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Paik Seung-ho fires in fine opener for Blues, Gray adds superb second Maamma pulls one back with his first goal for Watford Birmingham 11th in Championship, one point above Watford in 15th Blues won past three home games, scoring four goals in each Watford have lost only one in seven, at runaway leaders Coventry Get Involved: Use button below, #bbcefl on X, via Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Kate Holloway and Ben Miller FT: Birmingham 2-1 Watford Birmingham are up to seventh and make no mistake, they are genuine contenders for back-to-back promotions. Watford remain 15th amid a hugely congested mid-table pack. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Watford pull one back through Othmane Maamma but not enough to spoil Birmingham's impressive home form. Making his return from a lengthy injury, Giorgi Chakvetadze gets a bigger starring role than his comeback last time out and sets forward a move that saw Maamma shoot in his first ever Watford goal. But Blues didn't stay complacent for long. They turned up the heat and held onto the end despite a spirited second-half from their opponents. No four goal party at St Andrew's tonight though. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Watford are sending crosses into the box but Christoph Klarer times his defensive header perfectly. He could have saved Blues the match. Not long left. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Jay Stansfield and Patrick Roberts depart after a solid shift, Lewis Koumas and Marc Leonard are introduced to see this through for the hosts. Into three minutes added time now. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Tommy Doyle is caught on the ankle and it has given Blues a free-kick. Doyle curls it towards for Christoph Klarer but even the 6'3 Austrian can't get the height to put a head on the cross. It's kept in play but plays into Watford's hands and now Blues have to switch quickly from attack to defence. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Derek Payne Former Watford midfielder on BBC Three Counties Radio The one thing you can say about Watford in the second half is that they've given the ball away too much and too cheaply. It's a bit frustrating. Birmingham are managing this. Watford looked like they were in the ascendancy but then Birmingham took the sting out of it. They have kept the ball and taken their time over things like throw-ins. You have to give them credit. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Watford goalscorer Othmane Maamma is withdrawn from the action. The more experienced Moussa Sissoko replaces him as Watford seek an equaliser. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Blues have a corner and the figure of Christoph Klarer looms over everyone as he waits to get his head on it. He gets contact but can't rustle the net with it. Blues very much in the ascendency here. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Darren Carter Ex-Birmingham midfielder on BBC Radio WM A couple of Watford players - especially Jeremy Ngakia - are really breathing heavily and look like their race may be run. We know Blues are really fit and tend to finish games strongly. There could be another goal in this for them. Lyndon Dykes has been so effective since he's come on. He's very different to Marvin Ducksch: very physical and aggressive. He's had a good impact and given Watford's centre-backs a completely different challenge. Birmingham 2-1 Watford With the new Wicked film in cinemas, maybe they are hoping to build a yellow brick road with all these cards in the second half here. Blues' Patrick Roberts is the latest player cautioned for kicking the ball away. Delay tactics but probably unnecessary. Birmingham look like they have regained their momentum. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Blues can't capitalise on their free-kick and it ends up with Jay Stansfield getting his name scribbled in the bad books. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Darren Carter Ex-Birmingham midfielder on BBC Radio WM Oh, Lyndon Dykes. Credit to Mattie Pollock who had to come across, made it difficult and gave Dykes a conundrum as to whether he shot or passed for Jay Stansfield. He should have gone himself. He was a fraction off finding Stansfield. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Blues substitute Lyndon Dykes puts in a phenomenal tackle to take possession and drive forward. With him is Jay Stansfield, emerging ready to do what he does so well and find the net but Dykes' pass is heavy and beyond the pace of his team-mate. Stansfield keeps it in play and may still get something from it as Imran Louza concedes a foul on the side of the box. Picks up a yellow card for his efforts, too the Watford man. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Derek Payne Former Watford midfielder on BBC Three Counties Radio Watford have just lost their rhythm a bit. They're desperate to get into some passing rhythm and attacking motion. Credit to Birmingham, who've made those substitutions. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Marvin Ducksch won't get that fourth goal in three league games for Birmingham. He's switched out for Lyndon Dykes, while Alfons Sampsted replaces Bright Osayi-Samuel. Use button below, #bbcefl on X, via Whats App on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply) Maamma’s goal came in the same minute as their first goal in the comeback against Derby County. Let’s see what happens! George Rumble, Watford Birmingham 2-1 Watford Darren Carter Ex-Birmingham midfielder on BBC Radio WM That is ridiculous. I wouldn't half mind if there was even an ounce of contact. Bright Osayi-Samuel had the ball and was driving forward, as well. That's an awful, awful decision from the linesman. He is right on it and looking directly at it. Birmingham 2-1 Watford St Andrew's is in uproar. They don't like that their man Bright Osayi-Samuel is being punished for a harmless foul up in attacking final third. It's prompted some pretty loud boos. They aren't feeling as comfortable in those wet seats as they were at the half-time whistle. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Darren Carter Ex-Birmingham midfielder on BBC Radio WM I know Blues fans will want their team to get forward and throw a punch back, if you like, but the right thing to do is to keep the ball and get control back of this game. We know that Demarai Gray has picked up a couple of knocks over the course of the season, so he may not have been operating at 100%. Birmingham 2-1 Watford Demarai Gray has put on a show for Blues fans and now gets to take his curtain bow. Keshi Anderson is on to try and liven up a quiet Birmingham City in this second-half. Demarai Gray scored his fourth goal of the season Demarai Gray's wonderful individual effort helped Birmingham City climb to within a point of the Championship play-offs with victory over Watford. Paik Seung-ho opened the scoring from outside the box before Gray's classy effort found the top corner to put Birmingham fully in control at the break. Othmane Maamma pulled one back for Watford but the home side held on. The Hornets remain 15th in the table, four points behind Chris Davies' side, who move up to seventh. More to follow. Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 1st December 2025 at 21: 54 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Chris Davies Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Javier Gracia Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Manager: Chris Davies Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Javier Gracia Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Birmingham City have lost 10 of their previous 12 league games against Watford (W1 D1), and failed to win any of the last seven (D1 L6). Watford have scored on each of their last six league visits to Birmingham City (W4 D1 L1), winning there most recently in March 2024 (1-0). Only Coventry City (20) and Watford (18) have won more points at home in the Championship this season than Birmingham (17), winning each of their last three in a row. Watford are unbeaten in their last five league games (W2 D3); they last avoided defeat in six successive matches between November/December 2024. Only Imrân Louza (10) has been involved in more goals for Watford in the Championship this season than Jeremy Ngakia (5 – 2 goals, 3 assists), with his three assists coming in his last five appearances. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.