Birmingham 1-2 Wycombe: Wanderers earn late comeback win at St Andrew's

Report from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Birmingham and Wycombe at St Andrew's as Marc Roberts put the Blues in front, but Wanderers bounced back to win after Scott Kashket's equaliser and a Kristian Pedersen own goal

Thursday 5 November 2020 07:21, UK

Wycombe scored an injury-time winner as they continued their revival with a 2-1 victory at Birmingham to lift them off the Sky Bet Championship basement.

Wanderers' winner, which was credited as a Kristian Pedersen own goal, came after Scott Kashket's 76th-minute equaliser and was no more than they deserved following a stirring second-half performance to cancel out Marc Roberts' 40th-minute header.

The late strike extended Wycombe's unbeaten run to three games and ended Birmingham's hopes of a third straight win.

Birmingham made all the early running against a Wycombe side reeling from being left bottom of the table courtesy of Sheffield Wednesday's 12-point deduction being halved on appeal.

Winger Jeremie Bela, who looked very lively, saw a cross turned behind by goalkeeper Ryan Allsop and curled an acute-angled shot just over the crossbar.

In between, Mikel San Jose's drive was tipped over by Allsop to cap a fine move which saw a Cruyff turn and cross by centre-back Harlee Dean.

Ivan Sanchez should then really have got his shot on target with time to pick his spot from a loose ball on the edge of the box for Blues but he could only send a curling attempt over.

Wycombe's first serious effort, in the 28th minute, sparked a turnaround for the promoted side.

Daryl Horgan's shot was deflected over by Dean and from the resulting corner, Adebayo Akinfenwa headed over from close range.

The visitors suddenly looked a different side and Joe Jacobson sidefooted wide after dancing through the Blues defence following a Lukas Jutkiewicz mistake.

Blues returned to the attack and Gary Gardner's header was deflected behind from Bela's cross.

As the game went from end to end, Wycombe appealed loudly for a penalty after Horgan fell between two defenders chasing a ball into the box, but the referee was unmoved.

Jacobson had Neil Etheridge leaping to his right to make a superb save from a curling free-kick that was on its way in seven minutes before the break.

But it was Blues who took the lead when Roberts headed home Bela's corner in the 40th minute.

Wycombe looked to take the game back to Birmingham at the start of the second half and they created the first opening when Akinfenwa was denied by Pedersen from close range.

It was Wycombe who scored next as substitute Fred Onyedinma's shot was deflected in by Kashket to reward a much-improved second-half performance.

Wycombe were denied a possible penalty in the 90th minute when Dean appeared to pull down Akinfenwa as he lost his balance but the referee waved play on.

But Wycombe had the last laugh in the second minute of added time as Onyedinma's header went in off Pedersen after Josh Knight crossed when Etheridge met Jacobson's corner with a poor punch.

What the managers said...

Birmingham's Aitor Karanka: "I am really disappointed. I said after the game the team that wanted to win did win. They showed more determination than us to win the game. But they controlled the second half - we couldn't keep the ball or pass the ball and we didn't create anything. They were pushing, pushing and pushing towards the end - they got the equaliser and then they scored the second so I think they wanted it more than us."

"We are where we are in the table because we play well on the pitch and look to attack, not because we are a defensive side. We need to think about ourselves and we need to improve because the intention was to press them high."

Wycombe assistant Richard Dobson: "We want to stay in this division. We're proving we should be at this level. We're absolutely delighted. It's been a pleasure to be a part of a fantastic team effort. We can't afford to worry about anyone else's demise or misfortune - we've just got to focus on our performances and climbing the league is important to us.

"We found it difficult in the first couple of games and always knew this was going to be a season of discovery."