JUST IN: Birmingham City Boss Chris Davies Rate One Of His Star High After Home “Victory” And He Gave Him The…

JUST IN: Birmingham City Boss Chris Davies Rate One Of His Star High After Home “Victory” And He Gave Him The…

Birmingham City player ratings vs Lincoln: Paik stars as Dowell delivers winning penalty

Kieran Dowell netted from the penalty spot to give Birmingham City a 1-0 win over Lincoln City in League One

A penalty from Kieran Dowell gave Birmingham City a 1-0 victory over Lincoln City at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on Saturday afternoon.

Blues bounced back from their midweek mauling at Bolton to beat the Imps for the third time this season. Dowell netted the only goal of the game with a penalty in the 71st minute.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman was restored to Blues’ attack to accommodate the return of captain Krystian Bielik at right-back and had two chances to open the scoring inside 15 minutes.

Blues worked the ball superbly from their own box to Lincoln’s and Paik Seung-ho picked out Gardner-Hickman at the far post but George Wickens tipped his shot over.

Another left-wing delivery from Alex Cochrane found Gardner-Hickman unmarked only for the 23-year-old to blaze over wildly on this occasion.

The lively Emil Hansson threatened to break the deadlock with a weaving run and shot that drifted wide of Wickens’ goal on the stroke of half-time.

Referee David Rock booked more Blues players than there were shots on target (2) in the first half with Jay Stansfield, Christoph Klarer and Ryan Allsop all cautioned.

Stansfield started the second half more sharply and stung the palms of Wickens with a snap-shot on the turn inside the box. Had Hansson been equally sharp to the prospect of Wickens parrying the ball, Blues would have taken the lead.

Stansfield passed up the chance to give Blues the lead from the penalty spot 19 minutes from time after Tomoki Iwata was upended in the box by Lincoln substitute Sam Clucas.

Dowell instead stepped up to emphatically dispatch the spot-kick high to the goalkeeper’s right.

Blues rarely looked likely to concede an equaliser but Ryan Allsop and Cochrane almost conspired to gift them one late on.

For once, Allsop’s goal-kick was poor and Cochrane couldn’t clean up the mess, inadvertently playing Reeco Hackett through on goal. Fortunately for Blues, Hackett couldn’t compose himself and volleyed wide with a first-time shot.

Get the latest Blues headlines sent straight to your phone

BirminghamLive has its very own Birmingham City WhatsApp community to deliver the latest headlines straight to your phone. Just click this link to receive daily Blues content and breaking news. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. Click on the name at the top of your screen while in WhatsApp and click ‘Exit Group’. Read our Privacy Notice.

Ryan Allsop 7

Blues benefitted from having their number one back in goal. Allsop was composed and confident in possession to build up from the back and did well with his hands when he was called upon.

Krystian Bielik 6

It took Bielik 15 minutes to get to grips with his assignment at right-back, which involved tucking into midfield and combining with Iwata when Blues were in possession. The skipper might not have done enough to guarantee a place in the XI on Tuesday.

Christoph Klarer 7

Klarer was dominant aerially and played out from the back well for the most part. The Austrian is having a brilliant season.

Christoph Klarer of Birmingham City in action.

Ben Davies 7.5

There were question marks over Davies’ defending against Bolton in midweek but he was back to his imperious best against Lincoln. Davies produced several perfectly timed challenges in a solid showing.

Alex Cochrane 8

Cochrane has been consistently good all season but he was excellent defensively in this match. The left-back won a bunch of challenges and had the left side on lock.

Tomoki Iwata 7.5

The Japanese midfielder is so often in the right place to pick up the pieces in midfield and attempted a couple of his trademark long rangers to appease those on the terraces screaming ‘shoot’ at him.

Paik Seung-ho 8*

Paik drifted out to the left to wreak havoc against Lincoln. He combined superbly with Cochrane and Hansson in the first half and continued to torment Lincoln with moments of skill that shouldn’t be seen in League One after the break.

Tom Bayliss of Lincoln City vies for possession with Paik Seung-Ho of Birmingham City (Image: Getty Images)

Taylor Gardner-Hickman 7

An all-action display from Gardner-Hickman who started on the right-wing before moving to right-back in the second half. He showed neat footwork to work a yard of space to cross at times.

Kieran Dowell 7.5

Dowell was back to something like his best for Blues after a poor display at Bolton in midweek. He was a surprise penalty taker but Dowell produced arguably the most emphatic spot-kick a Blues player has taken this season.

DON’T MISS

Cristiano Ronaldo forced to release four-word statement as Jhon Duran’s woes continue

Liverpool points deduction rules explained in Premier League title race as Aston Villa watch on

‘Comfortable even if you’re on holiday and overeat’ – why fans are ‘buying 6 pairs’ of Next’s stretchy shorts

Kieran Dowell of Birmingham City celebrates scoring the opening goal against Lincoln from a penalty.

Emil Hansson 7

Hansson had one of his better games for Blues and had the beating of Darikwa. His quality from wide areas was generally good and he went close to a goal with a curling first half shot.

Jay Stansfield 6.5

Stansfield was frustratingly on the fringes of the game in the first half before exploding into life after the break. He had a couple of shots and passed up the chance to score from the penalty spot to teammate Dowell.

SUBS

Keshi Anderson (for Hansson, 53) 7

Anderson was a bundle of quality down the left when he came on after two weeks out. He helped swing the game in Blues’ favour.

Willum Willumsson (for Bielik, 53) 6

The Icelandic was involved in some good passages of play but he still won’t throw himself at the ball inside the box. Willumsson is missing out on goals a 6ft 4in attacker should be gobbling up.

Alfie May (for Stansfield, 72) 6

Worked his socks off late on as Blues held onto their lead. May was unlucky with one break that saw his pass just evade the onrushing Iwata.

Grant Hanley (for Dowell, 88) N/A

Not used: Peacock-Farrell, Leonard, Jutkiewicz