Kevin Phillips fired Birmingham back to the summit with the only goal of the game against QPR.
Birmingham back on top as QPR slip up again
Kevin Phillips fired Birmingham back to the summit of the Championship table with the only goal of the game against QPR.
The veteran striker bundled home from close range in first-half injury time after Garry O'Connor had been released down the left and cut the ball back across the six-yard box.
Liam Ridgewell had the ball in the net in the opening moments after a deep cross into the area, but was rightly booked for a blatant Diego Maradona impression as he punched the ball beyond Radek Cerny.
QPR, tipped to be among the promotion contenders due to their financial muscle, have now taken just one points from their last four matches after a bright start to the season and remain outside the play-off places.
The visitors failed to really get going and, despite having a wealth of possession, did not force Blues keeper Maik Taylor into any save of note.
The home side's resilience, which has dominated their displays so far this term, was enough to see them through and leave them one point ahead of Wolves prior to their trip to Swansea later on Saturday afternoon.
Sebastian Larsson returned for Birmingham after missing the midweek draw at Derby because of concerns over his hamstring, while Phillips and O'Connor led the forward line.
Iain Dowie opted for the same side that started the second half of Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Blackpool, Mikele Leigertwood and Patrick Agyemang taking their place in the XI from the off.
An ordinary opening half an hour followed Ridgewell's indiscretion with neither team creating anything in the way of goalscoring opportunities.
Frustrating
Lee Cook fired an effort straight at Taylor from the edge of the area with Birmingham struggling to string a series of passes together and the away side looking comfortable in possession without threatening.
Cerny was forced into his first save of the match after a frustrating 31 minutes - catching well from Kemy Agustien's header.
Gavin Mahon drilled wide after good work from Leigertwood before Phillips prodded home with virtually the last kick of the opening 45 minutes to set up a more promising second half.
And so it proved as Blues posed more attacking questions in the opening stages of the second half than they had in the entire first 45 minutes.
Left-back David Murphy blitzed a great effort narrowly over the bar in the 48th minute before Cerny had to dive low to his left to keep out Radhi Jaidi's downward header as Alex McLeish's side looked to double their lead.
Birmingham's determined play brought a previously dormant home crowd to life and even when QPR started to enjoy some moments of possession, they failed to do anything with it.
Yet a similar pattern to the first half soon followed as Birmingham lacked the crucial cutting edge needed to kill the game off, despite knocking the ball around with ease.
The visitors were starting to disappear from the encounter as the clash entered the final 10 minutes and were subsequently left to taste defeat for the fourth time this season - leaving them without a league win at St Andrews since 1984.
