Stoke City 2-0 Birmingham City: Potters edge closer to Championship safety
- Published
Danny Batth's third goal of the season gave Stoke the perfect start against Birmingham
Stoke beat Birmingham to move four points clear of the Championship relegation zone and level with managerless Blues.
The Potters, hammered 5-0 by Leeds on Thursday, were rewarded for their bright start when centre-back Danny Batth turned in Nick Powell's cross at the back post.
Captain Sam Clucas added a second just before the break with a curling right-footed shot into the top corner.
Sam Vokes and James McClean both hit the crossbar, while McClean and Powell also had efforts well saved by Blues goalkeeper Lee Camp.
Birmingham were playing their first match since the departure of head coach Pep Clotet and they fell to a fourth successive league defeat, against a Stoke side that had conceded 10 goals in their previous four games.
Jeremie Bela made a positive impact from the bench for the visitors after being brought on by caretaker boss Steve Spooner, but he was unable to conjure a reply.
Stoke goalkeeper Adam Davies, who started for the hosts with Jack Butland injured, had little to do during his first league outing for the club.
Stoke edge closer to safety
Stoke have shown both extremes since the resumption of Championship fixtures in mid-June, but this display was more in keeping with their 4-0 demolition of Barnsley on 4 July and not the heavy losses at Wigan and Leeds in their two most recent away outings.
Any fears of a hangover from their mauling at Elland Road were quickly forgotten as Michael O'Neill's side put in a dominant first-half performance to set up a comfortable victory.
Their remaining fixtures are against Bristol City, Brentford and Nottingham Forest - all sides hoping to win promotion to the Premier League this season - making it imperative they put some breathing space between themselves and the bottom three.
Both Stoke and Blues are four points above the drop zone and, perhaps boosting their respective survival prospects, there are three clubs between the pair and the relegation spots.
There is also the prospect of mid-table Wigan also dropping into the relegation battle as a result of them going into administration, although the Latics have said they will appeal against a 12-point deduction which is likely to be imposed at the end of this season.
Reaction
Stoke manager Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Stoke: "It was a very good performance. In the first half we were terrific, there was excellent intensity to our play.
"We had to compete because they brought a physical presence.
"We scored two very good goals and we should have been more than 2-0 ahead at half-time. Overall it was an excellent team performance, both offensively and defensively."
Blues caretaker boss Steve Spooner told BBC Radio WM: "We didn't get the start we would have liked, but after 10-15 minutes we settled down into the game.
"The problem we've been having over the past eight or nine games has been not stopping goals.
"We switched off from a throw. It's a simple thing. It's a great finish from the lad (Clucas), but we should be looking at ourselves and done something better than what we provided at that time."