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Birmingham logo
Championship
Oct 5, 2013 at 12.15pm UK
 
Bolton logo

1-2

Zigic (69')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Beckford (12'), Danns (64')

Match Analysis: Birmingham City 1-2 Bolton Wanderers

Sports Mole picks apart a first win at the 11th attempt for Bolton Wanderers in the Championship as they see off Birmingham City 2-1.

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.

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Bolton's Neil Danns celebrates a goal against Birmingham on October 5, 2013
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2Birmingham CityBirmingham1292123111229
3Wrexham1374221101125
4Mansfield TownMansfield127322014624
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10Stockport CountyStockport145632017321
11Exeter CityExeter126151310319
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16Blackpool134452125-416
17Bristol Rovers135171520-516
18Northampton TownNorthampton134361720-315
19Wigan AthleticWigan133551211114
20Leyton Orient133281118-711
21Crawley TownCrawley143291225-1311
22Cambridge UnitedCambridge123181117-610
23Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury1422101325-128
24Burton Albion130581325-125


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