Birmingham boss
Chris Hughton felt his side enjoyed ‘two results’ last night after fears over the health of Pablo Ibanez were allayed following Blues’ superb victory in Belgium.
Ibanez was knocked out in a sickening clash of heads with Bruges goalscorer Joseph Akpala in the 83rd minute which left the defender needing urgent medical attention as horrified team-mates looked on.
But despite the drama the Championship club – who had equalised through David Murphy in the 26th minute – kept their heads to score a dramatic winner through Chris Wood in the tenth minute of stoppage time.
Akpala had given the hosts the lead with three minutes gone to silence the 5,400 travelling Birmingham fans.
But they had plenty to celebrate at the end when Wood converted Marlon King’s near-post cross to secure Hughton’s men a win which puts them level with their hosts at the top of the group and boosts hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
‘Pablo was a real concern for us so we’re very happy it was just concussion and he’s okay,’ said Hughton.
‘It is as big for us as the win. It’s always a difficult moment.
‘We’ve had two results today. One is the scoreline and the other is the fact he is okay.
‘It showed great professionalism to do what we did after a stoppage of six minutes.’
