By Alex Dicken

Copyright birminghammail

Lyndon Dykes stepped off the bench to give Birmingham City a stoppage time victory over Swansea and end their four-game wait for a goal. The Scotland international almost left Blues at the end of the transfer window but got the call from Chris Davies for a late cameo and provided his second last-ditch winner of the season. Blues and Swansea possess similar playing styles and they have both struggled to break opponents down and create chances this season. The visitors put the first purposeful passing move together 10 minutes in to expose Blues’ left-hand side. Ronald was found in space and crossed for the in-form Zan Vipotnik to fire over from six yards. Vipotnik arrived at St Andrew’s having scored five goals in his previous five games and would have expected to find the net. Vipotnik found the net in emphatic fashion midway through the first half by volleying home Josh Tymon’s left-wing cross. Blues were relieved to see assistant referee Carl Fitch-Jackson raise his flag but replays showed the Slovenian striker was being played onside by Christoph Klarer. Blues’ response came via Marvin Ducksch. The two-time Germany international spun Ben Cabango in the box but the onrushing Lawrence Vigouroux made an excellent save to keep the scores level at half-time. Lewis Koumas had a big chance to give Blues the lead two minutes into the second half when Jay Stansfield’s cross found him at the far post. In fairness, the ball came at Koumas quickly but he should have found the target. Davies showed his hand in the 67th minute to bring on Ethan Laird, Patrick Roberts and Kyogo Furuhashi. Roberts soon crafted a chance for Kyogo but the Japanese striker, clean through on goal with time and space, produced a poor finish that Vigouroux palmed away to safety. Yet again, Blues’ marquee summer signing passed up a gilt-edged chance to open his Championship account. Roberts’ introduction allowed Demarai Gray to move back to the left-wing and he wriggled his way into a goal-scoring position 10 minutes from time. Gray was off-balance as he struck the ball and couldn’t beat Vigouroux. Blues started to dominate in the closing stages and Kyogo would have scored an overhead kick in stoppage time had it not been for a brilliant block from Cabango. There was still one more chance to come and once again it was created by Roberts’ left foot. The winger jinked inside his man and curled in a cross that Dykes guided into the bottom corner. Blues’ defeats on the road are all but forgotten after they moved back above the Swans in the early standings. Ryan Allsop 6.5 Allsop made a good save from Allsop from Inoussa after Osayi-Samuel and Klarer had been beaten in the first half. Bright Osayi-Samuel 5.5 It was no surprise to see Osayi-Samuel reinstated at right-back but he was run ragged by Inoussa and made way for Laird in the second half. Christoph Klarer 7.5 Klarer looked at home on the right side after starting the season to the left of Phil Neumann. He was able to play out more freely and was his usual solid self, other than when he was left to face Inoussa in one-v-ones. Jack Robinson 7.5 The biggest compliment you can pay Robinson is that those around him looked more comfortable. His presence clearly made a difference to Klarer and Cochrane. Alex Cochrane 7 Eyes were on Cochrane after last week and he produced a much improved performance. Quality wingers will go by him in this league and Ronald had his moments, but Cochrane held his own. Tomoki Iwata 6.5 Iwata powered in to win possession on more than one occasion but he wasn’t perfect on the ball, as has been the case in the opening weeks of this season. You can’t fault his drive and commitment to the cause, though. Paik Seung-ho 6.5 There was nothing wrong with the way Paik moved the ball and he competed with a high-quality Swansea midfield before being replaced by Doyle. Demarai Gray 7 The Birmingham-born winger started on the right but he was more effective when he moved over to the left in the second half. He almost forced a late winner after dancing between two Swansea defenders and carried a threat right until the end. Marvin Ducksch 6.5 Ducksch is always looking to do something, be it a turn or a first-time pass, and not all of it comes off. A clever turn away from Cabango created Blues’ best chance of the first half that Vigouroux did well to save. He was involved in most of Blues’ best moments. Lewis Koumas 6 Koumas is a willing runner and looked to take Key on at every opportunity and had some joy, but the quality of his final delivery needs to improve. He should have done better with a header at the start of the second half too. Jay Stansfield 6.5 A relatively quiet afternoon for Stansfield, although it wasn’t through a lack of effort. The striker was good in the press and plugged away for his team and created a good chance for Koumas. Ethan Laird (for Osayi-Samuel, 67) 6 Laird gave Blues energy and attacking impetus down the right as Swansea tired late on but he couldn’t provide Patrick Roberts (for Koumas, 67) 8* Roberts made the difference. He created a big chance for Kyogo that wasn’t taken before crossing perfectly for Dykes to nod home the winner. Kyogo Furuhashi (for Ducksch, 67) 5.5 Kyogo was bailed out by Dykes after another bad miss. The striker needs to find his shooting boots. Eiran Cashin (for Cochrane, 80) 6 Slotted in at left-back late on and tried to force the issue in an attacking sense with one long range shot. Tommy Doyle (for Paik, 87) 6.5 Doyle tried plenty after coming on and looked keen to make a point. He went very close with one shot from distance. Lyndon Dykes (for Stansfield, 87) 7 What a moment for Dykes. He appeared to be out the door a few weeks ago and didn’t make it off the bench at Stoke, thankfully Davies turned to him this time around. Not used: Beadle, Neumann, Leonard