Birmingham forward makes Sunderland 'fear' claim after second-half comeback at sold-out St Andrew's

Birmingham forward Koji Miyoshi thought his side deserved to win against Sunderland and says the Black Cats felt some fear from the home fans.

Michael Beale's side took an early lead at St Andrew's after Jack Clarke intercepted a loose pass and opened the scoring in the 22nd minute - his 15th of the season. Yet Birmingham responded in front of a sell-out crowd, with 27,449 in attendance, as Jordan James equalised on the hour mark, before Miyoshi's winner ten minutes from time gave the hosts a 2-1 win.

"We showed our character and we showed our confidence," Miyoshi told Birmingham's website after the match. "Especially after we conceded the goal we bounced back from that and won the game which is great for us.

"It was tough. We conceded the goal and gave them an easy goal actually but we bounced back from there and feel like we dominated the game and controlled the game. We did enough to win I think."

The game marked Birmingham's biggest attendance for nearly five years, and Miyoshi felt the fans played their part in the win. “These fans improved our confidence. That was amazing for us," he added. "When we played the game we were feeling like the fans were really behind us. When they shouted at the opponents I think they felt some fear from the fans.”

The defeat means Sunderland have slipped four points away from the play-off places and sit 10th in the Championship table. Michael Beale's side are now preparing for Saturday's home match against Swansea at the Stadium of Light.