Five-star City EDS beat Birmingham to climb to third in PL2 table

City fought back in style after conceding our first goal in five games when Aurelian Guernier put Birmingham ahead on 15 minutes.

It took Ben Wilkinson’s side just 13 minutes to carve out a response, with Mamad Sangare drawing us level with his 13th goal in all competitions.

Christian McFarlane then gave City the lead on 41 minutes after the England youth international opted for his less favourable right foot which proved just as effective from close range.

Floyd Samba added his name to the scoresheet four minutes later when he tapped home Ryan McAidoo’s dangerous free-kick in what was the perfect response to going a goal behind.

City continued to dominate in the second half with our relentless high press rewarded when Ashton Muir made it four on 72 minutes before a Jack Quirk own goal three minutes later completed what was another dominating performance by our young boys in blue.

With two League Phase games left to play, City climb to third with a well-deserved seventh successive win.

WHAT HAPPENED

Friday night’s trip to Stratford provided a new experience for our EDS in what was our first-ever PL2 meeting with Birmingham City.

And the hosts were out cause a shock, taking the lead on 15 minutes when a long ball  sent Caleb Sanders sprinting down the right wing before he fired a low cross into the City box. Guernier was perfectly placed near the penalty spot to guide a first-time finish past Spike Brits with what was their first shot on target.

City continued to dominate possession, and despite Birmingham’s best efforts, they wouldn’t be able to keep the league’s top scorers at bay for long.

On 28 minutes, Mamad Sangare tapped home Ashton Muir’s rebound, after the latter’s fierce effort was denied by the body of Birmingham goalkeeper William O’Sullivan.

From there, City took a firm hold of the game.

A quick break from our half needed just 11 seconds before McFarlane was teed up beautifully by Reigan Heskey to allow the full-back to place a right-footed effort into the far corner.

And our final act of the half saw Floyd Samba track McAidoo’s free-kick from the right perfectly. Unmarked at the back post, Samba snuck the ball through ‘keeper O’Sullivan’s legs to give City a deserved two-goal buffer.

The game continued to have great energy and pace to it. And this time it saw a double save by Brits just after the hour to deny Alezandro Da Silva and Sanders from sparking a potential comeback for the hosts.

McAidoo rattled the left post with a curling effort from the right on 69 minutes as City continued to catch Birmingham out with a high press in search of more goals.

And it would pay dividends when we finally found a fourth with less than 20 to play.

A brilliant solo goal by Muir began with the number 10 winning the ball in Birmingham’s half. He sprinted goal bound but was quickly met by the outrunning O’Sullivan.

The Birmingham goalkeeper did well to smother the initial shot from Muir, but he fired the rebound into the top right corner.

A mix-up at the back for Birmingham, forced by Kian Noble’s ball over the top, saw Jack Quirk misplace his header back to ‘O’Sullivan out of his keepers reach as the ball slowly rolled over the goalline for City’s fifth of the evening.

Substitute Tyrone Samba almost got his first PL2 goal with a fierce effort from inside the Birmingham box, but City’s final shot on target of the night was palmed away by O’Sullivan.

The seventh successive PL2 win means City now climb to third in the table with games against Derby County and Norwich left to play before the play-offs begin.

HOW WE LINED UP

BIRMINGHAM CITY XI | O’Sullivan, Thompson-Jones (Drammeh 83’), Quirk, Burrell, Briscoe (Ranson 83’), Eubank, Da Silva (Reilly 83’), Betteka, Guernier (Degtiarev 83’), Sanders, Ahmed.

SUBS | Terenowicz.  

CITY XI | Brits, Nfonkeu (T. Samba 78’), H. Parker (Braithwaite 46’), Noble, McFarlane, Dada-Mascoll (Fapetu 77’), McAidoo (Henderson-Hall 70’), F. Samba, Sangare, Muir, R. Heskey.

SUBS | Hudson.  

AS A RESULT

City climb to third in the table, three points behind second-place Manchester United, with two games left to play.

UP NEXT

When City return from the March international break, City’s EDS will hit the road once again as we face Derby County in our final away game of the 2025/26 League Phase.

We travel to the Rams on Friday 3 April, with kick-off set for 19:00 (UK).

The game will be available to watch live on mancity.com and the Official Man City App for fans with a CITY+ subscription.