Full-time: Birmingham City 1 Bristol City 0. Franck Queudrue broke Bristol City on a night of high drama at St Andrews.

For 87 minutes, resilient City withstood everything promotion favourites Birmingham could throw at them.

But their heroic defence was finally breached when a point appeared to be theirs' for the asking.

Just three minutes remained when Sebastian Larsson swung over Birmingham's umpteenth corner of the night and Frenchman Queudrue emerged from a scrimmage on the edge of the six-yard box to head the ball high into the roof of the net and send a wave of relief around the stadium.

It was difficult not to feel sorry for City goalkeeper Adriano Basso and his defenders, who had stood tall to repel wave after wave of Blues attacks.

Had it not been for the Brazilian, City would surely have been beaten by half-time.

But not even his brilliance could deny the home side at the death and Alex McLeish's side are now back in second place in the Championship, having leapfrogged Reading.

Defeat was hard on a City side which improved after the break and felt it had probably done enough to warrant a draw. This was only City's second loss in 12 games and they remain handily-placed just outside the play-offs with a trip to Derby County next up on Saturday.

As expected, City boss Gary Johnson reverted to the starting line-up and formation which enjoyed such success at Reading 10 days earlier, dropping Nicky Maynard to the bench, recalling Ivan Sproule to the right wing and deploying Gavin Williams in a withdrawn role behind lone striker Dele Adebola.

Hit by a raft of injuries, Blues were at least able to call upon midfielders Lee Bowyer and Sebastian Larsson, both available after serving a one-match suspension.

A weakened home defence certainly appeared ill at ease during the opening exchanges and Adebola was afforded a wonderful opportunity to put the Robins ahead in only the third minute.

Michael McIndoe threaded a perfectly-weighted through ball into the big striker's path, beating the offside trap and presenting Adebola with a clear run on goal. Unfortunately for City, their nine-goal top scorer sent his left-footed shot inches the wrong side of the upright with keeper Maik Taylor beaten.

Without a win in their last three outings and out of the top two for the first time in weeks, Birmingham responded in positive fashion and Adriano Basso had to be at his athletic best to tip over Bowyer's thunderous drive from 15 yards.

The Brazilian again proved equal to the task when saving Stephen Carr's long-range effort at the second attempt moments later.

Although the visitors were enjoying an equal share of possession, Birmingham carried the greater threat in the final third and centre-back Radhi Jaidi almost put them in front on 20 minutes, his towering header coming back off the underside of the cross bar and requiring Jamie McAllister to affect a last-ditch goal-line clearance.

That near miss sparked a period of sustained pressure from the Midlanders and City, unable to retain the ball, were forced to defend a series of corners against opponents who boasted a clear height advantage at set pieces.

When the visitors finally lifted the siege and launched a swift counter-attack of their own, Adebola and McIndoe combined to set-up Cole Skuse for a low shot which Taylor gathered despite being denied a clear sight of the ball until the last moment.

But the momentum was with the Blues and it was a case of all hands to the pump for City as they again came under the cosh, Basso having to make a smart save to keep out Keith Fahey's bullet header at the back post.

Birmingham continued to pile on the pressure after the break and City's goal again lived a charmed existence, no more so than when Martin Taylor met Larsson's corner with a looping header which bounced down off the underside of the bar and was hacked clear before it could cross the line.

Larsson's set-piece delivery was proving a potent weapon and his angled free kick presented Bowyer with a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the 62nd minute, only for the former England international to seer his diving header wide of the target from the edge of the six-yard box.

Basso then came to City's rescue, turning Fahey's rasping shot behind for a corner.

Stern John replaced a tiring Adebola soon afterwards and served notice of his intentions, sending a first-time effort inches over the bar as City issued a reminder of their ability on the break. Williams then tested Maik Taylor with an attempt from range.

Robins boss Johnson introduced Maynard and a change in formation with 20 minutes to go in a bold bid to win the game and the new arrival went close almost immediately, stepping inside Jaidi and sending a curling shot over the bar.