Match report

Blackburn Secures Narrow Victory Over Birmingham in Championship Clash

Birmingham
Birmingham
0–1
FT
Blackburn
Blackburn
Apr 3, 2026

Blackburn secured a vital 1-0 win over Birmingham in a tightly contested Championship match, with Tom Cantwell scoring the only goal in the 69th minute. Birmingham, despite making several late substitutions, couldn't find the equalizer, leaving Blackburn with the hard-fought victory.

Key Facts

  • • Final score: Birmingham 0–1 Blackburn
  • • Goal: Tom Cantwell (69')
  • • Yellow Card: A. Forshaw (Blackburn, 21')
  • • Substitutions: Birmingham - I. Osman (65'), M. Ducksch (66'), P. Roberts (78'), J. Stansfield (78'), Tomoki Iwata (88')
  • • Substitutions: Blackburn - K. Montgomery (77'), Y. Ribeiro (83'), M. Jorgensen (83'), S. Tavares (90')

Lineups

Birmingham

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Starting XI

  • 25 James Beadle (G)
  • 24 Tomoki Iwata (D)
  • 4 Christoph Klarer (D)
  • 6 Jack Robinson (D)
  • 2 Ethan Laird (D)
  • 7 Tommy Doyle (M)
  • 8 Seung-Ho Paik (M)
  • 16 Patrick Roberts (M)
  • 33 Marvin Ducksch (M)
  • 17 Ibrahim Osman (M)
  • 28 Jay Stansfield (F)

Substitutes

  • 27 Kanya Fujimoto
  • 10 Demarai Gray
  • 23 Carlos Vicente
  • 29 August Priske
  • 26 Bright Osayi-Samuel
  • 37 Jonathan Panzo
  • 14 Jhon Solís
  • 21 Ryan Allsop
  • 5 Phil Neumann

Blackburn

Formation: 3-4-2-1

Starting XI

  • 22 Balázs Tóth (G)
  • 38 Tom Atcheson (D)
  • 16 Scott Wharton (D)
  • 15 Sean McLoughlin (D)
  • 2 Ryan Alebiosu (M)
  • 28 Adam Forshaw (M)
  • 24 Moussa Baradji (M)
  • 3 Harry Pickering (M)
  • 25 Ryoya Morishita (F)
  • 10 Todd Cantwell (F)
  • 23 Yuki Ohashi (F)

Substitutes

  • 31 Kristi Montgomery
  • 4 Yuri Ribeiro
  • 29 Mathias Jørgensen
  • 8 Sidnei Tavares
  • 41 Lorenze Mullarkey-Matthews
  • 1 Aynsley Pears
  • 21 Oladapo Afolayan
  • 27 Nathan Redmond
  • 14 Dion De Neve

Timeline

  1. Blackburn
    21' Blackburn Card · Yellow Card
    A. Forshaw
  2. Birmingham
    65' Birmingham subst · Substitution 1
    Off: I. Osman · On: D. Gray
  3. Birmingham
    66' Birmingham subst · Substitution 2
    Off: M. Ducksch · On: K. Fujimoto
  4. Blackburn
    69' Blackburn Goal · Normal Goal
    T. Cantwell · Assist: R. Morishita
  5. Blackburn
    77' Blackburn subst · Substitution 1
    Off: R. Morishita · On: K. Montgomery
  6. Birmingham
    78' Birmingham subst · Substitution 3
    Off: P. Roberts · On: C. Vicente
  7. Birmingham
    78' Birmingham subst · Substitution 4
    Off: J. Stansfield · On: A. Priske
  8. Blackburn
    83' Blackburn subst · Substitution 2
    Off: S. Wharton · On: Y. Ribeiro
  9. Blackburn
    83' Blackburn subst · Substitution 3
    Off: T. Cantwell · On: M. Jorgensen
  10. Birmingham
    88' Birmingham subst · Substitution 5
    Off: Tomoki Iwata · On: Bright Osayi-Samuel
  11. Blackburn
    90' Blackburn subst · Substitution 4
    Off: M. Baradji · On: S. Tavares

Match Stats

Stat Birmingham Blackburn
Fouls 14 7
Pass Accuracy 83% 68%
Offsides 1 1
Red Cards — —
Total Shots 12 16
Corners 9 10
Total Passes 539 274
Yellow Cards 0 1
Blocked Shots 1 7
Shots on Target 5 4
xG 1.06 1.52
Shots off Target 6 5
Possession 65% 35%
Goals Prevented 1 1
Accurate Passes 449 185
Shots Inside Box 7 11
Saves 3 5
Shots Outside Box 5 5

Key Match Notes

  • ▸ The yellow card issued to Blackburn's A. Forshaw in the 21st minute initially favored Birmingham, but they failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage.
  • ▸ Blackburn's Tom Cantwell scored the decisive goal in the 69th minute, assisted by R. Morishita, which shifted the momentum in Blackburn's favor and ultimately secured the victory.