A penalty from James McFadden was enough to secure Birmingham a 1-0 victory against Wigan.
McFadden's spot-kick secures all three points
James McFadden scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot as Wigan's poor run was extended by a 1-0 defeat to Birmingham at St Andrews.
After dominating for much of the opening 45 minutes, the hosts took the lead from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.
Former Birmingham player Mario Melchiot was controversially adjudged to have felled Keith Fahey in the area before McFadden slotted the ball into the bottom corner from 12 yards out.
Wigan began to look livelier after the break but their momentum was halted after a bizarre incident that saw referee's assistant Trevor Massey taken off on a stretcher, causing a lengthy stoppage.
Hugo Rodallega was presented with two chances late on but a good save from Joe Hart and a scuffed second effort ensured three points for the Blues.
Alex McLeish named an unchanged side while Wigan counterpart Roberto Martinez brought back fit-again defender Titus Bramble and replaced Marcelo Moreno.
Close call
Paul Scharner fouled Sebastian Larsson down midway in the Wigan half and, from his resulting free-kick, the woodwork denied the home side the opening goal after 14 minutes.
Centre-back Scott Dann was first to react to the probing cross and his powerful header crashed against the crossbar and rebounded to safety with Chris Kirkland well beaten.
Dann had another opportunity to break the deadlock when an inswinging corner from Larsson was met by the former Coventry player, but he glanced his header wide.
Wigan were now under the cosh and Kirkland was forced to parry away a fierce shot on the turn from Cameron Jerome at the expense of a corner.
Lee Bowyer was putting in another solid performance and a challenge on him by Charles N'Zogbia earned the Wigan player a booking.
Liam Ridgewell strode forward for Blues to good effect down the left flank and his crosses created two chances in quick succession.
First Jerome was crowded out after taking too long to shoot and was robbed by Mohamed Diame, and then Kirkland incredibly denied McFadden at point-blank range.
But in first-half injury-time Blues went ahead through McFadden's penalty.
Replays appeared to show there was no contact by Melchiot on Fahey but referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot before McFadden sent Kirkland the wrong way.
Changes
Martinez made a double substitution during the break, with Jason Scotland and Victor Moses replacing Scharner and N'Zogbia respectively.
Dann was disappointed not to have at least tested Kirkland when he flashed a header wide from yet another Larsson free-kick.
Rodallega was shown the yellow card after 55 minutes for kicking out at Johnson inside the Birmingham box.
Bowyer failed to make proper contact 10 yards out after a half clearance from Bramble and it bobbled harmlessly across the face of goal.
McFadden wriggled his way into a shooting position and brought a low save out of Kirkland before he was replaced by Kevin Phillips after 64 minutes.
In a rare opportunity for the visitors, Joe Hart did well to block Rodallega's close-range effort after McCarthy had teed him up.
Wigan defender Gary Caldwell was booked for holding back Jerome during a Birmingham counter-attack.
Referee's assistant Massey had to be carried off on a stretcher after he was struck in the face by the corner flag following a challenge by Ridgewell on McCarthy. He was replaced by fourth official Steve Bennett.
Blues skipper Stephen Carr appeared to have picked up a hamstring injury and was replaced by Craig Gardner.
Rodallega had a late chance to claim a point for Wigan but was impeded by team-mate Jordi Gomez and sliced his shot just wide from a Moses cross.
In the dying seconds after a lengthy period of stoppage time due to Massey's injury, a hesitant Phillips was thwarted by Kirkland.
Barclays Premier League Relegation 2009/2010 - Wigan 10/3
| Birmingham City |
Team Statistics |
Wigan Athletic |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
5 |
| 2 |
Corners |
7 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
18 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 67.6 |
Passing Success |
71.4 |
| 27 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 59.3 |
Tackles Success |
66.7 |
| 49.2 |
Possession |
50.8 |
| 49.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
50.1 |
|
