Peterborough United vs Birmingham City. Sky Bet League One.
Weston Homes StadiumAttendance10,640.
Peterborough United 1
- K Poku (22nd minute)
Birmingham City 2
- A May (19th minute)
- T Gardner-Hickman (37th minute)
Peterborough 1-2 Birmingham: Taylor Gardner-Hickman winner seals automatic promotion for Blues
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet League One match between Peterborough United and Birmingham City at the Weston Homes Stadium on Tuesday night; Chris Davies' Blues secure automatic promotion with six games still to play
Tuesday 8 April 2025 23:23, UK
Birmingham secured promotion from League One with six games to spare by defeating Peterborough 2-1 at the Weston Homes Stadium.
Goals from Alfie May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman earned an immediate return to the Championship for the runaway leaders in what was a dress rehearsal of Sunday's Vertu Trophy final between the two sides.
Birmingham broke through in the 19th minute when May's header from Gardner-Hickman's inviting cross found the net via the underside of the crossbar.
- Birmingham promoted back to the Sky Bet Championship
- How Birmingham blew away League One - and have bigger plans
- All you need to know - Streaming Sky Sports with NOW | Get Sky Sports
- Download the Sky Sports App to watch every Sky Sports+ game
Peterborough were level just three minutes later when Kwame Poku lashed in after Harley Mills' corner was not cleared by the visitors.
This did not faze the Blues, who regained the lead after 37 minutes when Marc Leonard found Gardner-Hickman in space to his left and his shot squeezed in under the arm of Posh goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic.
Peterborough almost equalised again on the hour when Ryan Allsop kept out Malik Mothersille's shot and the Birmingham goalkeeper also had to save Sam Hughes' header to ensure his side secured the win to go up.
Davies praises Birmingham for dealing with pressure
Birmingham head coach Chris Davies praised his players for dealing with the pressure placed on them this season after they secured promotion from Sky Bet League One.
The Blues' budget - the biggest in the division - meant they were favourites from the start of the campaign, but they have lived up to their billing by sealing a return to the Championship with six games to spare.
After defeating opponents they will face in the Vertu Trophy final on Sunday, Birmingham's players were able to celebrate going up with their supporters, who just under a year ago had to deal with the trauma of relegation.
Davies said: "They've been amazing. We've put a team together from scratch, really - there were six or seven who stayed, but there were 17 new players.
"I coach them but I don't overbear them, I let them gel and they've come together so well.
"They get on well, they've got a great spirit, but we signed good characters.
"For too long this club had players that weren't the right character - they would let the club down, basically.
"But whether we win, lose or draw, you'll always see a team that's fighting and that's what the fans ultimately want from their club and we've got that from this group of players.
"They've been exceptional because, don't forget, every single game this season, home or away, they've been expected to win.
"There's no team in the land that has had to deal with that every single week, we have and they've dealt with that brilliantly."
