Birmingham City Boss Chris Davies Received A Big Threat After An Absence Of A Star In Sunday “Defeat,” But Tom Wagner Gave The…

Chris Davies explains Birmingham City star’s surprise Wembley absence

Why Krystian Bielik didn’t play in Birmingham City’s 2-0 Vertu Trophy final defeat to Peterborough.

Chris Davies has confirmed Birmingham City captain Krystian Bielik missed the 2-0 defeat to Peterborough United at Wembley due to a new injury concern.

Bielik was unlikely to start at Wembley anyway as he has been consistently demoted to the bench since the turn of the year, but he would’ve been hoping to have at least some involvement at the home of football. Bielik couldn’t play his part in any capacity, however, as he was deemed unfit to make the matchday squad.

Blues could have done with Bielik’s leadership and power in the second half as Peterborough sat in to form a robust low block to defend their 2-0 lead. It’s not like Bielik has the pace or flair to unlock such a defence on his own, but he would have at least brought the fight and intensity to the Posh, unlike many of those who didn’t get out of first gear.

“Injury, an injury yeah,” Davies responded when asked why Bielik wasn’t present. “It was just a knock kind of thing that he picked up from that game. He will be out of action for a couple of weeks from now, I would say,” Davies confirmed.

Bielik wasn’t the only injured player to narrowly miss out on Wembley as the game came just too soon for winger Emil Hansson and striker Lyndon Dykes, out with a knock and a calf problem respectively. Scott Wright and Lee Buchanan, both sidelined with long-term knee injuries, were the others unable to get involved.

Chris Davies sets challenge for Birmingham players

Davies was devastated by the result at Wembley as winning another piece of silverware would’ve been the cherry on the cake for what has been an extraordinary season. The head coach reckons there’s a positive amongst the disappointment, though, as Birmingham can take learnings from their experience and ensure they are better equipped for the next time they take on a fixture of a similar magnitude.

“I’ve said to the players that suffering is part of life, it’s part of football,” Davies told Birmingham World.

“You have to take your medicine, it’s designed to make you better and you have to grow from the pain you’re in. We will grow from it, we can’t just expect to win all the time and everything go our way. Sometimes you get a punch in the face and you need to react to it and grow from it. We got that today.

“I have no doubt the players were there wholeheartedly. They weren’t at their best, I think that’s fair to say. Some of them will be looking back on it thinking they could have done a little bit more in certain moments, but they couldn’t have done more in terms of their attitude and the energy and the heart of soul they’ve put into it.

“They gave it their all, which is fundamental to what I want from this team. But we have to learn the lessons from this game and grow from it.”