Birmingham City promoted to the Championship
Peterborough United 1 - 2 Birmingham City
Birmingham City have secured an immediate return to the Championship, wrapping up promotion from League One with six matches still to play following a hard-fought win away at Peterborough.
Stadium - London Road
Alfie May gave the visitors the lead, nodding in from a fine Taylor Gardner-Hickman cross, only for Kwame Poku to level the score just three minutes later with a powerful strike from the edge of the box after a corner wasn't properly cleared.
Gardner-Hickman had the final word before the break, drilling home what proved to be the winner after latching onto Marc Leonard’s pass and finishing smartly beneath Posh keeper Nicholas Bilokapic.
It was a result that confirmed the Blues' dominance of the division. Relegated last season and bolstered by significant investment, Birmingham have set the pace throughout the campaign under new manager Chris Davies, who is enjoying a remarkable debut year in the dugout.
READ MORE: Birmingham's journey back to the Championship
They now sit 14 points clear of second-placed Wrexham and are out of reach of third-placed Wycombe.
Their next aim for the season will be go clinch the League One title and really finish this season on a high.
Away end reaction to a memorable night
The away end at London Road was in full voice, with fans savouring a performance that summed up a season of control, consistency and no shortage of quality.
One Birmingham fan told us: "A memorable night. Now let's go and win the title. Everyone associated with the club deserves that."
How did this club bounce back to the second tier?
Rather than opting for another big name or a manager with a glittering CV, Birmingham took a different route by appointing the relatively unknown Davies.
At 40, Davies arrived with no first-team managerial experience but brought a wealth of coaching pedigree. He had served under Brendan Rodgers during spells at Swansea, Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester, before working more recently with Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham.
The club has undeniably invested heavily in its bid to bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking, outspending even high-profile rivals at this level, including Wrexham.
Their summer spending is thought to have exceeded £25 million, bringing in 17 new signings. Seven-figure fees were paid for the likes of Emil Hansson, Ayumu Yokoyama, Alex Cochrane and Lyndon Dykes.
They came close to breaking the League One transfer record twice with the acquisitions of Christoph Klarer and Willum Willumsson, both costing around £4 million, before finally doing so on deadline day.
The marquee signing was striker Jay Stansfield, who arrived from Fulham for a staggering eight-figure fee. The deal comfortably eclipsed the £4 million Sunderland paid Wigan for Will Grigg back in 2019.
As one fan put it: “The club's been through some tough times over the years. But it’s starting to feel like we’re on the way back. These players, they’re our new heroes.”
