Chirs Hughton could not hide his delight after Birmingham reached the FA Cup fifth round with a thumping 4-0 win at Sheffield United.
Blues boss praises two-goal Rooney, Wilson bemoans missed chances
Chirs Hughton could not hide his delight after Birmingham reached the FA Cup fifth round with a thumping 4-0 win at Sheffield United.
The Blues boss felt his team played with a real confidence against the League One side, though his opposite number Danny Wilson was left counting the cost of his side's inability to convert opportunities.
Adam Rooney netted twice, while goals from Nathan Redmond and Wade Elliott secured Birmingham's passage into the next round, and Hughton was thrilled with the display.
"It was a real good all-round performance," said the Blues manager. "I'm as delighted with the clean-sheet and the performance as I am with the goals.
"We had to weather a bit early in the game. They were certainly a threat, but then we got into our rhythm and the timing of our goals was important.
Special praise
"We're enjoying playing football and that breeds a certain amount of confidence."
Hughton singled out two-goal striker Rooney and teenager Redmond for special praise.
He said: "Rooney does what he does best. If the ball goes into the box, he'll always be there.
"He appreciates at times that he's got to be patient. I'm really pleased with him. It was a great goal from Nathan and I thought overall he used the ball well.
"He's had his highs and his lows. Every opportunity he has is one he's desperate to take. The goal will have provided him with a real lift."
Meanwhile, Blades manager Danny Wilson - whose side created plenty of openings, but could not match their opponents clinical touch - said: "The first three goals came at a time when we were possibly in the ascendancy.
"It was great finishing from them. They made the most of their chances.
"We had similar situations and did not make the most of them and they certainly have made the most of them.
Quick thinking
"That first goal was very important. It was a bit of quick thinking from their point of view and a bit of slow thinking from ours.
"I thought we were doing very well until that time. We started the game very well and caused them quite a few problems."
He added: "The quality of their play was always going to cause us problems. What they had at the end was the goals to show for it.
"We said at half-time that it was important to get a goal and try and make a game of it.
"I thought our performance was good at times but I'm not complaining about the outcome of the game because I thought they deserved to win it."
