Birmingham City's winning run ends at Cardiff

Birmingham City's three-match winning streak was halted by a 1-0 defeat at Cardiff City Stadium, a result that keeps them fourth in the Championship.

Birmingham City's three-game winning run came to an end with a 1-0 defeat at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday 24 October. The loss, their first since September 9, prevented Chris Davies's side from climbing higher in the Championship table, where they remain fourth with 20 points from 11 games, having recorded five wins and five draws against a single loss.

Yousef Salech scored the only goal in the 31st minute, converting from Ollie Tanner's cross. The Cardiff forward had earlier seen a penalty saved by Birmingham goalkeeper Nathan Trott in the 21st minute after Tomoki Iwata was adjudged to have fouled Perry Ng at a corner. Trott was called into action again late on, making a key stop to deny Demarai Gray two minutes from time and preserve Cardiff's narrow lead.

Key moments

Birmingham had arrived in the Welsh capital on the back of three consecutive victories without conceding a goal, part of a recent run of three wins, one draw and one loss in their last five matches. That defensive solidity was broken just past the half-hour mark when Salech, making his first appearance in five weeks following a shoulder injury, found the net. The Blues struggled to create clear chances, with their best opportunity falling to Gray in the dying moments. At the other end, Cardiff's James Beadle made an important second-half save with his legs to deny Cian Ashford. Chris Davies's side were without Krystian Bielik, who withdrew during the warm-up due to injury. Luis Vazquez also failed to mark his first start with a goal, missing a chance from a Jay Stansfield cross. Cardiff manager Brian Barry-Murphy served a touchline ban after receiving a third yellow card of the season.

League context

Their recent form of three wins, one draw and one loss in the last five games is still strong, but the gap to leaders Middlesbrough has widened to five points. The Blues have scored 20 goals this season while conceding 11, giving them a healthy goal difference of plus nine. The team's top scorer this season is Liam Millar with four goals in seven appearances, though he was unable to add to his tally in this match. Birmingham's immediate focus now shifts to preparing for the away match at Lincoln on Saturday 31 October, where they will face a side currently sitting 18th in the table.