Boss delighted with return to winning ways
Simon Grayson was delighted with his side’s showing at St Andrews as they returned to winning ways with a narrow one goal victory.
Jermaine Beckford’s first half strike was the difference between the teams as the Terriers moved back into the play-off positions.
“We started the game very positively and put them under pressure when they had the ball and attacked well when we had it,” Simon told htafc.com.
“We had a spring in our step and could have scored in the first minute. Despite that we went from strength to strength in the game which resulted in us taking the lead through Jermaine (Beckford). We controlled the game for large parts and kept the back door closed.
“I thought we looked comfortable and I don’t think Birmingham had too many opportunities. We went looking for a second, but when you don’t get it you do feel a little bit on edge and Alex (Smithies) had to make a great save at the end of the game.”
Town created a number of good openings in the first half, none better than the one that resulted in Beckford’s first goal for the Club.
“It was a very good move with Adam Clayton playing the ball down the line for James Vaughan who slipped the ball in for Jermaine, he didn’t have to break stride before beating the Birmingham ‘keeper. Jermaine’s attitude today was very good and he worked hard to make the defenders’ lives difficult.”
Simon added: “Players like Keith Southern were fantastic today; he really drove us on from midfield with some good tackles. Also, the lads at the back did brilliant and produced some good blocks to keep us in the game.
“The three up top for us today (Beckford, Ward and Vaughan) worked very hard and created a lot of chances while the three midfielders (Norwood, Southern and Clayton) passed the ball like I know they can do. All round there were some great performances today.”
Simon made three changes following the Leicester defeat and explained his reasoning behind them.
“Joel Lynch is injured whereas all the other changes were made to freshen up the team. We have had a tough couple of weeks and I wanted to change things around. Calum Woods has done really well in training and he kept Chris Burke, who is one of their best players, very quiet. Nobody was dropped, it was about freshening up the team.”
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