‘Just do the basics right’ – Lee Bowyer admits Birmingham were lucky to force draw

Birmingham manager Lee Bowyer accepted that Tuesday’s last-gasp 2-2 draw with Peterborough was undeserved.

Two late goals from Gary Gardner and Scott Hogan in the 85th and 88th minutes saw Blues salvage a point as they recovered from a two-goal deficit at St Andrew’s following an early strike from Jack Marriott and Jonson Clarke-Harris’ penalty.

Blues will be disappointed they did not find a winner, though, as Lukas Jutkiewicz missed a gilt-edged chance to win it in the dying moments of the contest.

What did Bowyer say about the performance and result?

Referring back to Marriott’s opener, Bowyer said: “We just couldn’t get going after that.

“First balls, second balls, simple passes and controlling it, we didn’t look too good.

“If there’s one positive I can take from it, they kept going till the end and ground out a point.

“You can’t start playing in the 80th or 85th minute and expect to win games. Just do the basics right.

“Once we started asking questions of their defenders, we looked dangerous.

“If there’s one thing you can do, it’s put a good ball in the box and ask questions of the defenders. That paid off anyway.”

Both goals came from wide positions, with dangerous deliveries causing issues for the Posh backline – and the use of wingers paid dividends for Bowyer’s side.

“With wingers out wide you’re a man down in the middle of the park, and they’ve got good players that will then pass you off the park,” said Bowyer.

“We had good opportunities in the first half to just cross the ball, and we didn’t ask enough questions of them.”

Darren Ferguson was pleased with his side’s efforts but admitted the result was a bad one, considering the lead they surrendered.

“Two-nil up with 10 minutes to go, the game’s done, well it should be done anyway,” said the Peterborough manager.

“We just couldn’t keep our composure, but up until that point I thought we were very good.

“It was just unfortunate that we couldn’t see it through. At 2-1 we lost a little bit of composure.

“I’ve got to see the positives from tonight, that was more like us.

“If we continue that on consistent basis, we’ll stay up. I’m convinced of it.”

Ferguson was particularly pleased to have goalscorer Marriott back in his starting line-up following his long absence with a hamstring injury, as he proved his worth for the away side.

He added: “You’re seeing the quality that Jack Marriott gives you, he’s been sorely missed. He’s an out-and-out finisher – he always hits the target.”

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