Match ends, Birmingham City 1, Bolton Wanderers 0.
BirminghamBirmingham City1BoltonBolton Wanderers0
Clayton Donaldson's first-half goal gave Birmingham a 1-0 win over Bolton, who are still without an away victory in the Championship this season.
Donaldson tucked away a low cross from Diego Fabbrini at the near post to claim his seventh goal of the season.
Blues are now just three points away from a play-off position after a first win in four games.
Bolton, who avoided a winding-up order on Monday after agreeing a £7.5m takeover, remain second from bottom.
Former Bolton striker Dean Holdsworth, who heads the consortium which is set to take control at the Macron Stadium, again watched from the stands.
And he saw another toothless performance from a side missing top scorer Gary Madine after he was left out by manager Neil Lennon for disciplinary reasons.
Birmingham did not carry much threat but broke the deadlock when Donaldson flicked the ball home after being set up by former Watford midfielder Fabbrini on his first start for Blues.
They almost added a late second when substitute David Cotterill was denied by Paul Rachubka on his first league start for Bolton.
Bolton manager Neil Lennon:
"What we need to do is get the (transfer) embargo lifted and get some players in to bolster the squad. It's wafer thin at the moment.
"We do need a bit of strength in depth, it's something we've lacked for a while. It (the takeover) has not gone through yet so once it does we'll know what position we're in."
On his disciplinary action against Madine: "You have to set certain standards as a manager and I'm pretty fair with the players, but there are some things which you can't tolerate and you have to put a marker down and that's what I've done.
"It was at the weekend. I'm not going to go into it, it's been dealt with internally.
"It's up to Gary, the ball is in his court. He has to have a change in his thinking. There are things I will put up with and there are things I just can't, otherwise you'll have anarchy on your hands."
Birmingham manager Gary Rowett:
"You always felt this was a really pivotal game. It was just a case of winning the game.
"We're not a free-scoring team, we didn't use the ball well enough but the one bit of quality in the game we ended up scoring from.
"We're still very much in the mix, something that, after 32 games, everyone at the club everyone would have been really pleased with."
Line-ups
Birmingham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 29Kuszczak
- 32Shotton
- 28Morrison
- 4Robinson
- 3Grounds
- 8Gleeson
- 6Kieftenbeld
- 30BuckleySubstituted forCotterillat 64'minutes
- 7FabbriniBooked at 55minsSubstituted forToralat 64'minutes
- 19Maghoma
- 9DonaldsonBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 1Legzdins
- 11Cotterill
- 15Vaughan
- 20Toral
- 23Spector
- 26Davis
- 31Caddis
Bolton
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 13Rachubka
- 15Derik
- 4DerviteSubstituted forDannsat 34'minutes
- 45Holding
- 3MoxeyBooked at 68mins
- 8SpearingSubstituted forWellingtonat 84'minutes
- 7Feeney
- 6VelaSubstituted forDobbieat 84'minutes
- 21Pratley
- 16DaviesBooked at 88mins
- 10Clough
Substitutes
- 18Danns
- 22Wellington
- 23Dobbie
- 25Wilson
- 30Woolery
- 42Walker
- 49Campbell
- Referee:
- Scott Duncan
- Attendance:
- 15,992
Match Stats
Home TeamBirminghamAway TeamBolton
- Possession
- Home42%
- Away58%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away4
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away1
- Corners
- Home6
- Away3
- Fouls
- Home18
- Away17
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Birmingham City 1, Bolton Wanderers 0.
Post update
Attempt missed. Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jon-Miquel Toral with a through ball.
Booking
Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Mark Davies (Bolton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City).
Post update
Offside, Birmingham City. Maikel Kieftenbeld tries a through ball, but Jon-Miquel Toral is caught offside.
Post update
Darren Pratley (Bolton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City).
Post update
Attempt blocked. David Cotterill (Birmingham City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Booking
Mark Davies (Bolton Wanderers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Mark Davies (Bolton Wanderers).
Post update
Jon-Miquel Toral (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Attempt missed. David Cotterill (Birmingham City) right footed shot from long range on the right is too high. Assisted by Stephen Gleeson.
Substitution
Substitution, Bolton Wanderers. Wellington replaces Jay Spearing.
Substitution
Substitution, Bolton Wanderers. Stephen Dobbie replaces Josh Vela.
Post update
Neil Danns (Bolton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Stephen Gleeson (Birmingham City).
Post update
Attempt saved. Jon-Miquel Toral (Birmingham City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Maikel Kieftenbeld.
Post update
Hand ball by Maikel Kieftenbeld (Birmingham City).
