Birmingham City midfielder Taylor Richards believes Blues were the better team against Nottingham Forest despite being beaten 2-0 at the City Ground.
Keinan Davis opened the scoring on five minutes as Forest dominated the opening half-hour. Blues grew into the game as time wore on but could not find a way past Brice Samba.
Scott McKenna headed a second for Forest past Connal Trueman - who replaced the injured Neil Etheridge on the hour-mark - to secure all three points. The victory lifts Steve Cooper's side to third in the Championship, six points behind second-placed Bournemouth.
READ MORE: The dilemma Steve Cooper 'slept on' before Nottingham Forest win over Birmingham City
READ MORE: Birmingham City fans fume after Nottingham Forest loss as Lyle Taylor demand made
Speaking after the game, Blues midfielder Richards - on-loan from Brighton - said it had been an even match and that Blues had arguably even been the better team.
"I thought we played well during the first and second halves," Richards said to the media at full-time. "I thought we were the better team for most of the game, but we have to defend better than we did and take our chances in the final third.
“The coach said we have to be better in both boxes – that’s where the game is won.
“It’s good having the ball in their half, but we have to be better with the final product; the final shot or pass. We weren’t good at that today so we have to work on that next week.
“We work hard every day. Our efforts are there on the pitch but we didn’t take the moments that win you the game.”
Whilst Forest registered almost double Blues' number of shots (13-7), the visitors registered more shots on-target than Steve Cooper's side during the first half.
READ MORE: Why Birmingham City were allowed to use four substitutes against Nottingham Forest
READ MORE: Cooper sends clear message as Nottingham Forest go third in Championship table
Blues' lack of quality in the final third was also raised by boss Lee Bowyer, who also felt they had plenty of chances to score.
He told BirminghamLive: “If you take the goal away from Forest, I thought we were the better side in the first half – I felt we asked a lot of questions of them but we lacked that little bit of quality. That was the difference on the day.
“I thought there wasn’t much between us during the second half. Once they got the second goal that was it, game over, but until that I thought we kept pushing. My players kept trying but the differences between the two boxes was that they had more quality than we did. That’s how you win games.”
Do you agree with what Richards said? Let us know in the comments section here...
