Holland's double stuns Birmingham

Two goals by Matt Holland, the Republic of Ireland midfielder's first since a £750,000 summer transfer from Ipswich, enabled Charlton to become only the third team to score against Birmingham in this season's Premiership and the first to win at St Andrew's since February.

Two goals by Matt Holland, the Republic of Ireland midfielder's first since a £750,000 summer transfer from Ipswich, enabled Charlton to become only the third team to score against Birmingham in this season's Premiership and the first to win at St Andrew's since February.

Christophe Dugarry's header halved the deficit to set up a rousing finale in which Holland's international colleague Dean Kiely preserved Charlton's fourth away win. His stunning save from Mikael Forssell's 89th-minute header was his second of a fine individual display.

Alan Curbishley's side thus climbed to seventh place, a point behind their hosts who remain fourth. Birmingham, to Steve Bruce's dismay, were left to rue defensive lapses of a kind their manager must have felt were a thing of the past. Both Charlton's goals stemmed from corners.

"It was disappointing to concede twice from set-pieces," Bruce said. "But with the spirit we showed in our response to going 2-0 down, I thought that we deserved something from the game."

Curbishley, who remains a possible target for Tottenham, singled out two principal contributors to Charlton's success on his return to one of the clubs he played for. Of the acrobatic Kiely, he said: "You can count on one hand the number of bad games he has had for us." Moving on to Scott Parker's metronomic performance in midfield, the Charlton manager added: "I know Sven Goran Eriksson and Tord Grip are watching him, so I just hope he gets the recognition. The two games he didn't play, neither did we. I don't see a better midfielder."

It should be noted, too, that Maik Taylor was not far behind Kiely in Birmingham's goal. His agility, allied to the partnership of Matthew Upson and Kenny Cunningham, has played an important part in what was an extraordinary defensive record until Holland set to work.

During the 574 minutes in which the trio had been on the pitch together prior to Charlton's visit, Birmingham had not conceded a goal. They had added only 11 minutes to that total before Holland, already captain of his new club, met Claus Jensen's corner with a free header.

Jonatan Johansson, making a rare start because of Charlton's surfeit of injured strikers, fluffed two chances. It seemed they would matter little when, in the 58th minute, another Jensen corner reached the unmarked Graham Stuart, whose angled volley was nudged in by Holland.

Dugarry, climbing to a corner by Stan Lazaridis, rewarded Birmingham's mounting pressure with a powerful headed goal in the 64th minute. The Frenchman looked certain to equalise three minutes later from Olivier Tebily's cross, but Kiely turned the ball over at point-blank range.

Charlton kept playing on the break, with Parker the focal point, but the final minutes saw them pinned in deep defence. Kiely resisted everything Birmingham threw at him, and the crowd's frustration was tempered by the knowledge they had witnessed an entertaining spectacle.

Birmingham City (4-4-2): Taylor 8; Tebily 4, (Morrison, 78) Cunningham 7, Upson 6, Clapham 5; Dunn 6, Clemence 5, Cissé 4 (Hughes 5, 55), Lazaridis 5 (John, 89); Dugarry 5, Forssell 6. Substitutes not used: Kenna, Bennett (gk).

Charlton Athletic (4-4-2): Kiely 9; Kishishev 5, Perry 6, Fish 6, Hreidarsson 6; Holland 7, Parker 7, Jensen 7, Stuart 6 (Fortune, 84); Johansson 4 (Svensson 5, 74), Euell 6 (Lisbie 5, 68). Substitutes not used: Powell, Royce (gk).

Referee: P Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent) 6.