Birmingham City FC concluded their pre-season campaign with a well-earned victory over Premier League visitors Nottingham Forest thanks to a first-half strike from Jay Stansfield.
The fixture, at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, carried emotional weight as both clubs came together before kick-off to honour the life and legacy of Birmingham football icon Trevor Francis with a minute’s applause.
Backed by a vibrant crowd and in blazing summer sunshine, the Blues started the afternoon brightly. Keshi Anderson’s surging run and delivery into the box created an early chance for Stansfield, before the striker made good on his promise moments later – firing home from the edge of the area to give the hosts a deserved lead.
Forest responded with spells of possession and late pressure, but Ryan Allsop remained resolute between the sticks, with critical saves of efforts from Morgan Gibbs-White, Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi keeping the scoreline intact.
The friendly fixture saw widespread second-half substitutions from both teams, offering squad depth a run-out ahead of next week’s competitive action.
Birmingham City’s Championship opener is against Ipswich Town next weekend
