Bolton Wanderers finally picked up a win in the Championship at the 11th attempt as the Trotters were gifted a 2-1 victory at Birmingham City.
Dougie Freedman's side took the lead after 11 minutes when Dan Burn misjudged a long clearance, allowing Jermaine Beckford to race clear and finish under Darren Randolph.
The lead was doubled in the 64th minute when Randolph failed to collect a cross and presented Neil Danns with a bouncing ball that he headed bravely over the line.
Birmingham pulled one goal back through substitute Nikola Zigic but they could not snatch a late equaliser as Freedman's side finally scored a maximum.
Here, Sports Mole pores over the 90 minutes at St Andrew's.
Match statistics:
Birmingham:
Shots 15
On target 5
Possession 57%
Corners 6
Fouls 13
Bolton:
Shots 9
On target 2
Possession 43%
Corners 4
Fouls 14
Was the result fair?
Probably, yes. It wasn't a great game at St Andrew's and a draw would have been about right as well. Bolton won't care that it wasn't a scintillating performance; all that matters is that they finally have a W next to their name this season.
Birmingham's performance
Leaving aside the two awful errors that cost Birmingham the two goals, Lee Clark's side were fairly quiet all afternoon. Chris Burke was great from the right wing (see below), while up front Matt Green did hardly anything. A far cry from the side that won three of their previous four matches.
Bolton's performance
Again, not a dazzling display from the Trotters but clinical enough to win it. Beckford and Danns took advantage of the mistakes from Burn and Randolph to ultimately win the match. At the back, Mills and Ream were solid and dealt with Burke's numerous fine crosses. A great way to go into the international break for Bolton, who were initially tipped to be one of the sides vying for the top two automatic-promotion spots this season.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Chris Burke: It's not often that a man on the losing side wins man of the match but Burke was excellent today. He terrorised Alex Baptiste throughout and will be angry that his teammates did not get on more of his fantastic crosses. Notable mention for Liam Feeney, who had endless energy on the opposite side of the pitch for Bolton.
Biggest gaffe
Pick either Burn's misjudgement to allow Beckford away or Randolph's flapping to gift Danns a chance at goal. We are going to pick on Randolph because he should have done better with Beckford's low finish, which went over the line in the middle of the goal.
Referee performance
David Coote for the most part had a solid game. He might have awarded Birmingham a late penalty when the ball struck Feeney's arm but decided not to. One of those inconclusive handballs where the rulebook is a bit unclear.
What next?
Birmingham: The Blues will look to return to winning ways when they travel to Leeds in two weeks' time.
Bolton: The Trotters, meanwhile, can make it two wins in a row when they host the only winless team left in the league - Sheffield Wednesday.
Pascal Lemesre
