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Chris Davies opens up on Jay Stansfield chat as Birmingham City star shines bright on emotional day

Chris Davies,
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s mindset after the forward converted a late penalty to seal Birmingham City’s victory on what was a poignant night for the 22-year-old.

Stansfield, who was asked to play on the left rather than as Blues’ central striker, was making a first return to Exeter City, the club where he not only came through the youth set-up – but for whom his father Adam played before he passed away at the age of 31.

Indeed Adam’s part in Grecians’ folklore is recognised by the stand named in his honour and while his son was clapped on to and off from the pitch by both sets of supporters, when it came to taking care of business, he was nerveless.

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Davies was not surprised. “I don't think there's many people in the world that probably know exactly how Jay feels right now or felt on that pitch. So, credit to him, he didn't let it affect him at all in terms of he's very focused, he gave a really diligent performance, showed his quality and scored a goal, he's a goal scorer. I'm sure his family would be very proud of him.

“I didn’t have any worries about him taking it in the moment because I know with Jay he takes everything in his stride really well, to be honest. I spoke to him leading into the game about everything and he was in good mindset and really looking forward to it.

“When that penalty gets given, you can see his eyes light up because he sees there's another goal for him.”

Davies was pleased with his team’s display as they bounced back from the 3-2 loss at Shrewsbury on Saturday to secure a commanding 2-0 win.

“I was really, really happy with the performance. I thought it was one of the best performances of the season, obviously we knew we had to react and challenge the players to make sure that there was a reaction from a really disappointing day on the weekend and to a man, every single one of them reacted.

“I thought we looked like a real proper team out there gave very little away. I think they had two touches inside our box, the whole entire game. We created numerous chances for the possession we did have and we scored two good goals.”

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