Birmingham City crushed by dramatic 4-3 defeat to Southampton

BirminghamWorld reporter Charlie Haffenden reacts to Birmingham City 3-4 Southampton in the Sky Bet Championship.

Transcript

00:00 Birmingham City are now just one goal difference above the Skybet Championship relegation zone

00:06 following a 4-3 defeat to Southampton here at St Andrews at Nighthead Park.

00:11 A seven goal thriller, one that Blues started very well.

00:14 Koji Miyoshi scored in the second minute, Juninho Bacuna hit the post in the fifth minute.

00:19 Could have potentially been 2-0 at that point, just one.

00:22 But in the 18th minute, Southampton struck back through Adam Armstrong

00:27 and they were relentlessly attacking throughout that first half.

00:30 Russell Martins team hit the woodwork twice, maybe even three times if memory fails me.

00:35 They had multiple shots on target, ones you'd expect John Ruddy to save

00:39 but nonetheless they were just peppering the Blues net.

00:43 Somehow though, Jay Stansfield put Birmingham in front just before half-time

00:47 firing a fantastic finish into the roof of the Southampton net.

00:52 Dion Sanderson's long pass went over the top, Jan Bederek couldn't deal with it.

00:56 Stansfield still had a lot to do though, taking it into his path before zipping the ball into the net.

01:02 2-1 at half-time then, Birmingham thinking 'how on earth are we ahead here?'

01:06 Unfortunately that hope didn't continue for much of the second half.

01:10 Southampton scored twice before the 60th minute to make it 3-2, got themselves in the lead.

01:17 Before Dion Sanderson, Birmingham's captain, got sent off.

01:20 A very controversial red card this one.

01:22 He did catch Will Smallbone, a Southampton midfielder, quite high, just below the knee with his studs.

01:29 But as I said, it was a catch, it wasn't a brutal tackle, there was no real intent there.

01:35 He just missed the ball and glanced Smallbone on his knee.

01:39 Sent off for it though, a very controversial decision, one that as you can imagine was not well received here at St Andrews.

01:45 It's one that wasn't received well either by Mark Venus, the assistant manager, or Janinho Bacuna

01:50 when he spoke to us in the press room after the match.

01:53 A terrible decision, one that let Southampton, well they should have gone away with it really at that point,

01:58 gone to win 4-2 or 5-2.

02:02 But Birmingham got a goal, Janinho Bacuna, the man I just spoke about,

02:05 in the right place at the right time to tap home after Stansfield hit the post.

02:10 3-3 then, heading into the 90th minute and into added time.

02:13 Birmingham thinking they've got a very well-earned point here, even though Southampton peppered them.

02:19 But no, Southampton, as quality as they are in promotion, chasing,

02:24 they got their goal in the 95th or maybe even 96th minute.

02:28 Joe Eribo off the bench, scoring very dramatically, incredibly late,

02:32 to send the away support into raptures.

02:34 Heartbreaking defeat for Birmingham.

02:36 Deserved, yes, I know that, but the nature of it, to lose in the 95th or 96th minute

02:42 after going down to 10 men so unfairly, that's a brutal one.

02:46 And it leaves them just one goal difference above Stoke City in the Championship relegation zone.