Second win in four days, it's like a bus service

Weeks and weeks went by without the Clarets winning a game and I always thought it might be like waiting for a bus, wait ages for one and then two or three come at once. As unlikely as Birmingham away was of becoming that second bus, it was there ready for us to board once Spicer had found the net.

It was more than just a win, it was the win that surely will now banish any lingering relegation fears, and I would suspect we've probably got enough points to be safe, although another couple wouldn't go amiss. It's surprising what you can do when you start scoring goals, especially when you are able to keep three clean sheets in a week.

There were doubts about Eric Djemba-Djemba and Paul McVeigh ahead of the game, there was a chance that Jon Harley and James O'Connor could be left out because of the yellow card situation, but when the teams were announced it was same again for Burnley with the only change coming on the bench where significantly Garreth O'Connor was replaced by Spicer.

The Burnley team, and all the staff, wore black armbands in respect of Brian Miller who had died just hours before the game, and it was perhaps fitting that it was a referee by the name of Miller who got the game underway.

This could be a difficult afternoon for us, a full house at St. Andrew's mainly of home fans, with the Clarets' contingent shoved right into the corner having been given far less tickets than on the two visits in our first two seasons back in this division.

Goalkeeper Brian Jensen was pulled up for a foul early in the game and some would say he was fortunate to escape a booking when in truth he was unlucky to have been penalised. There was no contact, and the assistant referee knew that but referee Nigel Miller strangely overruled him. It wasn't a good start from this less than reliable official, but to be fair he went on to have a good game and I can't recall too many problems with him at all.

As expected Birmingham were pushing forward but we were more than holding our own in the early exchanges but the home side were seeing more of the ball. We were thankful to Wayne Thomas for one brilliant clearance but there should have been nothing we could have done when the first real clear cut chance fell to Radhi Jaidi who missed with a headed chance from close range.

We were more than having our moments, and more than once caused the home side some problems with crosses in from either flank from Wade Elliott and Steve Jones and right on half time we almost grabbed the lead. This came from Jones who broke well down the left and when the ball broke to McVeigh he got a good effort in only for it to be saved by the goalkeeper Colin Doyle.

Goalless at half time, and we'd done more than enough to deserve it, we'd defended well and restricted Birmingham to few opportunities and we'd got forward as often as possible and caused them some problems.

In the second half, with the Clarets now attacking the end where the Burnley fans were, there were long spells down the other end of the pitch as they tried to put us under more pressure. They had a lot of the ball, but we continued to defend resolutely, at times in numbers, and the home side failed to make too many inroads leaving Jensen in goal with little to do.

Steve Cotterill replaced McVeigh with Spicer whilst Steve Bruce also brought on a couple of substitutes either side of that change. They looked to be getting increasingly desperate and I was beginning to now believe we could get ourselves a really good result here and come home with a point.

Elliott made one good run but when he cut in his shot lacked power, the type of effort my dad used to tell me wouldn't have burst a paper bag, and Doyle saved easily but in our next attack the Birmingham keeper was picking the ball out of the net.

A defensive mistake by former Blackburn defender Taylor let in Spicer but he'd still got a lot to do as he moved forward with the ball. As I watched him move towards the keeper I thought if only it was John Deary, the master when it came to a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. It could well have been as Spicer took it all in his stride and hit the ball past Doyle and then, as it hit the net, made his way to the delirious 1,000 Burnley fans in the corner, quickly followed by the rest of his team mates.

That's the moment I'll bring home with me, that's what makes football so special. Who would have thought as that goal went in at Southend that this would happen against one of the better teams in the division.

We'd still to ensure we kept the lead, and overall we did it without too many worries, even when referee Miller incredibly found another five minutes to add on at the end. Birmingham fans had been signing 'Keep right on to the end of the road' but as the final whistle came they'd all gone and seemingly were already at the end of it on their way home. We celebrated as the players came over again, this time with the points in the bag.

Man of the match could for some be a difficult one. There were good performances all over the pitch, but again I have to go for Eric Djemba-Djemba who for me today was simply brilliant. He won the ball time after time, his passing was excellent, and his attitude was second to none.

So the first bus was Plymouth, and now the second. So we are seven points clear of the bottom three again and still with a game in hand. Life in the Championship is suddenly looking a whole lot better.

The teams were;

Birmingham: Colin Doyle, Stephen Kelly, Radhi Jaidi, Martin Taylor, Mat Sadler (Neil Danns 85), Sebastian Larsson, Damien Johnson, Medhi Nafti (DJ Campbell 58), Gary McSheffrey, Nicklas Bendtner (Cameron Jerome 76), Rowan Vine. Subs not used: Maik Taylor, Fabrice Muamba.

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Wayne Thomas, Steven Caldwell, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, Eric Djemba-Djemba, James O'Connor, Steve Jones (Graham Coughlan 88), Paul McVeigh (John Spicer 67), Andy Gray (Ade Akinbiyi 90). Subs not used: Danny Coyne, Chris McCann.

Referee: Nigel Miller (County Durham).

Attendance: 28,777.