Luke Turner’s thoughts on last nights impressive victory…
Blues claimed a huge three points as they put in an outstanding performance to defeat automatic promotion chasing Hull City 1-0 at St Andrews.
Rowett made a couple of changes to the side that lost at Queens Park Rangers on the weekend with Paul Caddis and Jon Toral returning to the starting line up.
Those changes paid off as Toral put in a man of the match performance and grabbed the only goal of the game with a deflected effort after a smart turn.
Throughout the whole game, Blues worked extremely hard as a team and were impressive on the attack in the first half.
We could and perhaps should’ve scored a second in that first period as Clayton Donaldson saw an unbelievable overhead kick tipped over the bar and Toral had a header go narrowly wide.
Toral was at the centre of everything we did well, picking up the ball in little pockets and using it wisely.
We rode our luck a few times when Hull hit the woodwork twice and could’ve had a penalty after the ball struck Paul Robinson on the arm but I think we deserved that as a result of the way we defended manfully.
We limited Hull to having even more opportunities due to our solid shape and the quick rate at which we closed down, putting bodies on the line.
Maikel Kieftenbeld and Donaldson were both constant menaces, chasing down every lose ball and taking the pressure off their teammates.
Both full backs, Caddis and Grounds, coped very well against two quality wingers and Jacques Maghoma did a lot of work without the ball to support his left back.
Michael Morrison and Paul Robinson led from the back and stepped up right when we needed them, both making crucial blocks to preserve the lead when it looked like Blues might finally cave in.
Behind them, Tomasz Kuszczak was virtually unbeatable as he made numerous vital saves which included two consecutive ones that left the whole ground on their feet saluting the man from Poland.
For me, it was our best performance of the season and for it to come against possibly the best side in the division, at this stage of the season, speak volumes of what the squad believe they can achieve.
We must now take huge confidence from that win and head into the game on Tuesday against Blackburn Rovers looking for another three points.