Reds beaten by clinical Birmingham

Barnsley gave high-flying Birmingham a real scare but eventually went down 3-1 at Oakwell on Tuesday night.

The visitors took the lead when an error from Jim McNulty enabled Marlon King to find the excellent Chris Burke whose shot hit Barnsley captain Rob Edwards and flew in.

But the Reds responded well and levelled on 19 minutes when Craig Davies ended his goal drought with a fine finish from debutant David Cotterill's cross.

Keith Fahey made it 2-1 to the Blues with a cracking strike but Barnsley were so unlucky not to level in the next five minutes.

Matt Done had a goal controversially ruled out for offside then Davies hit the bar for the third time in as many games and the Reds went in 2-1 down at the break.

The second half was quieter and the Blues sealed victory when youngster Nathan Redmond volleyed home a fine Burke cross.

It was a decent performance from Barnsley. Paul Digby, the 17-year-old midfielder, was impressive alongside Korey Smith while Cotterill showed his potential.