Birmingham City Dominates Millwall with 4-0 Victory
Birmingham City achieved an impressive back-to-back home victory, defeating high-flying Millwall 4-0 at St Andrew's, thus ending Millwall's unbeaten away streak this season.
South Korean player Paik Seung-ho scored his second goal in as many matches just before the half-hour mark, followed by Demarai Gray netting his second goal of the season right at the end of the first half.
Alex Cochrane extended the lead with a third goal just four minutes after the break, and Jay Stansfield completed the rout with the fourth goal in the 65th minute.
This victory marked Birmingham's third win in four matches under Chris Davies, propelling them to ninth place, just one point shy of the top six. Millwall, on the other hand, remains in fourth after suffering their fourth league defeat of the season.
Birmingham fielded an unchanged lineup from their previous home win against Portsmouth, with on-loan Sunderland winger Patrick Roberts fit to start. Millwall made four changes following their 2-2 draw at Oxford United.
Both teams tested the goalkeepers in challenging wet conditions during the first 25 minutes. Millwall’s Joe Cundle unleashed a powerful right-footed volley from the edge of the area, forcing Birmingham keeper James Beadle to make a crucial save. Stansfield then forced Millwall’s Max Crocombe to dive low to his left to deny a shot from the edge of the box.
Birmingham opened the scoring just a minute later when Roberts, who was a constant threat down the right wing, delivered a cross that found Paik, who finished with precision into the bottom right corner.
The home side doubled their lead in the dying moments of the first half after a heavy touch from Millwall’s former Birmingham defender Wes Harding allowed Stansfield to seize the ball. He exchanged passes with German striker Marvin Ducksch before crossing for Gray, who deftly flicked it past a helpless Crocombe.
Birmingham added a crucial third goal four minutes into the second half, as Roberts again created opportunities down the right and pulled back for Tomoki Iwata. His cross was cleared only as far as Cochrane, whose powerful volley from the edge of the area took a slight deflection on its way in.
Stansfield secured his sixth goal of the league campaign when Iwata played a short pass to substitute Keshi Anderson, who found Stansfield just outside the box. He skillfully controlled a bobbling ball before firing past Crocombe to finalize the victory.
Birmingham will carry significant confidence into their upcoming match against third-placed Middlesbrough this weekend. Conversely, Millwall's defeat concluded an impressive six-match unbeaten run on the road, as they managed only two shots on target throughout the match. They will next host Preston on Saturday lunchtime.