Birmingham City 3-4 Southampton: Daily Echo's player ratings

Goals from Adam Armstrong, David Brooks and Che Adams saw Saints twice coming from behind to lead at St Andrews, overturning finishes from Koji Miyoshi and Jay Stansfield.

Juninho Bacuna looked to have earned the struggling Blues a point following the 62nd-minute dismissal of Dion Sanderson but Aribo pounced at the death.

Here is how we rated the players...

Joe Aribo netted a last-gasp winner at St Andrew's (Image: PA)

Starters

Gavin Bazunu - 6. 

Made one comfortable save and conceded three goals so will not be satisfied. Not really at fault for any of the goals specifically, though. Decent with his feet at short range (94 per cent pass accuracy) with a couple of wayward long passes. 

Taylor Harwood-Bellis - 7. 

Tasked with playing at right-back and did not look out of place but poor team defensive performance. Unable to prevent Leandro Bacuna from getting to the rebound to get Birmingham level again late on. Won the header to assist Aribo's late winner.

Jack Stephens - 7. 

Involved in the opening Saints goal with his pass out from the back starting the move. Brilliant all afternoon in possession with accurate passing, more passes into the final third than anyone and some important drives out of the back. Will be disappointed to have shipped three goals. 

Jan Bednarek - 6. 

Will not be too happy with the defensive side of the game. Probably at fault for the second Birmingham goal - his mis-header halfway back allowed Jay Stansfield to latch on and finish. However, had the most touches and passes of any player in the match. 

Ryan Manning - 5. 

Not his best performance defensively. Left too much space for the opener when Stephens was already marking Stansfield. Came close to his first Saints goal with a good header well-saved. Miscommunication with Bednarek for Birmingham's second and spun a bit for their third. 

Flynn Downes - 7. 

Another victory on the midfielder's return to the team - making 85 minutes. Almost impeccable in possession with 55 made from 57 attempted passes. Saw a slightly different side of Downes with more involvement in the opposition third. Not a big defensive impact though. 

Will Smallbone - 9.

Statement. Involved in the opening goal with a one-touch ball to Adams and had a couple of good chances nearly converted in the first half. Two assists in second with a beautiful cross to Adams for the second. Dion Sanderson then sent off for foul on Smallbone, who had the hosts on strings. 

Stuart Armstrong - 6. 

Personally, do not think it was one of the Scotland international's best performances although his corner eventually produced the winner. Less than 80 per cent pass accuracy over the 90 minutes. Could see he was getting frustrated but credit for sticking at it.

David Brooks - 9. 

Creative force and capped his excellent performance with a goal. Fired over with a volley for first Saints chance. Assisted Armstrong's goal with a nice pass into the area - having created a Saints high of five chances in the first half. Skipped past his player and excellent curved finish for goal.

Adam Armstrong - 9. 

Much-needed return to form for the number nine, who was heavily involved throughout with a 17th goal of the season his reward. Good cross for Brooks early on. Clean finish for his goal and looked just about onside so it was a well-timed run. Hit the crossbar just before the break and nearly found Mara for a winner with a dangerous ball across late on.

Che Adams - 8. 

Strong centre-forward performance. Wasted one chance in front of goal in the first half with a tame finish low into John Ruddy but was regularly dropping into the hole and spinning an accurate pass out. Did really well to recover from a slip and score Southampton's third in the box. 

Jan Bednarek celebrates Southampton's late winner (Image: PA)

Substitutions 

Sam Edozie - 5. 

Introduced on 64 minutes. Disappointing for me. Managed 23 touches in that time and was not loose on the ball but did not show enough energy to track back or to offer for his teammates in possession. Will have a bigger impact in future games. 

Joe Aribo - 8.

Introduced on 70'. Lost possession in a dangerous area with one of his first touches but worked hard to put a tackle in - the resultant throw-in led to the third goal, but by that point it is not really Aribo's fault. Otherwise, really good and nice touch and finish under pressure for the winner. 

Sekou Mara - 6.

Introduced in 85th minute at 3-3. Thought he made a decent impact. Was the most energetic of the final three subs and was regularly looking to make things happen. Tried one ambitious flick into the box and nearly got onto the end of a square ball but not quite. 

Kamaldeen Sulemana - N/A.

Also introduced in the 85th minute. Tidy in possession but did not really make anything major happen. Committed one foul at a good time to prevent a Birmingham counter but otherwise hard to rate.

Joe Rothwell - N/A.

Also introduced in 85th minute. Same as Kamaldeen - tidy in possession with good stats but hard to judge on what impact he made. Did not do anything wrong in over 10 minutes of play - one moment where he bravely ran out the back to relieve pressure.