It's to Saints credit that they managed this, and dominated nearly all of the match. While the need to break the deadlock through another penalty is a point to bear in mind, Saints were worthy winners.
“When the opportunity came along to play today then we did very well and I thought we deserved a win," said Strachan."I’m getting a lot of satisfaction from the way my team are playing and we’re all enjoying things at the moment.”
“There is a long way to go until the end of the season and we’ve not had any injuries yet.
“All we are doing is looking forward to the teams immediately above us and that means preparing for the game against Newcastle next week.
Birmingham boss Steve Bruce was left bemused by refereeing decisions. Bruce said: “I’m not trying to make excuses because on the day our performance didn’t warrant anything more than a goalless draw but I felt the whole turning point for the game was the referee’s decision.
“I didn’t think it was a penalty but if he gives that decision then he should have given us a penalty at the other end 10 minutes later and that’s what we’re unhappy about.
“The whole decision has left us baffled, confused and angry and all I’m asking for is a bit of consistency.
“The referee has a very difficult job to do but if he gives one decision then he has to give the other. I didn’t think either was a penalty but I think things might have been different if we had been playing at St Andrews.”