Birmingham sink Blackpool to move clear of drop zone

Birmingham moved clear of the Premier League relegation zone thanks to a 2-0 win over Blackpool at St Andrews on Saturday.

Alex McLeish’s side kicked off just one place above the bottom three but goals from Liam Ridgewell and Nikola Zigic ensured the Blues edged into mid-table with their second win in nine league games.

After Ridgewell’s first half opener, Zigic’s second goal for the club since his close-season move from Valencia guaranteed McLeish’s 50th win as Birmingham manager and left Blackpool to rue a lacklustre display.

Blackpool had already won three times on their travels this season and they showed their attacking intentions early on when Gary Taylor-Fletcher forced Ben Foster to save with a header from Neal Eardley’s cross.

Birmingham responded and Blackpool Matthew Gilks tipped over a free-kick from Sebastian Larsson before blocking Zigic’s deflected effort from the resulting corner.

Ian Holloway’s team appealed in vain for a penalty after a corner from David Vaughan appeared to hit Ridgewell on the arm.

But Birmingham were back on the attack as Keith Fahey flashed a long-range strike just wide.

Garry O’Connor was making his presence felt up front and headed over from a precise cross by Birmingham captain Stephen Carr.

O’Connor had the ball in the net after 32 minutes but the Birmingham striker’s effort was ruled out for offside.

The hosts’ pressure finally told in the 36th minute when Larsson’s corner was headed back across goal by Ridgewell to Zigic. The Serb’s header struck the bar but Ridgewell was first to react to the rebound and made no mistake from close range.

McLeish’s team continued to press forward after half-time and Zigic doubled their lead in the 56th minute.

Roger Johnson flicked on Larsson’s corner and the loose ball was knocked back across the area by Ridgewell.

Blackpool skipper Charlie Adam then miscontrolled the ball inside the six yard box and Zigic took full advantage to put Birmingham firmly in control.

Adam was in the thick of the action and had a chance to atone for his error but Foster was the equal of his 15 yard drive, but the second goal had knocked much of the stuffing out of Blackpool and the hosts cruised to victory without any further alarms.