Birmingham City vs Queens Park Rangers. Sky Bet Championship.
St. Andrew's StadiumAttendance18,161.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at St Andrew's
Wednesday 11 December 2019 23:10, UK
Bright Osayi-Samuel produced a moment of magic as Queens Park Rangers defeated Birmingham 2-0 at St Andrew's on Wednesday night.
His brilliant individual goal (67) followed Grant Hall's opener on the verge of half-time as QPR recorded back-to-back wins and clean sheets to move up to 12th in the Sky Bet Championship.
It was a much different night for the hosts, who had plenty of chances but lacked any real danger in the final third in a defeat which saw them fall to 15th in the league ahead of Saturday's match against high-flying West Brom, live on Sky Sports Football.
Birmingham conjured up 16 shots but just two on target despite 57 per cent possession, with arguably their best chance coming in the first half when Alvaro was inches away from getting on the end of Jeremie Bela's powerful low pass across goal.
It was Birmingham who dominated the opening stages, and indeed the first half, with a flurry of chances within the first 15 minutes.
Jacques Maghoma's clever footwork on the left flank got him into an excellent attacking position but his low shot across goal took a deflection and clear of danger.
Alvaro was then close to heading home a Josh McEachran cross but QPR defended well to clear, with the highly-rated Croatian midfielder Ivan Sunjic then seeing a shot go wide from 16 yards.
Then came a great chance for Birmingham when Bela burst down the right wing, turned and beat Ryan Manning near the corner flag and cut inside to fire a low cross which Alvaro was inches away from connecting onto.
But the hosts were made to pay for their wastefulness when Eberechi Eze's long free-kick from near the halfway line caused a scramble in the Birmingham box, with Hall poking past Connal Trueman in what was QPR's first shot on target.
That goal was virtually the last kick of the first half and the game did not properly spark back into life until the hour mark, when McEachran was tripped on the edge of the QPR box only to see Lukas Jutkiewicz's shot fly wide.
It was then Osayi-Samuel who produced a moment of individual brilliance - starting an attack well in his own half - beating his man Maxime Colin on the halfway line, and then going through the gears, eventually finding the Birmingham box where his left-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box beat Trueman.
Both sides huffed and puffed but Birmingham grew in frustration as QPR ground out the 2-0 win to continue their upturn in form.
Birmingham's Pep Clotet: "Of course we are very disappointed. We will put our hands up, myself first of all.
"We had a good first half. The first goal, we should have defended that situation better. Afterwards, the game is very difficult. They backed off and have a very physical team.
"We did not find the spaces and the tempo that we usually have, and they hurt us on the break. It was a very disappointing game. Hopefully we can put these things right on Saturday."
QPR's Mark Warburton: "First half I thought was very scrappy. We had to set a better tempo and in the second half we did that. We looked dangerous. I'm delighted for the players.
"[The clean sheets] are like London buses! The players worked very hard. I thought Amos was outstanding tonight. Now it's onto the next one against Barnsley.
"Bright Osayi-Samuel has outstanding attributes. He's rapid, strong and a power athlete. He showed superb composure and he has worked really hard. He's taken his chance tonight."
Bright Osayi-Samuel gets the gong for his magnificent solo strike in the second half.
He was a constant menace for the visitors and his goal virtually sealed the win, with Birmingham unable to pick themselves up again after a period in which they looked like they might equalise.
It feels slightly harsh not to give the man-of-the-match award to a defensive QPR player. After all, they only recorded their first clean sheet of the season on Saturday, and now they have two in four days.
Centre-back Grant Hall deserves a mention. His opener, which was virtually the last kick of the first half, turned the game on its head after Birmingham dominated the first 45 minutes.
Birmingham are back on Sky Sports Football this Saturday when they host second-placed West Brom at St Andrew's in a 12.30pm kick-off.
QPR also return to action on Saturday, travelling to bottom-placed Barnsley in a 3pm meeting at Oakwell.
