MX23RW : Wednesday, January 15 00:03:50| >> :120:5657:5657:
[monks data]
Birmingham logo
Championship | Gameweek 18
Dec 12, 2020 at 3pm UK
St. Andrew's Stadium
Watford logo

Birmingham
0 - 1
Watford


Kieftenbeld (15'), Pedersen (57')
Pedersen (84')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Deeney (85' pen.)
Capoue (90+1')

Troy Deeney penalty enough for Watford at Birmingham

Troy Deeney penalty enough for Watford at Birmingham
© Reuters
Mikel San Jose went closest for the Blues, hitting the post in the first half.

Watford captain Troy Deeney fired home a late penalty to secure a 1-0 win against hometown club Birmingham City at St Andrew's.

The 32-year-old striker blasted a trademark penalty into the roof of the net in the 85th minute for his fifth goal against the club he supported as a boy.

It was a case of third time lucky for Deeney, who missed two chances of glory in the second half, lobbing into the arms of goalkeeper Neil Etheridge when clean through, before glancing another chance well wide.

Deeney, making his 500th league appearance, had scored four times against Birmingham previously, but found it hard going on this occasion in a game of few chances.

There was little to choose between the teams in the first half but Watford noticeably stepped up the tempo after the break and had the better of the play to deserve their second successive win.

Birmingham, who have now gone five home games without a win, made five changes to the side that beat Reading 2-1 away on Wednesday night.

Josh Dacres-Cogley, Jake Clarke-Salter, Mikel San Jose, Gary Gardner and Lukas Jutkiewicz replaced Maxime Colin, Harlee Dean, Ivan Sanchez, Jon Toral and Scott Hogan.

Dean was suspended after being sent off at Reading, while the other four players were on the bench.

Watford made three changes from the team that beat Rotherham United 2-0 on Tuesday night.

Ben Wilmot, James Garner and Domingos Quina came in for Christian Kabasele, Stipe Perica and Ismaila Sarr.

In a first half hour littered with free kicks for fouls, there were no chances for either team until the 36th minute, only a booking for Birmingham midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld for a late foul on Quina.

When the only chance of the first half came nine minutes before the break, Birmingham were a whisker from taking the lead.

San Jose got a foot to flick on Gardner's corner and the ball hit the far post before bouncing to safety.

On the stroke of 45 minutes, there was a long delay after a clash of heads between Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley and Birmingham striker Jutkiewicz, who came off worse and needed extensive treatment.

Jutkiewicz finally emerged with a bandage on the side of his head and was able to continue.

The second half continued in the same vein as much of the first – without incident for long periods.

Deeney's first big chance came in the 68th minute after Wilmot put him through to beat the offside trap, but he lobbed straight at Etheridge.

The striker then teed up James Garner but the midfielder's low volley from the edge of the box lacked the power to beat Etheridge.

Deeney had a more difficult chance to mark his milestone in the 77th minute but could only glance well wide from 12 yards when he connected with Ken Sema's cross.

The moment of glory for Deeney came five minutes from time when Pedersen brought down substitute Perica after he broke into the box.

Blues' only second-half effort on target came in the third minute of time added on when Gardner's 22-yard free kick was brilliantly fingertipped around the post by former Blues goalkeeper Ben Foster.

ID:426247: cacheID:426247:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6486:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Tyrhys Dolan celebrates scoring for Blackburn against Preston in the Championship on November 24, 2020
Read Next:
Saturday's Championship predictions including Blackburn Rovers vs. Norwich
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Birmingham CityBirmingham23165241172453
2Wycombe WanderersWycombe25156450272351
3Wrexham25156437181951
4Huddersfield TownHuddersfield24145537191847
5Barnsley2512673933642
6Reading2412573933641
7Stockport CountyStockport25108737271038
8Leyton Orient24114932221037
9Mansfield TownMansfield2311483126537
10Bolton WanderersBolton2411493637-137
11Charlton AthleticCharlton239772721634
12Lincoln CityLincoln258892830-232
13Rotherham UnitedRotherham248792424031
14Stevenage238781820-231
15Exeter CityExeter2494112831-331
16Blackpool247983235-330
17Wigan AthleticWigan2376102123-227
18Northampton TownNorthampton2568112439-1526
19Peterborough UnitedPeterborough2474134146-525
20Bristol Rovers2474132238-1625
21Crawley TownCrawley2355132443-1920
22Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury2445152444-2017
23Cambridge UnitedCambridge2445152243-2117
24Burton Albion2428142038-1814


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!