Birmingham City clawed through at Rotherham United yesterday, sealing an all important 1-0 win thanks to Harlee Dean’s header.
The Birmingham City captain stepped up to the plate to give his side the win yesterday, a win that takes them nine points clear of Rotherham in 22nd, who now have a four-point gap to safety.
Yesterday’s performance though was not the best that fans have seen under Bowyer – if anything it was the worst performance of his six-game tenure so far.
But Jonathan Leko stood out for his work-rate and overall energy on the front-line, leaving plenty of Birmingham City fans impressed with his performance.
The cracks remain – he didn’t complete a pass until late on, and stretched his goalless tally to 30 Championship games for Birmingham City.
But the 21-year-old who played under Bowyer at Charlton Athletic looks to be a favoured player of his former and now current manager, featuring in all six of his games in charge so far and starting the last two.
He remains a player with plenty of potential – he showed what he’s best at doing yesterday, which is using his pace to unsettle defenders and bring the more creative players into play.
He’ll likely be the first to admit to having a torrid debut season at St Andrew’s but it’s been likewise for the whole club.
Hopes are much higher going into next season though and if Leko can first of all help Blues confirm their Championship safety, and put on some good performances going into the summer, he could well become a key player in what will be Bowyer’s first full season in charge.
