Birmingham City 1 Southampton 0

Mar 7 2009

Marcus Bent had to go off for the home side after picking up an injury and was replaced by Carlos Costly midway through the half.

But the Blues continued to press and Southampton goalkeeper Kelvin Davis did well to turn a Fahey header around the post.

And the deadlock was broken when a strong run by Cameron Jerome and clever ball into the box ended with Fahey drilling home.

Just after the break midfielder Lee Carsley had a chance to double the home side's lead but he curled wide of the left-hand post.

The visitors were reduced to shooting from distance with Rudi Skacel and Euell both firing tame efforts at goal.

Costly had a chance to settle the fixture in the 67th minute but Davis reacted well to his close range strike and managed to parry the ball to safety.

Southampton, who had the chance to temporarily climb out of the relegation zone providing they won, found chances increasingly hard to come by as the game wore on.

Striker Scott Sinclair hit the post in the closing stages as the hosts continued to examine the Saints defence.

And the Blues comfortably held on for all three points but the win comes at a cost for McLeish, who after watching Bent limp off was also forced to withdraw Jerome because of injury.