Championship
BirminghamBirmingham City2BlackburnBlackburn Rovers2

Birmingham City 2-2 Blackburn Rovers: Che Adams reaches 21 goals for the season

Che Adams
Che Adams has reached 20 league goals in a season for the first time in his career

Che Adams scored his 20th and 21st Championship goals of the season as Birmingham City came back to draw against Blackburn Rovers.

Blues, beaten at home by Bolton Wanderers in their previous match, went ahead through Adams' low strike before half-time.

Charlie Mulgrew levelled shortly after the break when he scored direct from a corner - the third time the Rovers captain has done so this season.

Danny Graham's deflected strike put Blackburn 2-1 up with eight minutes to go, but Adams equalised from a tight angle to earn a point for Garry Monk's side.

Former Sheffield United striker Adams, linked with a move away from St Andrew's in January, has now scored 10 goals in his past eight league games.

And his brace ensured Birmingham remain in the race for the play-offs, now six points behind sixth-placed Bristol City.

Blackburn are also an outside bet to finish in the top six, but Tony Mowbray will be frustrated his team were unable to hold on having come from behind to lead.

Rovers had been on a torrid run prior to Saturday's contest, losing four Championship games in a row.

Birmingham City manager Garry Monk told BBC Radio WM:

"Today is another lesson. I said to the players at the end, when you're dominant, an opposition should have to do something special to take the initiative back. But we handed it to them.

"We stepped off for some reason, and gave them belief. That's a mistake from us, and one that cost us the three points.

"It's good that you have lessons to learn. If we want to progress, we have to understand that the next time we have a team by the throat, we have to go even harder.

"But credit to the players that after going 2-1 down, we still came away with the point."

Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"The frustration in the dressing room is there to feel. You can almost cut it. The first twenty minutes was unacceptable- [there was] a fear in the team, [from] losing four games on the bounce. Nobody pressed the ball. Nobody was on the front foot.

"I want to get to stage where I don't have to get off the bench and shout like an idiot at them, but it took that today to get people forward and winning balls in midfield and looking like they could hurt the opposition.

"I thought for the last twenty minutes of the first half we did that, and we put them on the back foot."

Line-ups

Birmingham

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1Camp
  • 5Colin
  • 28Morrison
  • 12Dean
  • 3Pedersen
  • 23JotaSubstituted forMahoneyat 70'minutes
  • 6Kieftenbeld
  • 20Gardner
  • 19MaghomaSubstituted forMrabtiat 57'minutes
  • 9Adams
  • 10JutkiewiczSubstituted forVassellat 77'minutes

Substitutes

  • 7Mahoney
  • 8Gardner
  • 11Vassell
  • 18Mrabti
  • 26Davis
  • 27Trueman
  • 45Harding

Blackburn

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Raya
  • 2Nyambe
  • 14MulgrewBooked at 46mins
  • 5Rodwell
  • 17Bell
  • 6SmallwoodBooked at 86mins
  • 27Travis
  • 4ReedSubstituted forA Armstrongat 67'minutes
  • 23Dack
  • 31Bennett
  • 10Graham

Substitutes

  • 7A Armstrong
  • 8Rothwell
  • 13Leutwiler
  • 19Brereton
  • 24Nuttall
  • 29Evans
  • 32Conway
Referee:
Peter Bankes
Attendance:
21,869

Match Stats

Home TeamBirminghamAway TeamBlackburn
Possession
Home51%
Away49%
Shots
Home16
Away6
Shots on Target
Home7
Away3
Corners
Home8
Away3
Fouls
Home11
Away18

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Birmingham City 2, Blackburn Rovers 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Birmingham City 2, Blackburn Rovers 2.

  3. Post update

    Gary Gardner (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  4. Post update

    Foul by Richard Smallwood (Blackburn Rovers).

  5. Post update

    Foul by Kerim Mrabti (Birmingham City).

  6. Post update

    Amari'i Bell (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  7. Post update

    Attempt missed. Bradley Dack (Blackburn Rovers) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Adam Armstrong.

  8. Post update

    Maxime Colin (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Richard Smallwood (Blackburn Rovers).

  10. Post update

    Attempt missed. Isaac Vassell (Birmingham City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the left. Assisted by Kerim Mrabti with a cross following a corner.

  11. Post update

    Corner, Birmingham City. Conceded by David Raya Martin.

  12. Post update

    Attempt saved. Gary Gardner (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.

  13. Booking

    Richard Smallwood (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  14. Post update

    Foul by Richard Smallwood (Blackburn Rovers).

  15. Post update

    Maikel Kieftenbeld (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  16. Goal!

    Goal! Birmingham City 2, Blackburn Rovers 2. Che Adams (Birmingham City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Maxime Colin with a through ball.

  17. Goal!

    Goal! Birmingham City 1, Blackburn Rovers 2. Danny Graham (Blackburn Rovers) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom left corner.

  18. Post update

    Attempt missed. Connor Mahoney (Birmingham City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Adam Armstrong (Blackburn Rovers).

  20. Post update

    Isaac Vassell (Birmingham City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Norwich34199668442466
2Sheff Utd34197859342564
3Leeds33197755371864
4West Brom34179867432460
5Middlesbrough331512638241457
6Bristol City3215894233953
7Derby3214994337651
8Birmingham33111485142947
9Nottm Forest33111484638847
10Preston341211115348547
11Aston Villa34101595753445
12Swansea33128134342144
13Hull33128134647-144
14Blackburn341111124552-744
15Sheff Wed331111113948-944
16Brentford3211101155441143
17Stoke34914113542-741
18QPR33116164152-1139
19Wigan3398163347-1435
20Millwall33810153648-1234
21Reading34612163550-1530
22Rotherham34515143454-2030
23Bolton3468202253-3126
24Ipswich34312192657-3121
View full Championship table

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