Tom Wagner reacts to special Jay Stansfield, Birmingham City moment | OneFootball

Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner reflected on a 'special' goal for Jay Stansfield at Exeter City.

Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner reflected on a ‘special’ goal for Jay Stansfield as he helped Chris Davies’ side to a 2-0 win at Exeter City on Tuesday night.

Stansfield has been a key figure for Blues since his big-money arrival in the summer, with his goals helping the side as they chase promotion back to the Championship.

His latest strike came at Exeter, in a fixture that meant a lot to the forward, as they are the club he started out with, whilst he also had a loan spell earlier in his career.

Furthermore, Adam Stansfield, Jay’s Dad who has sadly passed away, was a club icon, so it was always going to be an emotional return to St. James’ Park.

Birmingham City bounce back with emphatic win at Exeter City

It turned out to be a good night for Blues and Stansfield from a football perspective, as they put in a dominant display to bounce back from Saturday’s disappointing loss at Shrewsbury Town.

The visitors took an early lead through Tomoki Iwata, but they continued to dominate from start to finish, although it took Stansfield’s penalty, which came in the 83rd minute, to wrap up the points.

Tom Wagner reacts to Jay Stansfield goal

As mentioned, it was an emotional night for Stansfield, with the home fans paying tribute to his Dad before kick-off.

But, he had a job to do, and the England youth international got that crucial second goal to ensure Blues didn’t lose ground on Wrexham and leaders Wycombe Wanderers, who also both won in the week.

And, taking to his Instagram story, Birmingham owner Wagner shared a picture of Stansfield and his teammates after the penalty, as he acknowledged it was a ‘special’ place for the summer signing to score.

“A special goal in a special place to secure a fantastic team win. KRO.”

Birmingham City find the right formula at Exeter City

Given their summer spend, there is an expectation that Birmingham not only go up, but also win the league. So, a three game winless streak brought a few questions for the manager and players.

But, they were easy winners against the Grecians, as they wrestled control very early on and barely conceded a chance of note.

It was a positive display, and even with Krystian Bielik operating in a different position on the right side of the back four, they still looked solid.

Going forward, Blues haven’t always clicked this season, but they got two goals, and they probably should’ve had more.

The level of expectation can be difficult for some, but Davies will be pleased with how his group have adapted after a huge turnover of players in the summer.

Of course, there are still areas they can improve, and that will come through time and more coaching, but it would take a brave person to back against Birmingham winning automatic promotion this season, even though they are currently third, albeit with at least one game in hand on the sides above them.