Gary Rowett shares what officials stated about the ‘critical moment’ in Birmingham City’s defeat to Leicester

Gary Rowett has no complaints about Birmingham City’s defeat to Premier League contenders Leicester City, but he was frustrated that two disputed first-half decisions went against his team.

The Blues fell into the relegation zone for the first time this season after losing 2-1 at Leicester. Huddersfield Town defeated Millwall in the 94th minute to leapfrog the Blues, who lost to Stephy Mavididi’s late header at the King Power Stadium.

Rowett lauded Leicester’s brilliance in his post-match press conference before noting that two decisions went against the Blues in the first half. The interim Blues manager pointed out that Patson Daka was offside when he set up Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for Leicester’s first, and that Wout Faes should have been sent off for a last-man foul on Jay Stansfield.

“The first one is offside,” explained Rowett. “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 of the box, 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.”

Blues were on the verge of a point when Mavididi slipped in at the back post with three minutes remaining in normal time. Mavididi’s goal put the Foxes back on top of the Championship table.

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.”