Chris refuses to play the blame game after howler

CHRIS Davies took responsibility for Blues conceding a rare goal trying to play out from the back.

- By ALEX DICKEN

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.