A second-half goal from David Cotterill was the difference at the John Smith's Stadium as Birmingham City beat Huddersfield Town 1-0 this afternoon.

David Davis nearly opened the scoring in spectacular fashion when he linked up with Clayton Donaldson before skipping clear of two Huddersfield defenders, only to fire wide of goal from 18 yards.

Grant Holt's header was beaten away by Darren Randolph five minutes before the break, before Cotterill and Harry Bunn traded long-range efforts in the only other first-half chances of note for the Terriers.

However, the away side took control after the restart, sending a succession of crosses into the Huddersfield box, while not properly testing Alex Smithies.

With the game seemingly heading towards a stalemate, Cotterill fired home a free kick on 70 minutes, after Anthony Gerrard had felled Donaldson on the edge of the area.

Lee Peltier nearly responded immediately for the home side, but his header from a corner flew narrowly wide as Gary Rowett's improving side held on for the win.