Birmingham created a slice of club history but Cameron Jerome's failings in front of goal meant they had to settle for a goalless draw against Wigan at St Andrew's.
And an afternoon of frustration for Blues was compounded when top scorer Craig Gardner was shown a straight red card for a lunge at Franco Di Santo in the last minute. Alex McLeish's side equalled City's best top flight unbeaten home run of 18 games stretching back exactly 12 months.
But Jerome, last season's leading scorer with 11 goals, missed two golden first-half chances to earn his side all three points. It was a below-par performance from the home side who have won only two of their last 16 Barclays Premier League games. McLeish is fully aware that he is still searching for the right combination in the final third of the pitch.
Jerome can never be faulted for work-rate and commitment but lacks the finesse in the box of a top performer. City struggled to impose themselves on the Latics, who followed up their win at Tottenham with a solid performance. Wigan winger Charles N'Zogbia was booed everytime he touched the ball by the home fans after the 11th-hour collapse of his move to Blues last month.
But he showed enough skill and touches to demonstrate why McLeish had agreed a £9million fee for his services. Birmingham made a positive start and came close to taking the lead after three minutes.
Wigan defender Steve Gohouri's attempted headed clearance from Sebastian Larsson's cross dropped invitingly to Alexander Hleb 12 yards out and his volley flew only a couple of feet wide.
N'Zogbia looked lively and one run and cross teed up a chance for Hugo Rodallega 15 yards out but Blues defender Scott Dann made a great block on the shot. The former Newcastle player then forced City goalkeeper Ben Foster to turn a rising 20-yard drive over the bar after a mistake by Lee Bowyer had led to the opening.
Jerome then missed a good chance to break the deadlock after 26 minutes. Larsson again showed skill to get to the byline before sending over a deep cross, but Jerome failed to make full contact on his close-range header which flew wide. Johnson and Rodallega were both booked after squaring up to each other on the edge of the Birmingham box and Ronnie Stam was booked by referee Mark Clattenburg for bringing down Craig Gardner in full flight.
Blues ended the opening half on a high and Gohouri was also booked for a challenge on the edge of the Wigan box on Jerome. Al Habsi parried away Larsson's inswinging free-kick and then reacted quickly to block the follow-up effort from Jerome from two yards out but the striker should have scored.
Birmingham seemed off the pace but still continued to create the best chances.
Liam Ridgewell headed wide from an inswinging Larsson free-kick when unmarked. Foster comfortably saved a low effort from N'Zogbia at the end of a swift counter-attack by the Latics. Wigan made their first change after 59 minutes with Stam replaced by Di Santo.
McLeish responded by making a double substitution with Bowyer and Hleb making way for Nikola Zigic and Jean Beausejour. Dann was booked for a touch-line challenge on Di Santo as the game entered the final 20 minutes. Al Habsi came quickly off his line to save at the feet of Jerome after Larsson supplied the through ball.
Di Santo tried to beat Foster with a shot via the outside of his right boot but the former Manchester United goalkeeper was able to save to his right. Gardner was sent off in the final minute for a two-footed lunge on Di Santo and now faces a three-game ban.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez condemned Birmingham midfielder Craig Gardner's foul on Franco Di Santo and raised fears the Latics striker may have suffered ankle ligament damage. He said: "I've just seen Franco Di Santo's leg and that's my worry. We have to see the extent of that injury. He has a couple of nasty cuts in his leg and by that you can see the challenge was really high.
"The referee had a clear view and was on top of the incident and my worry is the extent of the injury. The cut swelled up straight away and there could be a bit of ligament damage in his ankle, which is the worry.
"From where I was, Gardner's leading foot was really high and he gets the ball with the second foot. Nowadays you can't go into a challenge like that with your feet high. It was a reckless challenge with excessive force and it was a red card, but all I'm worried about is Franco's injury.''
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish had no complaints with the sending-off. McLeish said: "At the time I just thought it was two players together and you couldn't avoid a collision but I've seen it on video and we won't be appealing.
"I don't think it was a massively dirty tackle but when your studs are showing, it's come more and more into the English game. You might have got away with it a year ago but, when there are studs colliding with a player's leg, then the refs are clamping down on that in this country.
"It's been in international football for a long time but as long as everyone is consistent I don't mind. The ref was in a good position and, under the rules, he's made the right decision.'' Martinez praised Charles N'Zogbia for the way he handed abuse from the Birmingham crowd after the collapse of his move to St Andrew's in the summer. The Wigan boss said: "I thought he coped with it very well. I was never in doubt because he loves that sort of challenge.
"I think in football when you get the opposition crowd targeting you it's a football compliment because they see you as a threat, as someone who can win the game and I felt he took it in the manner. He was a threat, worked really hard and is slowly getting back to his best.''
Birmingham are now unbeaten in 18 top-flight home games, equalling their best ever run. McLeish said: "I am proud of the record. There was a lot of pressure on us today due to the media coverage of the record. I felt it could be one of those occasion where people were waiting for you to end up with egg on your face.
"I am sure there were a lot of people predicting we would lose the record just because of all the hype but it was something we couldn't avoid and I told the players that. We put it aside and did everything in our powers to get the three points. We just couldn't get the ball into the net.
"There were some great set-piece situations, some great deliveries from Seb Larsson in the first half, but we're lacking that killer touch.''
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