davies admitted.

“Someone said it was 73 miles per hour! When it comes down to him you urge him to shoot but to connect like that, the ‘keeper had no chance. It was a brilliant goal and good as well because we’d just gone 2-1 down, so it gave everyone a lift that we could bounce back. We know Tomoki can hit them like that.”

Newcastle’s manager, Eddie Howe, was equally as impressed as he said: “I have to pay tribute to the strike for the second goal. From their perspective, it was an unbelievable hit, I was right behind it.”

In more coverage from the game, Birmingham World rated Blues’ players out of ten – with four scoring eights but one ‘woeful’ performer dealt a four.