'Other players' - Birmingham City boss responds to Bailey Peacock-Farrell boos in dramatic win over Peterborough

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has defended goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell after he was booed by sections of the home support during Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 win over Peterborough United.

The Blues were 2-0 down inside the 16 minutes after goals from Ricky-Jade Jones and Emmanuel Fernandez gave the hosts a shock advantage. Peacock-Farrell was caught in possession on his goal-line for the opening goal as Jade-Jones challenged the Northern Ireland international to force the ball into the net from close range. The home support made their feelings clear with angry boos but Davies leapt to the defence of his goalkeeper after the game.

He said: “Other players around him have to be quicker to support him. This is my responsibility, Bailey’s doing what I’m asking the team to do.”

The mistake did not prove costly in the end as Willum Willumsson got Birmingham back in the game before Jay Stansfield’s deflected shot levelled matters early in the second half. Captain Krystian Bielik completed the fightback as he headed home in the 66th minute.

Davies added: “We didn’t quite have the edge that we normally do. Obviously, it was a bit of a mistake for the first goal, and then we’re on the back foot a little bit. Then we didn’t defend a set-piece well and all of a sudden you’ve got a mountain to climb against a good opposition. I think the reaction was good from that point. And then I think it grew after the first goal.”

The result puts Birmingham on 19 points, two clear of Wrexham in second. Peterborough remain in midtable after the defeat as their manager Darren Ferguson was disappointed with the result as he believed the Blues’ winner should not have counted as he felt the ball struck Bielik’s arm.

He said: “Big disappointment in the result for us, in terms of every game we go into, we hope to win it regardless of the opposition, and, obviously, we got a brilliant start. The game plan was going well. We wanted to press them really high up the pitch. You want to start the second half well, especially with them shooting towards their own fans. And listen, you need a bit of luck. Then, Stanfield’s shot goes miles wide and hits my centre-half and goes in.”