Toon pile on the Blues! Newcastle 2-1 Birmingham.

Newcastle finally guaranteed their spot in the Premier League for next season after a scrappy and hard-fought 2-1 victory over Birmingham City.

It was a match that I wasn't expecting much excitement from if I'm being honest. Both teams struggle to score goals and both can be defensively sound on their day so you could say that the omens were there for a dull, dour game with few chances for either team.

Steven Taylor was recalled for the injured Mike Williamson while Birmingham made two changes as Keith Fahey and Jean Beausejour replaced the suspended Craig Gardner and a dropped Kevin Phillips respectively. With the away side lined up in a 4-5-1 formation it gave more credence to the assumption of many who predicted that the game would not be a goalfest.

It started out in that vein as neither team threatened either goal until the 17 minute mark when Joey Barton tested Ben Foster who tipped his 35-yard shot round the post. I'll say it now, but Barton had another good game today. His energy and drive was on show for all to see as he repeatedly caused problems for Birmingham.

The home side were just about on top and Tim Krul had become a virtual spectator in the match as the bulk of the action took place in front of Gallowgate. That pressure finally told on 36 minutes when Newcastle were afforded the opportunity to take the lead from the penalty spot.

Jonas Gutierrez won a corner, much to the annoyance of Scott Dann who felt that the Argentinian had fouled him. Joey Barton fired the corner into the danger area which caused confusion and sparked a goalmouth scramble with chances for for Fabricio Coloccini and Kevin Nolan before referee Chris Foy blew the whistle and awarded Newcastle a penalty kick and sent Blues defender Liam Ridgewell off for a deliberate handball.

It wasn't obvious to me at first glance, but the Newcastle players seemed pretty convinced and protested fiercely for the award. TV replays showed that the players were right to protest and Chris Foy was bang on the money by awarding the penalty and sending Ridgewell off. Shola Ameobi, so reliable from the penalty spot but crap at everything else, put the ball into the bottom corner of Ben Foster's net to give the home side the advantage.

It could have been more but for Ben Foster denying Peter Lovenkrands, who was sent clear thanks to clever play from Nolan who himself was denied a few minutes later after he managed to control Cheik Tiote's wayward shot and unleash it at the Birmingham goal with much more gusto than the shot originally had. That man Foster diverted the shot over the bar to safety and while Birmingham were creaking they still had one foot in the game.

But not for long. Joey Barton sent in the resulting corner which was met by Steven Taylor who powered his header goalwards. Even Seb Harrison Larsson on the line was unable to prevent the ball from hitting the back of the net as the hosts took control of the game with only two minutes to go until half-time.

However, ten man Birmingham found a way back into the game thanks to Fabricio Coloccini who allowed a long Ben Foster punt up field to bounce and give Cameron Jerome the opportunity to take possession. Jerome couldn't get his shot in at goal so played the ball back to Lee Bowyer who stroked home via a Coloccini deflection to give the away side some impetus on the stroke of half-time.

The second half was a tale of territorial advantage for Newcastle as they poked and prodded for a third and decisive goal. Nile Ranger went close, as did Kevin Nolan while Shola Amoebi had an effort cleared off the line. In truth it was a comfortable half for the home side as Birmingham rarely threatened with the only blot being Cheik Tiote picking up his fifth booking in five games - his 14th of the season.

It wasn't pretty and at times it our lack of a real striker was plain for all to see, but it didn't matter in the end as the three pints that guaranteed us safety ended up in the bag. The lads played much better than they did last week at Anfield, so it's a case of improvement all round.

Howay the lads!

Newcastle: Tim Krul, Danny Simspon, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan, Cheik Tiote, Jonas Gutierrez, Peter Lovenkrands, Shola Ameobi.

Subs: Steve Harper, James Tavernier, Shane Ferguson, Ryan Taylor, Ryan Donaldson, Nile Ranger, Shefki Kuqi.

Birmingham: Ben Foster, Stephen Carr, Roger Johnson, Martin Jiranek, Liam Ridgewell, Sebastian Larsson, Lee Bowyer, Barry Ferguson, Jean Beausejour, Keith Fahey, Cameron Jerome.

Subs: Colin Doyle, Stuart Parnaby, Curtis Davies, David Bentley, Alexander Hleb, Matt Derbyshire, Kevin Phillips.

Attendance: 47,409.

Referee: Chris Foy.