August Priske penalty sinks West Brom as Birmingham end Baggies' home unbeaten run
Priske strikes as Blues claim derby spoils at The Hawthorns
August Priske's 41st-minute penalty earned Chris Davies' Birmingham City a narrow 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion in the Sky Bet Championship at The Hawthorns on Saturday, bringing an end to the Baggies' 10-match unbeaten home league run.
The defeat was West Brom's first home league loss since James Morrison took charge in February, and it arrived courtesy of another costly lapse from defender Nat Phillips. Having seen his back pass let in Fer Lopez in the 1-0 defeat to Wolves last time out, Phillips was again at fault here, fouling Priske in the air from Phil Neumann's deep cross to concede the decisive spot-kick.
A lively, open start
In a frenetic opening 20 minutes, a mis-hit lobbed back pass by Neumann caused panic in the Birmingham defence. Goalkeeper James Beadle dashed well outside his box to beat Aune Heggebo to the loose ball and clear. At the other end, Albion keeper Max O'Leary produced a superb reflex save to deny Jay Stansfield's sliding shot from point-blank range.
Albion broke at speed and Heggebo steered a shot against the foot of a post with Beadle beaten, before Jhon Solis shanked an effort from 12 yards after a poor clearing header from Heggebo. Felix Horn Myhre should have put Albion ahead in the 28th minute, heading just over the crossbar with more than half the goal to aim at, and Callum Styles later curled a low free-kick around the three-man wall that Beadle tipped behind.
Priske settles it from the spot
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot after Phillips caught Priske in the air with a clumsy challenge from Neumann's delivery. Priske coolly side-footed the penalty high to O'Leary's left for his second Sky Bet Championship goal of the season.
O'Leary was then required again before the break, producing a brilliant reaction save to divert Neumann's fierce downward header over the bar. No fewer than four Albion players slid in to block Solis' shot from six yards after O'Leary got a hand to Cochrane's corner.
Baggies push but Blues hold firm
Into the second half, Birmingham substitute Patrick Roberts appealed for a penalty after falling under minimal contact from Chris Mepham, but the referee was unmoved. Ousmane Diakite was not far away with a long-range angled drive as Albion searched for an equaliser, and the unlikely figure of centre-back Mepham danced through Stansfield and Solis before forcing Beadle to smother.
Substitute Barney Stewart's glancing header was tipped over by Beadle from Jimmy-Jay Morgan's cross, while Stansfield curled straight at O'Leary after Max Bird won the ball high for Blues. West Brom right-back Brayann Pereira sliced high and wide after a 40-yard run from inside his own half, and at the death O'Leary's foot denied Birmingham substitute Demarai Gray at the near post.
Post-match reaction from both managers was not immediately available, with James Morrison and Chris Davies' thoughts still to follow.