Birmingham City came from behind to beat fellow promotion candidates Wrexham 3-1 in a stunning display, with David Beckham, Tom Brady and Rob McElhenney watching from the stands.
There was an intimidating atmosphere at the start of the game but Wrexham quickly silenced the St Andrew’s crowd thanks to the efforts of Jack Marriott, who was retained in the team in place of Paul Mullin due to his scoring form against Shrewsbury.
The striker was the first to react inside the penalty area after Birmingham failed to clear from a set piece, smashing the ball into the bottom corner just three minutes into the game.
Tensions began to rise in the stadium after the opener but Jay Stansfield eased the tension when he rounded a save from Arthur Okonkwo to score the equaliser – his first since his permanent move from Fulham this summer.
It was against the run of play but it certainly fired up Chris Davies’ side and Wyrm Wilmson threatened on goal moments later.
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Jay Stansfield scored a goal to give Birmingham City an equaliser against Wrexham in the first half.
Birmingham picked up where they left off in the second half and their dominance finally paid off when Stansfield scored his second goal of the night with a well-guided header into the far corner.
Davies made two changes to his starting line-up, bringing on Stansfield and Iwata Tomoki, who added a third just after the hour mark with a stunning long-range strike that Beckham himself would be proud of.
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A sensational goal from Tomotaka Iwata on his debut gave Birmingham City a 3-1 lead at the break.
The victory was slightly overshadowed by a late red card for captain Krystian Bielik as the game intensified, but it will not distract fans from the fact that Birmingham’s performance has moved them within the automatic promotion places and they are level on points with leaders Wrexham.
Hollywood arrives at St Andrews as the blue carpet is rolled out
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Check out the best reactions from Brady and Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney as the Blues won 3-1.
The prospect of these two Ligue 1 title contenders going head-to-head was so enticing that even Hollywood couldn’t resist.
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Tom Brady, who owns shares in Birmingham City, spoke to Sky Sports before the match.
Birmingham chairman Tom Wagner, minority shareholder Tom Brady and Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney strolled pitchside before the game and made a fuss with all the media coverage.
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David Beckham, Brady, Rob McElhenney and Gary Neville attended St Andrews.
After scratching arguably the greatest American footballer of all time and Hollywood co-owner of Wrexham off the list, there was just one man fans were desperate to catch a glimpse of.
News of Beckham’s arrival spread among the crowds crowding into the stadium just before kick-off, which arguably added to the party atmosphere.
Beckham and Brady celebrate at St Andrews
Beckham has faced Birmingham twice in his career, with an impressive performance at Old Trafford in the 2002/03 season, when he scored a goal and provided an assist in Manchester United’s 2–0 victory.
Stansfield has already repaid his record transfer fee
Sky Sports Patrick Law:
“Birmingham understandably raised eyebrows when they splashed out more than £15 million to bring former fan favourite Jay Stansfield back to the club after a successful loan spell in the West Midlands last season.
“But he is already proving he is worth the money he is being paid, by putting his team back in the match with a brilliant equaliser and then giving them the lead with a looping header.”
Stansfield admitted in his post-match press conference that despite his strong start to the season, the fee offered by Birmingham was “out of my reach” and that he enjoys the pressure of a transfer fee.
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Birmingham City took a 2-1 lead over Wrexham thanks to a second goal from Stansfield.
“His chairman was in the stands watching his first two goals since his record-breaking transfer fee arrival and he will sleep easy knowing his efforts are already starting to pay off as he guided the team past promotion rivals.”
Davis: His best performance yet
Birmingham boss Chris Davis To Sky Sports:
“I think this was our best performance. We had some bad periods during the game but this was our best performance in a long time.”
“It was a really difficult start. It was the first time we had conceded a goal from a set-piece and we were strong in that area. But the players’ reaction didn’t change at all. It was as if nothing had happened.”
“We played well, we got the ball into good areas well and we made them defend. It was like a wave attack from our point of view. Then in the second half we came out quick and got the second goal, which was really good.”
Parkinson: Mistakes cost Wrexham
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson To Sky Sports:
“I thought we started off great. We scored a goal, we made some good transitions and we held them off really well. They hit the goal with their first shot and got one back.”
“I told the players that we haven’t regressed too much recently in terms of conceding goals, but our reaction to conceding goals has not been what we needed to be. We have conceded goals too easily and too many times.”
“In the second half we sat a little bit too deep and didn’t attack quickly enough and lost two really quality moments.”
