Birmingham manager Gary Rowett gives Leicester City a red card and disallows goal claims

Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett did not protest Leicester City’s win over his relegation rivals, but he did question two first-half rulings.

Stephy Mavididi’s 87th-minute winner broke the Blues’ fight and sent them into the relegation zone. The three points put City on top, with Ipswich losing to Norwich earlier in the day and Leeds losing down the road at Coventry.

However, Rowett believed City’s first goal should not have stood and that they should have been reduced to ten men. He thought Patson Daka was offside before passing the ball to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and that Wout Faes should have been sent off for a last-man foul on Jay Stansfield.

“The first one is offside,” Rowett explained in his post-match press conference. “I rewatched it, and it is clearly offside. Daka is standing in an offside position, while the player on the floor toes towards him. I was slightly disappointed that they didn’t notice that. Leicester had other opportunities, and I’m not saying that was a defining moment.

“I thought Jay Stansfield, when Faes brought him down in the middle, there was no cover. I was told that the attacking position wasn’t clear enough. I’m not sure what that implies, because I thought that was a significant occasion. To me, that’s probably a red card.

“I’m not going to complain about these things and blame them for our loss. We haven’t drawn or won the game because Leicester are a very, very good team with very talented players and a very well-structured squad.”

For the majority of the second half, Birmingham kept City from creating chances. But they dug deeper, and City increased the pressure, which eventually paid off as time passed.

Former City fullback Rowett added: “It was difficult to take at the end when you got to that point, but Leicester are a really excellent team who play with amazing width and enthusiasm. They make the pitch so large, and they keep running through those areas, opening you up. I thought there were times where we had to defend last-ditch, and there were a handful of instances where you thought we did well to keep them at away.

“I thought there were a lot of good things and diligent things around the performance. There is a chance for you to take a point out of the game, whether you deserve it or not.”