Veteran striker Kevin Phillips continued his rich vein of goalscoring form as Birmingham beat Ipswich in the Coca-Cola Championship.
Liam Ridgewell was on hand with a close range finish to give the home side the lead in the ninth minute.
Six minutes later Phillips headed home a precision Sebastian Larsson cross to double the Blues' advantage.
With five minutes to go Alex Bruce rose above a static home defence to power in a consolation for the Tractor Boys.
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish on their fine form: "There is too far to go. With three games a week it will be a marathon and anything can happen.
"I thought the players showed great mental toughness in the circumstances and got us a deserved victory. The front four were in terrific form.
"We now visit Wolves on Saturday against a team who are deservedly top of the table. Their confidence will be high but there is no reason to fear the game so far as I am concerned."
Ipswich manager Jim Magilton: "We did better in the second half but I never thought we had enough in the final third to really trouble Birmingham. That was the big difference between the two sides.
"If you want to play against the best in this division you have to be up for it from the whistle.
"Birmingham is a place, where if we have any aspirations to play at the next level, you have to match the opposition in every department. This is why overall I was disappointed with our display."
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