Birmingham City’s resilience was once again tested on Easter Monday when they fell behind 1-0 away at Rotherham United.
The Blues stormed back to record a convincing 3-1 win in the end at the New York Stadium which not only handed Birmingham a valuable three points, but also confirmed their Championship survival.
Since a dismal five-match losing streak had threatened Birmingham’s second tier status, Gary Monk’s side have shown their fighting spirit and character amongst the squad as they’ve bounced back with a five match sequence without defeat.
A 1-0 home win over automatic promotion hopefuls, Leeds United started the ball rolling, and along with three draws against 2nd placed Sheffield United as well as stalemates with Ipswich Town and Derby County, Birmingham sealed their survival with a 3-1 win away at relegation threatened Rotherham United.
Although their impressive strike pair of Adams (22 goals) and Jutkiewicz (13 goals) didn’t get on the scoresheet, it was an encouraging sign for Birmingham that the likes of Maghoma (6 goals), Mrbati and Jota provided the goals this time around for The Blues.
Wigan Athletic also confirmed their Championship safety on Easter Monday when they registered a 2-0 home win over Preston North End which followed an impressive 2-1 win away at Elland Road against Leeds United, which was a massive boost for Paul Cook’s side as they can breathe a huge sigh of relief at the DW Stadium.
A solid run of just two defeats out of their last eight matches assisted Wigan in their pursuit to avoid the trap-door, but these were both away from home at Blackburn Rovers and Hull City, with home form being the main catalyst behind their survival.
Indeed, Wigan have put together an impressive nine-match unbeaten sequence at the DW Stadium which includes wins against Aston Villa, QPR, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End as well as five draws, but their results away from home have been woeful throughout the majority of the season.
The visitors have gained just two away wins all season and the recent win at Leeds United ended a dire run of 19 matches on their travels without a win, so it remains to be seen whether The Latics have really turned a corner on the road or not.
Nevertheless, both Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic can now enjoy the final Championship run-in and we could see both teams score here.