Birmingham received an inspirational pep talk from NFL great Tom Brady before a last-gasp victory against Leeds that boss John Eustace dedicated to the late Trevor Francis.
A sold-out St Andrew’s celebrated the club’s greatest ever player and an exciting future under new ownership as Daniel Farke’s relegated side came to the second city.
It is a month since American businessman Tom Wagner completed his takeover at Birmingham, who nine days ago saw seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady join as minority owner.
The former NFL star enjoyed a memorable first trip to St Andrew’s, visiting a local pub before meeting the players and watching a 1-0 stoppage-time win.
“The new owners came into the dressing room just as I was coming out and congratulated the lads,” Blues boss Eustace said. “It’s great to see Tom Brady in there as well.
“Tom spoke to the group before our meeting today, so that is great to have one of the most famous sporting people in the world come down and chat to the group.
“They were all very excited to listen to him and he gave us some real good words of advice.
“I think you can see today his presence at the club (is a benefit), the vision that he’s got for the football club is amazing.
“He wants this football club to be a world brand, he wants this Birmingham City family now all over the world, which is what we all want.
“We want this magnificent football club to grow and get better and be known all around the world.
“We’ve got a great person to come in and do that.”
Substitute Lukas Jutkiewicz’s stoppage-time penalty was the difference at the end of a tense match that began with a heartfelt tribute to Birmingham great Francis following his death in July.
“I’m delighted with the performance for the whole game,” Eustace said. “We dedicate that winner to Trevor Francis and his family. I think it marked a real special occasion.
“The boys today were outstanding with and without the ball.
“Tactically you have to be spot on against an excellent Leeds team and I think the level of concentration and the way the boys went about their business today was superb.”
Leeds counterpart Daniel Farke felt like a point would have been deserved from Saturday’s performance at St Andrew’s where the relegated side’s shortcomings were obvious.
“(This job) is exactly what I would have expected because I have been in the situation before,” the Leeds boss said.
“I know after relegation it’s never easy for the club. There is a hangover.
“It’s more like you’re getting used to having disappointing results (when relegated), there’s always question marks especially in the first transfer window.
“What makes it a bit different is the situation with the contract. We spoke quite openly about it, that there are exit clauses that makes the situation obviously also quite difficult.
“But I knew this before and, yeah, my decision for this massive club was really with full commitment and also totally convinced that we can lead the club in the middle and long term to success.
“We knew that the start would be bumpy and would be tricky and it’s not the easiest shop at the moment, but I mentioned before if it would be it would be easy everyone could do this and it wouldn’t be that much fun to turn our fate around.
“I know that it’s a hell of a task. I said this even in my first press conference and especially during August we have to be a bit patient.”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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