Viduka strike gives Boro the points

Middlesbrough 1 Birmingham 0

Birmingham must be sick of the sight of Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka as the Australian rubbed salt into their relegation wounds with his first Premiership goal for three months.

It is now five goals in four matches against the Blues as he scored both in a 2-1 home victory last season, and another brace in the 3-0 win at St Andrews in August.

More importantly for Viduka and Boro, this latest win lifts them 11 points clear of a bottom three headed by City manager Steve Bruce’s side.

Middlesbrough are now sitting relatively pretty on 34 points, the same total that guaranteed safety for West Brom last season.

For City manager Steve Bruce, whose side can do nothing right away from home as they have now taken one point from their last seven on the road, they next face Albion at St Andrews in a vital relegation showdown that could prove make or break for both sides.

If City do go down they can add Viduka to their list of reasons why as he shook off his understandable frustrations of the last few weeks.

His last start prior to this game came in the tortuous 4-0 home defeat to Aston Villa a month ago, a result that prompted serious questions over McClaren’s reign and had Boro fans fearing the drop.

Following the match, Viduka was confronted by supporters in the car park where a row ensued, resulting in him hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Since then, while Boro have raised their fortunes in the league, FA Cup and UEFA Cup – they have now won six of seven games in those competitions – Viduka has spent the majority of his time looking on at Aiyegbeni Yakubu and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink grabbing the goals.

With impatience growing, McClaren urged the 30-year-old to bide his time and grab his chance when it arrived.

In fairness to Viduka, he did just that against Birmingham with Hasselbaink out with a virus, but had to wait until the 45th minute to do so.

Prior to that, a half of limited opportunities had nonetheless led to gilt-edged ones being spurned.

Lee Cattermole had flashed an 18-yard shot wide, and Viduka faintly flicked past the post a searing 35-yard drive from Franck Queudrue, before the Blues should have taken the lead.

Aware of West Brom’s 2-1 defeat at home to Chelsea before kick off, the incentive was there for Bruce’s side to finally lift themselves out of the bottom three for the first time since mid-October.

Emile Heskey, ploughing a lone furrow in attack as Bruce opted for five across the middle, was picked out by a piercing right-wing ball from captain Mario Melchiot.

Stooping to connect, but with the goal gaping from seven yards, Heskey produced a cushioned header that finished half a yard wide to the frustration of Bruce.

David Dunn, the driving force of the City midfield, showed a superb turn of speed to round Queudrue in latching onto a low curling ball into the near post from Jermaine Pennant.

However, in stretching out his right foot to stab a shot goalwards, Mark Schwarzer was on hand to block – and it would not be for the first time in the game.

But if visiting City had missed two great chances, the one that fell for Yakubu in the 33rd minute can only be described as a sitter.

Controlling a Viduka flick just inside the area, Yakubu turned, only for an air shot to follow at his first attempt.

Undaunted, he pounced on the loose ball, rounded Alex Bruce and then with Maik Taylor to beat from seven yards, a flick with the outside of his right foot ended with the ball shaving the left-hand post.

But at that critical moment, on the stroke of half time, Viduka put his car park argument behind him with his ninth goal of the season.

After beating Bruce on the edge of the area, he then sent Taylor the wrong way by feinting to shoot with his right foot before driving home with his left from a tight angle.

If the Blues were guilty of going to sleep at that moment, they came close to making amends in the fourth minute of the second half.

Dunn towered above Queudrue at the far post in rising to meet a left-wing cross from Julian Gray, but again he found Schwarzer barring his path to goal as the Australian beat away the goal-bound header.

Bizarrely, Dunn was then replaced eight minutes later as Bruce opted for greater potency in attack in bringing on Dudley Campbell and Jiri Jarosik.

Mikael Forssell also came on in the 79th minute, yet despite three up front to finish the game, City again drew a blank.