Bolton were consigned to a fifth defeat of the season, losing 1-0 to Birmingham at St Andrews.
First home win for Birmingham consigns Bolton to defeat
Birmingham picked up a deserved victory against a lacklustre Bolton side, winning 1-0 at St Andrews.
A superb cross-field pass from Franck Queudrue and a precise ball from Sebastien Larsson allowed Olivier Kapo to bundle the home at the far post in the first-half.
Kapo's 37th minute effort was enough to hand Steve Bruce's men the three points, in a game where Bolton rarely threatened, other than in the dying moments of the clash.
City held the edge for long periods and posed the greater threat through the runs and crossing of Larsson and the pace of Cameron Jerome.
The midfield duo of Mehdi Nafti and Fabrice Muamba worked tirelessly for the 90 minutes and at the back Liam Ridgewell and Johan Djourou kept a tight rein on Nicolas Anelka.
The Totters' biggest threat was posed by El Hadji Diouf, who enjoyed his customary love-hate relationship with the opposing fans, but he lacked sufficient support.
Confusion
Jerome came close to giving Birmingham the lead after only two minutes.
A long clearance from Maik Taylor caused confusion between Bolton central defenders Abdoulaye Meite and Andy O'Brien and keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Jerome took advantage but failed to make proper contact on his shot which dribbled wide of the post.
The home side appealed in vain for a penalty after a challenge by Jlloyd Samuel on Larsson after he had cut into the area but referee Phil Dowd waved play on.
Bolton had their first half chance when skipper Kevin Nolan scuffed his shot wide from 15 yards out after Ridgewell's clearing header had fallen into his path.
But City were looking the more likely to break the deadlock and Jaaskelainen was forced to turn a glancing header from Muamba around the post from a skidding Larsson free-kick.
Bolton started to come more into the game and the impressive Diouf spotted the surging run of Samuel into the Birmingham area with his fiercely struck shot parried out for a corner by Maik Taylor.
Promising
An inswinging corner from Diouf found its way through a posse of players to O'Brien at the far post. But the former Portsmouth player seemed to be surprised the ball had reached him and headed over the bar.
Then after 37 minutes Birmingham broke the deadlock through Kapo's second goal of the campaign.
Larsson sent over a deep superb left-footed ball towards the far post and Kapo stuck his foot out and steered it past Jaaskelainen who tried in vain to prevent it from crossing the line.
Blues opened the second half promisingly and a poor clearance from Jaaskelainen fell straight to Jerome but he took two or three touches when the first-time shot was on and his eventual drive went well wide.
Nafti was winning several crunch tackles and produced an excellent challenge on Diouf in the box after he had created some space for himself with a neat turn.
Larsson had the beating of Samuel and forced Jaaskelainen into a superb save away to his left from a thumping drive.
Stephen Kelly came to City's rescue with a superb last ditch tackle to block the shot of substitute Daniel Braaten who had made a 40-yard run into the box to meet Diouf's well measured pass.
Larsson crashed a free-kick against the crossbar and Djourou then had a header cleared off the line by Gavin McCann as Birmingham claimed the points.
| Birmingham City |
Team Statistics |
Bolton Wanderers |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 6 |
Corners |
5 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 61.8 |
Passing Success |
67.1 |
| 28 |
Tackles |
25 |
| 85.7 |
Tackles Success |
76 |
| 53.4 |
Possession |
46.6 |
| 41.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
58.1 |
|
