Lyndon Dykes has made a habit of late, dramatic and important goals.
His header against Bradford City took Blues to Wembley for the EFL Vertu Trophy Final.
And an outstretched left leg finished off a devastating counter attack eight minutes into added-time at Blackburn Rovers to give Blues the victory on their first away day of the campaign.
The goal that sank Swansea City, in the fourth minute of more than 11 minutes of added-time, felt every bit as vital.
Patrick Roberts cut back onto his left foot and swung the ball towards the middle of the area and Dykes moved swiftly across Ben Cabango and guided a fine downward header past Lawrence Vigouroux whilst on the run.
And to think, Dykes might well have been off on transfer deadline day, but a proposed loan to Hibernian collapsed.
Dykes addition as an 87th minute substitute, as well as Roberts introduction, helped provide that extra spurt for a Blues side that exacted control on the match in the second-half.
Manager Chris Davies commented: “Fair play to Lyndon. He’s such an effective substitute – he’s had some good starts as well, mind.
“The attitude of the substitutes was excellent. Sometimes you can be a bit disheartened that you aren’t starting.
“I felt all of them made us even better. I liked the way we started, but I thought we even went up a level when Swansea were tiring.
“That’s a credit to their attitude. We always say you’re not subs, you’re finishers. You are coming on to finish the game – and they did that very well.”
Dykes has only had 26 minutes of Championship football, and has already bettered his league goals return of last season.
Davies made a triple switch in the 67th minute – Roberts on, Lewis Koumas off; Kyogo on, Marvin Ducksch off; Ethan Laird on, Bright Osayi-Samuel off – before the introduction of both Dykes and Tommy Doyle at the end.
Blues were certainly knocking on the door in the second period for sustained spells, after righting themselves in the wake of some early Swansea attacks at the beginning of the match.
About Dykes, and the deadline day drama, Davies said: “He can give us that something a little bit different with his size and physicality.
“He’s handled it well, he’s a good guy. It wasn’t to be, the move, and he’s got his head down in training and he’s had a fantastic day.
“He’s great. He’s really professional, really reliable, and if he can continue having moments like that it’s going to be all the better for us.”
Davies got a more purposeful Blues against the Swans. They were proactive, contained a physical edge and played like a team determined to extend a remarkable 17-month unbeaten home record, which has now stretched to a 28th game.
The manager was also decisive in his starting selection, in order to address some of the failings that had left Blues winless and scoreless from the previous three matches.
Jack Robinson made his debut, with Phil Neumann standing down. That meant Christoph Klarer switched to his favoured right-side role at the back and as a result the defence had a more balanced look about it.
Ducksch made his first league start and provided a wrinkle to the interpretation of the number 10 role, as he often was close to Jay Stansfield in more of a traditional front pairing.
Davies acknowledged: “What he gave us was someone we have been missing a little bit: someone to play into, someone who can link, a bit of physical presence.
“And you kind of need that in this league because the games are tight and then you’ve got that striker you can play off.
“I thought he showed his cleverness. He lasted the game well and worked hard with Jay, as a front two.
“He can play as a nine. He did play a lot in a 3-5-2, so there was two of them (up front), at his previous club Werder Bremen.
“So he can play as a nine or a 10 and I thought they linked up pretty well, him and Jay.”
Robinson brought a steadying assurance to the defensive line, as well as that balance.
“With our build up play – we had it with Ben Davies – with a left-footer when the ball comes across to you, you have got more options to play forward,” Davies outlined.
“Phil Neumann has been doing absolutely fine, no issues there.
“I think Jack’s experience was big for us. He defended well. Every time the ball went up in the air I don’t think he lost a header.”
A lot of statistics showing Blues lack of punch did the rounds in the lead up to this encounter.
So it was heartening that Blues souped-up display was reflected accordingly – 23 shots (six on target), 34 touches in the opposition box, 23 crosses and a lot of successful final third entries, 71 to Swansea’s 42.
“It was an excellent performance,” said Davies. “So dominant throughout the game. Created lots of chances. The pressure told and we got the goal.”
