Birmingham City confirm big feat in wake of Bristol Rovers victory | OneFootball

Blues took another giant stride towards promotion at the Memorial Stadium

Birmingham City's superb season in League One continued with a hard-fought success against relegation-threatened Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night.

Despite being somewhat under the cosh for periods of their 38th League One game of the season, a stunning strike from Keshi Anderson inside three minutes and Jay Stansfield's penalty five minutes from time saw Blues edge out Inigo Calderon's side, who levelled the scores after 19 minutes through Gatlin O'Donkor.

Much has been made of the resources at Birmingham's disposal in what is set to be just a one-season stint back in the third tier, just like Barry Fry's team of 1994/95, but a largely frustrating night against the Gas turned into a rather jubilant one for Bluenoses, who saw Chris Davies' side reinstate an 11-point buffer over nearest challengers, Wrexham and a 14-point difference ahead of third-placed Wycombe Wanderers.

And, heading into Saturday's clash with an out-of-form Barnsley side at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, the midweek victory saw Davies unlock a handful of achievements in what was his 51st game in charge.

Birmingham City confirm big feat with success over Bristol Rovers

Not only did Tuesday's narrow victory confirm a first league double over the Gas for the West Midlands side, it mathematically confirmed a spot in the top six with eight matches left to play - not that many Blues supporters or onlookers felt like the side would slip out of the play-off places, having not been lower than 12th all season, which came after the opening day draw with Reading in B9.

However, back-to-back victories against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday by a dominant 4-1 scoreline and the midweek success ensured that the Royals, who currently sit in seventh amid continued uncertainty regarding the long-term future of the club, cannot mathematically reach the league leaders' current point haul of 89, which also equals a club-record tally set 30 years ago.

In fact, the lowest-ranked side within the top six who can mathematically match Blues' current total is Stockport County, in the unlikely event that the Hatters were to accumulate 18 points out of 18 in their final six matches, whilst the Second City side would have to suffer defeat in all remaining encounters, having only lost three times in the previous 38.

Despite having bigger fish to fry in terms of securing the League One title in a hectic schedule caused by EFL Trophy exploits and international break postponements, this achievement was marked by the club's official X account, which stated: "And with those back-to-back wins we've now at the very least confirmed a play-off spot..."

Chris Davies has made Birmingham City history with victory against Bristol Rovers

A 27th victory of the League One season in Davies' first spell as the main man in the dugout kept up the 40-year-old's record of 2.34 points per game thus far, which projected over a 46-game period would see his side achieve 107 points - eclipsing Reading's current EFL record of 106, which was set 19 years ago in the Championship.

However, the Watford-born manager also etched his name into the history books following his most recent game in charge, with a 27th league success of the season overtaking the previous club-high, which was hit in 2006/07 under Steve Bruce as the club returned to the Premier League.

A 37th win of the season also betters the record set by Fry's double-winning side of 1995, a feat which Davies' men could also achieve by defeating the 79-year-old's current employers, Peterborough United, at Wembley next Sunday.

Victory against the Tykes on Saturday would also break the record for most league victories at St Andrew's in a single season, with the squads of 1902/03 and 1946/47 also hitting the 17-win mark in B9.