Birmingham City are up to 11th in the EFL Championship table following a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers at St. Andrews.
The Blues were ahead inside of four minutes after a sublime flick from Arsenal loanee Auston Trusty. They doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark through another loan signing in Emmanuel Longelo.
QPR could have gone top of the table with a win, they lost Jake Clarke-Salter and Tyler Roberts in between the goals and John Ruddy saved Lyndon Dykes' 79th-minute penalty.
The Hoops remain second, but could be knocked out of the automatic promotion places if Blackburn Rovers get a result at Hull City tomorrow.
Story of the match
Birmingham manager John Eustace made two changes to the side that was defeated by Blackburn with captain Troy Deeney and Hannibel Mejbri back in the starting lineup, replacing George Hall and Juninho Bacuna.
It didn't take the Blues long to open the scoring, a ball only half-cleared by the QPR defence was sent back in by Krystian Bielik and a sumptuous flick by Trusty left Seny Dieng with no chance.
The visitors nearly responded moments after the goal, Ilias Chair's free-kick from outside of the area only denied by a superb save from Birmingham goalkeeper John Ruddy.
A misstep by Harlee Dean allowed Dykes to play in Roberts, but the Birmingham defender got back to get in a crucial sliding block.
Dykes then picked up a loose ball and struck a first-time shot that was straight at Ruddy.
Just before the half-hour mark. the hosts doubled their advantage. Mejbri rolled the ball to Longelo on the left and the West Ham loanee got past Ethan Laird to curl one low into the bottom right corner.
QPR had two half-shouts for a penalty, the first when a cross by Chair struck Maxime Colin at point-blank range and the second after some physical play in the box.
Luke Amos, who came on at halftime, got on the end of a dangerous cross and sent a header wide with some solid defensive work by Dean affecting the shot.
Ruddy to the rescue
The visitors had a golden opportunity to get back in the game in the 78th minute when referee Tim Robinson awarded them a penalty after Longelo struck Laird with a high boot.
Dykes stepped up to the spot and despite getting plenty of power on his shot, was denied by a brilliant save from the 36-year-old Ruddy, who dove to his left to maintain the Blues' two-goal lead.
Player of the match: Auston Trusty
He showed a brilliant piece of skill for the goal and asked plenty of questions of the QPR defence. An overall brilliant display that could pave the way to a spot in the USA World Cup squad.
