Burton Albion vs Birmingham City. Sky Bet Championship.
Pirelli StadiumAttendance4,948.
Friday 18 August 2017 22:25, UK
Burton got their first points of the Sky Bet Championship season as they came from behind to beat Birmingham 2-1 on Friday night.
Nigel Clough's side had lost their opening three league games of the 2017/18 campaign, and it looked like another defeat was going to follow when former player Jacques Maghoma put the Blues in front at the Pirelli Stadium.
But Burton fought back in the second half, as goals from Marvin Sordell and Lucas Akins got lifted them from the foot of the table.
Burton started brightly but it was Harry Redknapp's side who took the lead after 29 minutes. Clayton Donaldson started the move, getting down the right before pinging a cross up to the far post, which Lukas Jutkiewicz nodded back down across goal for Maghoma to fire home from close range.
Albion came out of the blocks racing in the second half, though, and they were level within five minutes thanks to a fine solo effort from Sordell. Receiving a pass with his back to goal 20 yards out, the striker turned his man with a fine dragged backheel before firing an unstoppable drive first time past David Stockdale.
And they got a deserved winner after 66 minutes thanks to a fine team move, finished off by Dyer after Lucas Akins had flicked the ball into his path in the box.
Marvin Sordell's moment of magic turned the game on its head after 50 minutes. A stunning goal to level the game brought Burton level and there was only going to be one winner from there.
Nigel Clough: "It's welcome! We're delighted to get the three points and it's good to get off the mark. The fixtures and the games have been tough, we didn't expect to be in too much of a different position than we were before tonight.
"It was also important to get into half-time only 1-0 down, and then liven up and get back to what we're about. For 20 odd minutes in the second half we did just that. And it was a great turn and finish [by Sordell]. Unstoppable."
Harry Redknapp: "We came in at half-time 1-0 up and felt very comfortable. They changed their system and lifted their game and looked a different team, and we struggled to stay with them. It was disappointing in the end. We were in a great position to go and win the game and we couldn't.
"I can only tell the truth, that's nearly all the team that played last year and, no disrespect, they had a fantastic manager in Gianfranco Zola and they won two in 25 odd games. It needs surgery and it's slowly, slowly. By the end of the window you'll see a different Birmingham team, and I think this team will finish in the top six."
Both sides are in Carabao Cup second-round action on Tuesday night, with Burton travelling to Cardiff and Birmingham hosting Premier League Bournemouth.
