Birmingham 1-0 Bristol City: Che Adams seals win for Blues

Birmingham increased their unbeaten home run to seven games with a narrow 1-0 Sky Bet Championship over Bristol City.

After being on the ropes for much of the second half Birmingham were indebted to an 81st-minute winning goal from Adams.

Birmingham had to battle the entire game and finished with 10 men when Jonathan Spector was sent off for a reckless tackle in the 87th minute.

Lee Johnson's young Bristol side had every reason to feel hard done by with the end result as they displayed some pleasing attacking play with Jamie Paterson and Tammy Abraham catching the eye.

Their commitment to attack, however, very nearly cost them dearly. Birmingham broke quickly and a delightful through pass from Maikel Kieftenbeld put Clayton Donaldson racing clear. The striker spotted the opening and his low shot cannoned back off the back before a frantic Robins defence were able to regroup and clear their lines.

In a fast, open game, goal opportunities were rife with David Davis going close to opening Birmingham's account with a low raking drive which whistled just wide of the post.

Kieftenbeld then had his effort blocked by Hordur Magnusson as the Robins retreated in numbers to bolster a defensive blockade.

Another chance went begging when Lukas Jutkiewicz headed wide from Dave Cotterill's right-wing cross as Birmingham struggled to break Bristol City's spirited resistance.

It was Bristol City who had more momentum at the start of the second half when Abraham jinked his way forward before slipping a pass into the path of Marlon Pack who fired in a rising shot which Tomasz Kuszczak flicked over the bar.

Against the run of play Birmingham snatched the game out of the fire. A corner on the right was headed by Adams. The effort was blocked but Adams determinedly followed up to force the ball home.

Birmingham manager Gary Rowett:

"It was not the total performance that I wanted after the international break. I thought we were excellent for the first 35 minutes but early in the second half we were a little bit sloppy and lacked a bit of energy.

"We appeared to run out of steam which is unlike us. We had to defend well but we looked short of energy and we needed some fresh legs."

Bristol City manager Lee Johnson:

"I'm disappointed to come away from the game without any points. The games at Championship level are always on a fine balance. I was disappointed with the goal and the mistakes which led up to that goal,

"I cannot be too critical of my side because I thought we were fantastic in the second half. Away from home we took the game to a good side and peppered the final third with runners and quality. It was just that finish and beating the man of the match, Tomasz Kuszczak."