Wycombe Wanderers 2-3 Birmingham City: FLW Reports as Matt Bloomfield's men fall in another five-goal thriller

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·17 August 2024

Wycombe Wanderers 2-3 Birmingham City: FLW Reports as Matt Bloomfield's men fall in another five-goal thriller

All the action from Adams Park as Wycombe Wanderers took on Birmingham City

Birmingham City beat Wycombe Wanderers 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at Adams Park.

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The visitors bagged their first three points under new manager Chris Davies, with a solid performance on the road. However, a late Chairboys goal gave the big-hitters of League One a nervous last few minutes to close out the three points.

Wycombe Wanderers 2-3 Birmingham City - Blues grab first league win under Chris Davies

Wycombe opened the scoring on 22 minutes, as Kieran Sadlier's cross was rifled home by Krystian Bielik into his own net to give the hosts the lead on their homecoming for the 2024-25 season.

The travelling Blues replied just 10 minutes later after Ethan Laird forced his way past Daniel Harvie and put the ball on a plate for Alfie May to rifle home, leaving the match all square at half-time.

Substitute Ayumu Yokoyama's cross was prodded home by Fulham loanee Luke Harris to give the visitors a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes to go. Willum Willumsson then wrapped up a solid Birmingham win on the road, with his first goal for the club ten minutes from time.

For the second week running, Sam Vokes grabbed an 89th-minute consolation, but it wasn't enough to get the Chairboys back into the game.

Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)

Birmingham came out of the blocks firing at the start of the match as Laird flashed a low ball across the Wycombe goal in the first two minutes. It skidded all the way through to Emil Hansson who's shot was blocked by Joe Low. A succession of corners followed from the recently relegated side, but Wycombe managed to weather the early storm.

Richard Kone squandered the first big Chairboys chance, as he stole the ball back in the Birimingham box. He rounded Bailey Peacock-Farrell but couldn't tuck the chance away. Nathan Bishop was then called into action at the other end, but another Hansson shot was caught easily by the man on loan from Sunderland.

Alfie May became the first booking of the afternoon, as his rash challenge on Luke Leahy warranted a yellow card in the eyes of referee Lewis Smith.

The visitors continued to live life on the edge at the back thanks to the Wycombe high press. An inswinging free-kick nearly met Joe Low, but it sailed agonizingly past the Welsh defender.

The hosts then took the lead after 22 minutes, when Kone played an exquisite ball into Sadlier who bombed past his man and his cross was met by Bielik who tucked into his own net, silencing the traveling Bluenoses.

Wycombe's lead lasted only eight minutes, another terrible piece of defending costing Bloomfield's side again. Laird got the better of Harvie and burst towards the byline. His low cross was smashed home by May to level proceedings. It was two in two for the summer signing.

10 minutes later, Luke Harris got behind Ryan Tafazolli and lifted the ball over the onrushing Bishop but captain Jack Grimmer with a clearance off the line that was as good as a goal at the other end.

The teams went in even-stevens at half-time, which was a fair reflection of the contest thus far. Wycombe hadn't continued their early pressure and allowed Birmingham back into the match. The visitors had plenty of joy down the Chairboys' left-hand-side, Tafazolli was clearly frustrated with his full-back Harvie on multiple occasions.

Both sides re-emerged from the break unchanged, the visitors continued from where they left off on the front foot in the opening exchanges.

May had another chance as he burst past Tafazolli, but the Charlton import couldn't get the ball out of his feet in time. Paik Sueng-Ho then shot another shot from distance which would be charged down and ultimately caught by Bishop.

It seemed it was just a matter before the visitors would take the lead. But a quick break set the Chairboys back on their way, forcing a chopping challenge from Alex Cochrane on Richard Kone. The delivery was a poor one and the visiting Blues cleared their lines.

Bloomfield threw the dice early, making three changes at once. Tafazolli, who'd picked up a knock, Matt Butcher and Kone were replaced by Jasper Pattenden, Tyreeq Bakinson and Daniel Udoh respectively. Chris Davies responded by making an alteration to his attack, swapping Hansson for Koji Miyoshi.

The game had settled down with the substitutions. Sadlier had a speculative effort from halfway sail wide, and a great block denied Bakinson a first Wycombe goal, as Garath McCleary's cutback found the ex-Wednesday midfielder.

Davies opted to go to his bench again, bringing on former Sagan-Tosu winger Yokoyama. He would reap the rewards of this almost instantly. The substitute beat Pattenden for pace and squared the ball across the Wycombe box. Fulham loanee, Harris, was there to prod home to give Birmingham the lead - no less than they deserved.

Bloomfield looked to find a way back into the game, deploying Sam Vokes up front alongside Udoh and withdrawing Leahy.

Sadlier then latched onto a long ball and had a clear chance to get Wycombe back on terms. He snatched at it and the ball rolled agonizingly wide. A really frustrating miss, which was a massive let off for the visitors.

Birmingham then sealed their victory with a third, ten minutes from the end. May got away from Grimmer. His pass found Laird, who's initial shot was saved well Bishop but Willum Willumsson, the man with arguably the best name in English football, thumped home the rebound.

Substitute Vokes clawed back a second for Wycombe, heading home Sadlier's cross but it wouldn't be enough to get Wycombe back into the game.

Willumsson was withdrawn as he collided with his own keeper in stoppage time. The Icelandic player was winded but ultimately seemed ok, as he walked down the touchline gingerly.

The Midlands team saw the final minutes out, winning their first game in League One of the season. Wycombe had suffered two defeats in their opening two league fixtures, although this performance was much less convincing than that of last week. Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives to take for the Chairboys.

The attendance at Adams Park was a total of 6,224, an excellent 1,848 away fans.

Wycombe Wanderers boss Matt Bloomfield and Birmingham City manager Chris Davies post-match quotes

Following his first league win as a manager, Birmingham boss Chris Davies praised his side for the manner of their victory, adding that they could have ran out more comfortable winners on another day.

“I thought we were good throughout generally and their [Wycombe’s] goal came against the run of play, a frustrating one again from our point of view from a counter-attack in the first half," Davies said.

"Again, what’s pleasing for me is the players didn’t change. They continued to show discipline in what we do and continued to play, that was really important because we can’t change.

“We were good in the second half as well. We obviously had two more goals and could have scored a couple more as well. I’m pleased with the performance and the result.”

Chairboys manager Matt Bloomfield hailed his own side's efforts though despite being on the losing end once more, but has also praised Birmingham for the backing they have given Davies in the transfer market.

“I felt we had a right go," Bloomfield claimed.

"We nicked the ball off them [Birmingham] early and I think we could’ve taken more of our opportunities early on.

"We’re working so hard out of possession it’s sometimes hard to get your legs back in and go and make the most of them.

"We feel really disappointed to come out on the wrong side of two 3-2 defeats, but, at the same time, really proud of the application and effort the boys are putting in”.

“It’s only right to say that Birmingham City are going to get promoted this season, absolutely. "They remind me of what Ipswich did a couple of years ago. They’ve recruited an incredible young coach and spent millions and millions on the playing staff.

"There’s no point spending all that money if you aren’t going to do it properly, but they are doing it properly."