‘Best he has played’ – Lee Bowyer hails key Birmingham City figure despite Millwall defeat | OneFootball

Birmingham City boss Lee Bowyer singled out experienced forward Troy Deeney for praise and said his performance yesterday was the best since he joined the club, speaking to Birmingham Live after his side’s 3-1 defeat to Millwall.

The 33-year-old managed to get himself on the scoresheet at The Den to reduce the deficit in the 56th minute as he made it 2-1, combining exceptionally well with Scott Hogan and firing a wonderful shot into the top corner as he gave the Blues hope of winning a point or three.

However, George Evans’ well-placed strike past Neil Etheridge sealed the points for the hosts just over a quarter of an hour later, consigning the West Midlands outfit to a gutting defeat after a well-fought victory against Blackpool last weekend.

Quiz: Has Lukas Jutkiewicz ever scored a goal for Birmingham City at each of these 26 stadiums?

Despite this, there was praise for Deeney, who had struggled to get into form when he dropped back down to the Championship in late August and was initially on the bench for many of Bowyer’s side’s fixtures in the early stages of the campaign.

He has started his side’s last eight league matches though, establishing himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet at St Andrew’s and showing his in this weekend’s fixture against a physical opposition in Gary Rowett’s men.

It could be argued the experienced forward was one of the only highlights of a miserable afternoon for the travelling supporters – and his manager had some complimentary words about his performance after the game.

Speaking to Birmingham Live, Bowyer said: “A great goal from Troy, I think that is the best he has played since he has been at the club.

“He caused them problems all day. He just kept dropping into those little pockets in the first half and linking things.

“Then the second half I thought he played really well, a great finish, a great move.”

The Verdict:

Even at 33, Deeney will continue to show his class in the second tier and that’s a guarantee because he’s shown that consistency throughout the years, not just as a goalscorer, but also as a leader on the pitch and that should help the Blues escape another mediocre lower midtable finish.

By his stands, his goalscoring record at St Andrew’s has been underwhelming so far. But with more starts under his belt and yesterday’s goal, that should give him the platform to go on and score more in the coming weeks and months.

His link-up play with Hogan for the goal was particularly impressive – and that’s something that manager Bowyer should be looking to weaponise with the duo arguably two very capable options up front in the second tier.

They need to utilise their attacking threat, with the know-how of Lukas Jutkiewicz and the energy of Chuks Aneke making their front line a real strength of theirs. This depth should help to manage and rotate the ex-Watford forward, which will be crucial in getting the very best out of him.

In what looks to be a very tight middle pack at this stage, the management of the 33-year-old and his form on the pitch may prove to be the difference between a spot in and around the play-offs and a more underwhelming finish.