Davies hails 'catalyst' penalty king Stansfield
Jay Stansfield (left) moved to Birmingham City for £15m - a record fee for a club in League One at the time
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Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has again underlined the value to the side of "catalyst" forward Jay Stansfield.
Blues' star striker was instrumental in their dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Blackburn Rovers, sealing victory with an injury-time penalty - the visitors' second goal in a remarkable turnaround in added time.
"Jay does play with emotion and doesn't like to lose. He likes to make an impact in the game," Davies told BBC Radio WM.
"It's all very well not wanting to lose, and being emotional, but it's case of 'what are you doing with the ball?'
"The way he took his penalty was exquisite. The keeper went the right way with a good dive but he put it right in the side netting.
"Jay was a real catalyst with his intensity and energy to get us going."
Stansfield's successful spot-kick maintained his record of scoring in all of Birmingham's games so far - in both Championship matches and their Carabao Cup tie.
The former Fulham forward has now notched 26 goals in 47 games since making his loan move from the Cottagers permanent ahead of last season.
In the 2024-25 season he scored 23 times, with 19 goals in League One, in Blues' record-breaking title win.
Nine of those league goals were penalties, leading to some away fans dubbing the 22-year-old 'Pensfield'.
"He is an exceptional penalty taker, no doubt about that," Davies said.
"I've seen a lot of them, and the one last week [against Blackburn] with the context, the time he had to wait, with the speed he put on it and where he put it, I thought it was one of the best I've seen - whipping it in that corner.
"Long may it continue."
Davies also gave a small update on injury news concerning full-back Alex Cochrane ahead of Saturday's visit of Oxford United.
Left-back Cochrane came off at half-time against Blackburn with what looked like a groin problem, but Davies said it was "nothing major" and the 25-year-old was "not far away" from being in the frame for the weekend.