Birmingham City 2 Sunderland 1
Stu Vose

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce was left with nothing from his return to St Andrew's as a late rally wasn't enough to claim a point at Birmingham.

The Black Cats struggled to create in front of goal throughout and a day to forget was capped off by goals from Liam Ridgewell and James McFadden either side of half time.

Ridgewell looked to be in an offside position when he knocked home the first, but there was no denying that Birmingham deserved the breakthrough, which they added to when McFadden netted just after the break.

Scott Dann's own goal gave the visitors a route back into the game with eight minutes to go.  But they couldn't cash in - Darren Bent going closest in a frenetic last few minutes.

Bruce opted to recall Kieran Richardson at left-back in preference to the fit-again George McCartney, while Jordan Henderson beat Bolo Zenden to the midfield spot vacated by the injured Lee Cattermole.

Barring a couple of early corners for the visitors neither side produced much in the early running, although Craig Gordon did have to claim McFadden's rising shot after the impressive Christian Benitez knocked the ball across the box.

Benitez popped up again on the quarter-hour with the first real chance of a quiet opening 15 minutes.  Partner Cameron Jerome laid a neat ball off into the path of the striker, who beat Michael Turner but snatched at his shot and skied the ball way over the top from a decent position.

Sunderland's recent showings have been characterised by an up-tempo approach largely absent here as City made most of the running, threatening through McFadden and a positive run and shot from Jerome.

The half-chances seemed to give Birmingham confidence as they forced Sunderland way back into their own territory and would have taken the lead barring two examples of fine rearguard action just before the half-hour.

Sunderland looked exposed when Benitez whipped in a dangerous ball from the left, but the restored Richardson sneaked in with a superbly-timed sliding challenge at the very last second as McFadden steadied himself to sweep the ball home from eight yards out.

Then it was 'Chucho' Benitez's turn to threaten when he rolled Phil Bardsley comfortably and loosed off a shot which had Gordon springing away to his right to tip behind.

The next time, though, Gordon wasn't so lucky.  Phil Bardsley gave away a 37th-minute free kick on the left apex of the box, Larsson swung the ball across the face of goal and Ridgewell touched the ball home.

The former Aston Villa defender looked to be in a clearly offside position when he converted, but the assistant referee was unmoved and the goal stood.

On the balance of play the goal was no more than Birmingham deserved against a visiting side who didn't register their first shot on goal until five minutes before the break, when Reid smashed a low shot past the post from 20 yards.

The lively Benitez threatened twice more before Sunderland got to the dressing room as he brought St Andrew's to its feet with a curling shot which beat Gordon at full stretch but narrowly failed to creep inside the far post.

Bruce was no doubt delighted to get his team inside for a stern lecture at the break - but any hopes of a revival soon turned to double trouble just two minutes after the restart.

A floated ball onto the edge of the box carved Sunderland open as McFadden peeled away to meet Jerome's smart backheel, turn well inside the challenge of Bardsley and curl home a shot which evaded a desperate lunge from Turner on the goal-line.

Seven minutes into the second half and it could have been three.  Larsson's curling free-kick was spilled by Gordon, who did well to recover and drop on the ball just milliseconds before Benitez would have knocked it in.

Benitez was denied by a quick block in front of goal just after the hour before Bruce made an ambitious triple substitution, replacing Steed Malbranque, Jordan Henderson and captain Lorik Cana with Fraizer Campbell, George McCartney and Bolo Zenden.

After hardly threatening Joe Hart's goal throughout, all of a sudden Sunderland were back in it with eight minutes left following their best spell of pressure of the game.

Michael Turner flicked Reid's floated free-kick up and over Joe Hart, and in attempting to clear Scott Dann could only slice the ball into his own net to give the Black Cats hope of an unlikely comeback.

With the away fans upping the ante, the visitors began to grow in confidence, but they couldn't find a finish despite close-range headers falling for both sub Fraizer Campbell and Kenwyne Jones.

But their best chance of the game came just a minute from time.  Top scorer Darren Bent looked set to equalise when he met Reid's cross with a low drive - but his shot across goal clipped the far post and span agonisingly wide.

Gordon kept his side in the contest with a superb reflex save to deny sub Gary McSheffrey as four minutes of time were added on, but further Sunderland pressure came to naught as Alex McLeish's Blues claimed their second home win of the season.

SAFC: Gordon, Bardsley, Richardson, Turner, Ferdinand, Malbranque (Campbell, 68), Reid, Cana (C) (Zenden, 68), Henderson (McCartney, 68), Bent, Jones.

Subs Not Used: Fulop, Nosworthy, Da Silva, Healy.

Booked: Gordon (90).

Sent Off: None.

Birmingham: Hart, Carr (C), Bowyer, Ridgewell, Larsson (Carsley, 83), Jerome (McSheffrey, 77), Chucho, Ferguson, Johnson, Dann, McFadden (O'Connor, 76).

Subs Not Used: Taylor, Phillips, Queudrue, Parnaby.

Booked: Johnson (24), Ferguson (82), McSheffrey (90).

Sent Off: None.