The League One leaders got themselves in a muddle and Tomoki Iwata ended up inadvertently putting through his own net to give Northampton the lead in their 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Keshi Anderson equalised on the stroke of half-time to ensure Blues left Sixfields with a share of the spoils.
It was the first goal they have conceded as a result of playing out unsuccessfully since Ryan Allsop replaced Bailey Peacock-Farrell in goal in October.
Davies believes Iwata’s error was down to a combination of Blues insisting on playing out to their left to target Cameron McGeehan and the bobbling pitch - but the manager absolved his players of any blame.
He said: “We had an advantage on the left side against McGeehan and we couldn’t quite exploit it. We tried something quite intricate that maybe wasn’t necessary and we paid the price.
“The pitch plays a big part in that because on our pitch that process would happen more smoothly.
“I'm quick to say to the players and I’ll say it publicly: I take responsibility for these types of errors. Players could just boot the ball up the pitch every time they get it.
“I want us to play sensibly, I don’t want us to be gung-ho and start taking ridiculous risks all the time, but that is part of how we play in terms of our build-up and it’s worked well for us so far.”
Davies felt Blues had played worse and won away from home this season after failing to get past the Cobblers for the second time this season.
They improved after Anderson's goal and had chances to win the game in the final 15 minutes.
“We started too slowly, I told the players that and had the chance to address that in one of the water breaks when someone was down injured. We were too passive, too slow,” said Davies.
“Once we got into it and got the goal, we were good and we've played worse and won games away from home. We created chances to win it but we couldn’t quite get one in.”
The best chance undoubtedly fell to Willum Willumsson. Kieran Dowell whipped in a delicious delivery from the right and Willumsson somehow headed wide from six yards. Willumsson, who stands at 6ft 4ins, has missed a number of headed chances this season and Davies has challenged him to improve that part of his game.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583835501/1742174513/articles/FYmIFo4ek4yCbZ7pPgsys/5357527113.jpg]
He added: “There's always areas to improve. He arrives so well, gets there,...
Keshi Anderson equalised on the stroke of half-time to ensure Blues left Sixfields with a share of the spoils.
It was the first goal they have conceded as a result of playing out unsuccessfully since Ryan Allsop replaced Bailey Peacock-Farrell in goal in October.
Davies believes Iwata’s error was down to a combination of Blues insisting on playing out to their left to target Cameron McGeehan and the bobbling pitch - but the manager absolved his players of any blame.
He said: “We had an advantage on the left side against McGeehan and we couldn’t quite exploit it. We tried something quite intricate that maybe wasn’t necessary and we paid the price.
“The pitch plays a big part in that because on our pitch that process would happen more smoothly.
“I'm quick to say to the players and I’ll say it publicly: I take responsibility for these types of errors. Players could just boot the ball up the pitch every time they get it.
“I want us to play sensibly, I don’t want us to be gung-ho and start taking ridiculous risks all the time, but that is part of how we play in terms of our build-up and it’s worked well for us so far.”
Davies felt Blues had played worse and won away from home this season after failing to get past the Cobblers for the second time this season.
They improved after Anderson's goal and had chances to win the game in the final 15 minutes.
“We started too slowly, I told the players that and had the chance to address that in one of the water breaks when someone was down injured. We were too passive, too slow,” said Davies.
“Once we got into it and got the goal, we were good and we've played worse and won games away from home. We created chances to win it but we couldn’t quite get one in.”
The best chance undoubtedly fell to Willum Willumsson. Kieran Dowell whipped in a delicious delivery from the right and Willumsson somehow headed wide from six yards. Willumsson, who stands at 6ft 4ins, has missed a number of headed chances this season and Davies has challenged him to improve that part of his game.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583835501/1742174513/articles/FYmIFo4ek4yCbZ7pPgsys/5357527113.jpg]
He added: “There's always areas to improve. He arrives so well, gets there,...
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Birmingham Mail (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 17, 2025