Lee Bowyer salutes fit-again stars as Birmingham see off Bristol City

Lee Bowyer hailed the return from injury of Tahith Chong and Marc Roberts as key to Birmingham’s impressive display in their 2-1 win at Bristol City.

The visitors got off to a flying start and were in front inside two minutes, Manchester United loanee Chong sending a low right-footed shot past Dan Bentley from a narrow angle.

It was two after 13 minutes as Jordan Graham’s corner from the left was met by Nico Gordon’s well-directed header.

The hosts hit back three minutes after the break when Alex Scott converted a Jay Dasilva cross from the left from close range, but Birmingham finished the game strongly to leave boss Bowyer delighted by a strong performance.

He said: “It just shows what sort of season we might have had without all the injuries.

“We are a good side, but we have not been able to show it often enough because of all the team changes. That drives me crazy.

“Tahith has been out for four-and-half months. He was our most creative player before his injury and today, despite being rusty, he has scored and played well.

“Marc Roberts has also missed a lot of games and he was huge for us defending balls into our box.

“Lyle Taylor made a difference, returning up front, and Nico Gordon, who has also had fitness problems, got himself a goal.

“It was about time we started a game quickly and I felt we caught them by surprise early on.

“Whenever we won the ball, I felt as though we were going to score on the break, with our pace.

“If I have a small criticism, it is that we should have scored more, especially in the first half. At the end their keeper has made two great saves from Juninho Bacuna.

“Overall, I am very pleased, just frustrated at what we might have achieved with a fully-fit squad.”

It was a tough afternoon