Birmingham beats Wrexham in Hollywood battle
Birmingham denied Wrexham the chance to go outright top of League One with a 3-1 win at St Andrew's in front of a galaxy of stars, including Blues part-owner Tom Brady, his mate David Beckham, and Wrexham part-owner Rob McElhenney.
Jay Stansfield struck either side of half-time to give 10-man Birimingham a huge 3-1 victory over fellow League One promotion hopeful Wrexham.
A game dubbed the 'Hollywood derby' was given a blockbuster start when Jack Marriot smashed home the opening goal for the visitor with just two minutes on the clock.
But Birmingham's £10million recruit Stansfield soon levelled the scores, being the first to react to Alfie May's effort that was parried into his path by Arthur Okonkwo.
The hosts then took hold of the encounter as May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman went close, but the game entered the break finely poised at St. Andrew's.
However, Blues' dominance prevailed seven minutes after the restart with Stansfield's header picking out the far corner following Alex Cochrane's pinpoint cross.
The points were sealed just before the hour-mark in stunning fashion as Tomoki Iwata's strike from distance smashed in off the post, much to the delight of minority owner Tom Brady in the stands.
A feisty conclusion to proceedings saw Chris Davies's side end the game with a man less after Krystian Bielik was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Andrew Cannon, but Birmingham was able to hold on for the win.
Much was made of Birmingham's approach to the transfer window after spending £25m in its attempts to return the Championship at the first time of asking, but its biggest investment proved his worth.
Stansfield notchd his first two goals for the club since his permanent switch from Fulham, but the Blues striker also played a starring role in the encounter.
He registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Birmingham's 1.3 total, while he also produced more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (six) than any other player.
