Blackburn 2-1 Birmingham: Sam Gallagher & Tyler Morton give Rovers win
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Adam Wharton celebrates after scoring his first Blackburn goal
Blackburn Rovers kept pace with Championship leaders Queen's Park Rangers after a clinical win over in-form Birmingham City.
After Tahith Chong hit the post for Blues, Sam Gallagher finished off Tyler Morton's cross to put Rovers in front with their first meaningful attack.
Adam Wharton's first senior goal then doubled their lead after some negligent Birmingham defending.
Rovers were indebted to goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, who denied Scott Hogan and Juninho Bacuna's excellent second-half chances before Hogan pulled one back to give spirited Blues late hope.
Birmingham poured forward but could not find an equaliser, as Blackburn sealed a 10th win of the season - and fifth in a row at home - that keeps them level on points with QPR at the top.
John Eustace's resurgent Blues stay 14th after suffering only their second defeat in nine matches.
Blues had the better of the early stages in the meeting of two in-form teams and came close to taking the lead when Chong's left-foot effort thumped the base of the right post after being nicely teed up by Hogan.
Blackburn were soon ahead though with their first meaningful attack of the game when, from Morton's low centre into the six-yard box, former Birmingham loanee Gallagher slid home after the Blues defence failed to track his underlapping run in support of Ben Brereton Diaz.
The visitors were then denied an equaliser when Hogan and George Hall played a neat one-two before Kaminski turned Hogan's fierce effort over the bar.
Blues, who had conceded nine goals in their last two visits to Ewood Park, switched off again as Wharton skilfully slalomed his way into the box to smartly finish past John Ruddy.
Despite their two-goal deficit, Birmingham started brightly after the break and should have equalised when Hogan was sent through by a lovely pass from Bacuna. With Kaminski nearing the edge of his area, Hogan blasted the ball at the keeper rather than try to go round him.
Blackburn had Kaminski to thank again moments later as he bailed out his defence, saving from Bacuna after the ball had been inexplicably given away on the edge of the Rovers box.
Blues boss Eustace made a quadruple substitution with 15 minutes to try to chase a way back into the game and it was one of the subs - Lukas Jutkiewicz - who gave them a lifeline when his astute nod back was thrashed in by Hogan for his seventh goal of the season.
Kaminiski then saved from Jutkiewicz before another of the Blues substitutes - Troy Deeney - sent a looping header over as the visitors failed to grab a point.
Blackburn Rovers head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"It was extremely hard at the end. A lot of teams have difficulty with Birmingham, who have been playing well.
"It was probably not our best game but it was a good performance and we did score two great goals.
"Thomas had a brilliant game in goal and we were quite good defending the box, especially towards the end of the game.
"We have a young squad who are not used to that intensity. We need to cope with that and learn from it - but I'm very pleased."
Birmingham City head coach John Eustace told BBC Radio WM:
"We were excellent - lots of good chances. We controlled the game fairly well without the ball.
"The manner of the way we conceded the two goals was disappointing. We just switched off and just weren't at the races defensively.
"We need to be more clinical when we get into good areas, but their goalkeeper was excellent and I'm delighted with the boys' efforts."