Chris Davies has taken responsibility for Birmingham City conceding a rare goal trying to play out from the back.
Blues got themselves in a muddle at the back and Tomoki Iwata ended up inadvertently putting through his own net to give Northampton the lead in their 1-1 draw on Saturday. Keshi Anderson equalised on the stroke of half-time to ensure Blues left Sixfields with a share of the spoils.
It was the first goal Blues have conceded as a result of playing out unsuccessfully since Ryan Allsop replaced Bailey Peacock-Farrell in goal in October.
Davies believes Iwata’s error was down to a combination of Blues insisting on playing out to their left to target Cameron McGeehan and the bobbling pitch at Sixfields – but he absolved his players of any blame.
He said: “We had an advantage on the left side against McGeehan and we couldn’t quite exploit it. We tried something quite intricate that maybe wasn’t necessary and we’ve paid the price.
“The pitch plays a big part in that because on our pitch that process would happen more smoothly.
“I’m quick to say to the players and I’ll say it publicly: I take responsibility for these types of errors. Players could just boot the ball up the pitch every time they get it.
“I want us to play sensibly, I don’t want us to be gung-ho and start taking ridiculous risks all the time but that is part of how we play in terms of our build-up and it’s worked well for us so far.”
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