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Rovers take the points in a scrappy affair thanks to Dickov and Bellamy goals, while Birmingham remain in trouble and look like they will be involved in the relegation battle.
Another quick break from Rovers as Bellamy shows Blues a clean pair of heals, but cuts in and fires his shot over.
Jiri Jarosik hits a pot-shot from 20-yards, but the midfielder can't keep his effort down.
Birmingham are trying to get back into it but lack guile in forward positions.
Blackburn look to have sealed the points with a second goal, Pedersen'#s through ball picks out Bellamy, who slots past Taylor.
Neil Kilkenny is the latest change by Steve Bruce as he takes off Olivier Tebily.
A rare shot on target from the visitors, but Nicky Butt's 12-yard striker is collected by Friedel.
Birmingham make an attacking change, as Stan Lazaridis replaces by Jiri Jarosik.
Jermaine Pennant is the third Birmingham player to go into the book.
David Bentley tries a right-footed strike from 25-yards, but Taylor is right behind it and collects the ball.
Paul Dickov is taken off, much to his disappointment, and replaced by Craig Bellamy.
Heskey makes a strong challenge on Pedersen and wins the ball, but has a free-kick given against him but the ref won't show him a second yellow.
Heskey goes down in the area after a tussle with Khizanishvili, but looks like he may have fallen over his own feet.
Dickov is at the heart of almost every Rovers attack, this time he can't keep his snap shot on target.
Michael Gray pushes forward from left back and tries his luck, but his shot from the edge of the box goes wide.
Kenny Cunningham becomes the second player to go into the book after complaining about the decision.
Dickov fires home the penalty past Taylor to break the deadlock and hopefully liven up the game.
Barry Knight points to the spot after Upson's clumsy challenge on Dickov.
Blackburn start the second-half brightly and a challenge from Tebily denies a shooting chance for Kuqi.
Rovers make a change with Todd coming on the replace Nelson, who picked up a knock.
A terrible first-half and neither side looked like breaking through, even when Dickov broke clear his final shot was tame and was easily saved.
A half-chance falls to Dickov, but this time the Rovers striker fires his shot over the crossbar.
Blackburn break quickly and Paul Dickov goes through on goal, but his tame shot is palmed away by Taylor.
Birmingham are having their best spell of the game and win another corner, but they can't win the header again.
On a rare break forward, Mikael Forssell goes down in the box under the challenge of Neill but despite Heskey's claims, Barry Knight says no penalty.
Neither team can string more than two passes together and it continues to be a scrappy affair.
A Birmingham free-kick is flicked on by Heskey, but Zurab Khizanishvili controls and clears the danger.
Robbie Savage clears the ball down the left-hand side to a chorus of boos from the away fans!
It's safe to say that both defences are on top, with very little attacking threat from any of the strikers on the pitch.
Birmingham win a fortunate corner but make nothing of it, as Pennant's cross is easily headed out.
The referee is not helping the spectacle, with Barry Knight continually blowing up for offences.
This is very poor and the two goalkeepers are nothing more than spectators!
Birmingham's first venture forward, but Stan Lazaridis' free-kick is over everyone in the penalty box!
Morten Gamst Pedersen does some good work out wide for the left, Michael Gray's cross tries to pick out Kuqi but the striker completely miss times his jump.
Heskey fouls Bentley in an ariel challenge and another free-kick is given to the home side, it's just stop-start at the moment!
It's a very scrappy start and Birmingham look like a team who are short of confidence.
Ryan Nelson goes down after a heavy challenge from Emile Heskey and ref Barry Knight has a word and books the Blues striker.
The home side have started the brighter of the two teams in front of a small crowd at a half-empty Ewood Park.
Blackburn gets us underway and break quickly, but Dickov is snubbed out as he breaks into the box.
A controversial penalty decision and a man-of-the-match performance by Robbie Savage against his former club were enough to give Blackburn Rovers the points against a struggling Birmingham City side. Paul Dickov fired Rovers in front from the spot early in the second half and substitute Craig Bellamy wrapped things up for the home side with a cool finish late in the game. After Zurab Khizanishvili's red card against Liverpool had been overturned during the week, Mark Hughes was able to name an unchanged side. Steve Bruce made four changes to the team that lost the local derby against Aston Villa last Sunday. Nicky Butt, Mikael Forssell, Stan Lazaridis and Kenny Cunningham all returned to the starting line-up while Blackburn-born David Dunn failed to make the squad. Both sides started the game cautiously, with the ball never really making its way out of midfield. As early as the third minute Emile Heskey picked up a booking for a dangerous tackle on Rovers captain Ryan Nelsen. After receiving treatment from the Blackburn physio, the New Zealand international was able to carry on, but was evidently hampered by his injury. The whistle never seemed to be out of the referee's mouth from that moment on in what was ultimately a very disjointed first half. Indeed the Ewood Park crowd had to wait until the 35th minute to see the first effort on goal. Morten Gamst Pedersen fouled Jermaine Pennant on the edge of his own box, but Jamie Clapham's left-footed free-kick deflected off the wall and out for a corner. With chances at a premium, both defences had to remain focused and this was evident on 40 minutes. Forssell found himself almost clear through on goal, and had it not been for a superb last-ditch tackle by Lucas Neill, the Finnish striker would surely have threatened the Rovers goal. The best attempt of the half arrived just three minutes before the break. Khizanishvili played the ball forward for Dickov, and after Lazaridis had miscued, the lively Scot found himself one on one with the keeper, but his tame shot was easily saved by Maik Taylor. With a mostly forgettable first half coming to an end, Rovers came out with a lot more drive and purpose about their play straight from the restart. The warning signs were there for the visitors, as just a minute into the second half, Kuqi almost found Pedersen at the back post following a pin-point cross from David Bentley. And less than two minutes later, Rovers got the break their endeavours deserved. Kuqi flicked the ball onto Dickov inside the box and as Matthew Upson appeared to have hold of his shirt, referee Barry Knight pointed to the spot. Despite the visitors' protests, which saw Blues captain Cunningham receive a yellow card, Dickov picked himself up and blasted home the resulting spot kick. On 55 minutes, the Rovers strikeforce combined once against to create another good opening. Michael Gray played a long free-kick forward for Kuqi, the big Finn headed the ball down to Dickov on the edge of the area, but his controlled volley fizzed narrowly wide of Taylor's right-hand post. Both managers rang the changes, with Bellamy coming on for Dickov, while Jiri Jarosik replaced Lazaridis for the Blues. And with just nine minutes left on the clock, it was the Rovers substitute who wrapped up the points for the home side. After a mix-up in the home defence, Pedersen slid a perfectly weighted throughball for Bellamy and the Welshman, on his return from injury, calmly slotted the ball past Taylor. MAN OF THE MATCH: Robbie Savage (Blackburn) - Had a big impact in a scrappy match against his former club with his wholehearted attitude a constant threat to the unconvincing City midfield.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
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