Phil Neumann scored the only goal of the game as Birmingham City defeated Preston North End at Deepdale
Birmingham City reporter for BirminghamLive and the Birmingham Mail
Phil Neumann of Birmingham City F.C. celebrates scoring
Birmingham City halted their winless run in the Championship by ending Preston North End’s unbeaten record at Deepdale.
German defender Phil Neumann’s first goal for Blues settled the contest and handed his team their second victory since August.
For the second time in a month, Chris Davies had to make a last-minute change to his line-up.
Patrick Roberts pulled up at the end of Blues’ warm up and Bright Osayi-Samuel was drafted in.
Osayi-Samuel won’t be starting the next match after picking up his fifth booking of the season 12 minutes into the match for a trip on Daniel Jebbison.
Blues worked their way into the half after coping with Preston’s early aerial onslaught before breaking their duck at set pieces.
A wicked left-wing free-kick by Alex Cochrane was met powerfully by the head of Neumann at the near post and North End goalkeeper Daniel Iversen watched the ball fly past him.
Fearing their unbeaten home record was under serious threat, Preston looked shaken and Blues almost scored again within a minute.
Jay Stansfield got in behind Preston’s back-line to tee up Lewis Koumas and his placed finish beat Iversen only for Lewis Gibson to prevent the ball from crossing the line.
Preston responded towards the end of the half with Jordan Storey and Ben Whiteman working James Beadle. The goalkeeper comfortably saved Storey’s header but he shifted his feet really smartly to tip Whiteman’s free-kick around the post.
Stansfield’s threat increased when Preston started piling forward in the second half, leaving space for the striker in behind.
A corner won by Stansfield was delivered into a dangerous area by Cochrane and Tomoki Iwata glanced a header off the post just after the hour mark.
Preston rallied with 20 minutes to play and almost levelled through Jebbison. The striker beat Beadle to the ball on the right and would have scored but for a superb block by Neumann on the goal-line.
In an attempt to shore things up at the back, Davies switched to a back five by bringing on Eiran Cashin to play alongside Christoph Klarer and Neumann. Lyndon Dykes was also added to the equation to beef Blues up on set pieces.
There was a heart-in-mouth moment in the final minute of normal time when Lewis Dobbin went down under a challenge from Cashin inside the box.
Referee Lewis Smith waved Preston’s appeals for a penalty away to infuriate the home crowd and ensure Blues travelled back down the M6 with a hard-earned three points.
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James Beadle 8
Beadle produced a really composed performance at Deepdale. Not only did the young goalkeeper make saves to keep his first clean sheet for Blues, he showed quality with the ball at his feet and dug Neumann out of a hole early in the second half. Neumann returned the favour on the one occasion Beadle was outwitted by Jebbison.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 6.5
The right-back was drafted into the XI minutes before kick-off and didn’t let anyone down. A harsh booking rules him out of the trip to Bristol City on Saturday.
Phil Neumann 9*
A top-class performance on his first appearance in over a month. Neumann marked the night with his first goal for Blues and made a goal-saving intervention in the second half. This was the type of defensive performance Blues have been crying out for.
Phil Neumann of Birmingham City scores
Christoph Klarer 9
The captain threw himself in the way of absolutely everything and took a whack to the head for his troubles in the first half. That didn’t stop Klarer who continued to dominate in Blues’ box until the end.
Alex Cochrane 8
Cochrane’s deliveries at Deepdale were sublime. One was headed in by Neumann and another was almost scored by Iwata. Defensively, the left-back was very good and his use of the ball was top notch.
Tomoki Iwata 8
The way Iwata has adapted to multiple positions in the last three games should be lauded. A late shift of position didn’t hinder Iwata at Deepdale and he slotted in at right-back to close the game out.
Tommy Doyle 7.5
There was a 10-minute spell in the second half when Doyle really got into his flow and had Blues ticking. He was pretty good before then and battled away out of possession to earn his right to play.
Paik Seung-ho 7
The way Paik let the ball skim off the top of his left foot to move it around the corner to Stansfield at one stage in the second half was delightful. Paik didn’t rush in possession, taking time and care to find the right pass.
Lewis Koumas 6.5
Koumas was a willing runner, even when he wasn’t given much hope by his teammates. The winger was unfortunate not to score his first Blues goal in the first half.
Keshi Anderson 6.5
Anderson gave Cochrane ample protection for 60-odd minutes and he carried the ball well in the first half.
Jay Stansfield 8
What an effort by the striker. The chances didn’t come for Stansfield but his running power carried Blues forward in the second half. Intelligent play could have resulted in an assist for Koumas in the first half, too.
SUBS
Demarai Gray (for Koumas, 55) 5.5
Some of Gray’s ball carries relieved pressure but he played Cashin into a whole load of trouble in stoppage time.
Marc Leonard (for Osayi-Samuel, 55) 7
There were some lovely first-time passes from Leonard whose introduction helped Blues seize control for a spell after half-time. The Scot battled away late on.
Eiran Cashin (for Doyle, 69) 6
A morale-boosting cameo for Cashin who slotted in alongside Klarer and Neumann to see the game out. One interception before winning a free-kick late on endeared him to the Blues fans in the away end.
Lyndon Dykes (for Anderson, 69) 6
Dykes could have taken more care with one release to Stansfield with Blues in a good counter-attacking position. He was brought on to hold the ball and he didn’t do a bad job of that.
Alfons Sampsted (for Stansfield, 85) N/A
Not used: Allsop, Fujimoto, Kyogo, Isichei
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