Ten-man Town fell to a 3-0 defeat away against fellow play-off challengers Birmingham City with Will Buckley, Jon Toral and Maikel Kieftenbeld on the scoresheet. Buckley made the most of some hesitant defending to put the home side ahead on 23 before Douglas was shown a straight red card just prior to the break and Toral and Kieftenbeld smashed home stunning second-half volleys to seal the victory.
As expected, boss Mick McCarthy reverted to the team which drew 1-1 with Preston last Saturday, having changed his entire XI for the FA Cup replay at Portsmouth on Tuesday.
New signing Kevin Foley’s international clearance came through and the full-back took a place on the Town bench, while loanee Paul Digby was included in a Championship matchday 18 for the first time.
The home side made one enforced changed from last week’s 3-0 win at Derby with Jacques Maghoma unwell. On-loan Sunderland winger Buckley came into the side for his full Birmingham debut.
After a quiet opening few minutes, the Midlanders created the first opening in the fourth minute, Buckley, often a thorn in Town’s side when a Brighton player, finding himself space 20 yards out but scraping wide.
A minute later, Stephen Gleeson, who played for Blues boss McCarthy at Wolves, scuffed another effort well past the post.
Town weren’t far away from going in front with their first chance of the game on six. Ryan Fraser laid the ball back to Kevin Bru on the left and the Mauritius international whipped over a cross which Daryl Murphy headed just over Tomasz Kuszczak’s crossbar from six yards.
Soon after, Clayton Donaldson thought he’d failed to take the chance of the game up to that point when he slid in but failed to connect with Maikel Kieftenbeld’s cross from the left but the linesman’s flag had been raised.
Murphy went close again for the Blues in the 11th minute when Bru fed the Irishman just outside the area to the left, where he flicked the ball up and smashed a strike across the face of goal.
Both sides were continuing to have chances and on 14 Jon Toral struck a powerful 25-yard effort which Blues keeper Dean Gerken did well to bat away from goal.
On 21 Birmingham defender Paul Caddis inadvertently presented the ball to Fraser on the Town left when trying to avoid conceding a corner, allowing the Scotland U21 international to whip over a cross which Freddie Sears flicked towards goal, however, Kuszczak was able to claim above his head.
Two minutes later, the visitors went in front via a goal Town will think they really ought to have prevented.
Tommy Smith’s headed clearance only reached Jonathan Grounds, who crossed from the left. The ball was turned away from goal but hit Douglas and ran to Donaldson, who hit a shot which Gerken saved superbly at point blank. However, the rebound fell to Buckley, who tapped home his first Birmingham goal from close range.
As the game moved towards the half hour mark Gleeson picked up the game’s first booking for a blatant trip on Fraser as the winger broke down the left.
After the resultant freekick had been worked down the left, the ball came out to Cole Skuse midway inside the Birmingham half but the midfielder’s shot flew well over.
Kieftenbeld went close to adding to his side’s lead on 40 when he made the most of more hesitant Town defending on the edge of the area, but the Dutchman’s shot was deflected wide.
Next it was the Blues' turn to threaten. With Kieftenbeld down injury and the home crowd calling for play to be stopped, Fraser cut in from the right and hit a powerful low shot which Kuszczak saved down to his right. Sears was first to the rebound which the Polish keeper again saved.
The ex-Colchester man got the the loose ball first again but his strike was deflected behind for a corner. From the flag-kick, Sears was just unable to get a touch to Christophe Berra’s header before Kuszczak claimed.
In first-half injury time Fraser crossed from the left and Murphy glanced a header well wide.
Seconds before the whistle Town were reduced to 10 men for the second successive game.
Douglas dived in for a ball which had run away from him midway inside the Blues half and caught Buckley with a one-footed but studs-up challenge on his shins.
Referee Michael Bull had no hesitation in issuing the 34-year-old with what looked a correct straight red card, Town’s first of their Championship campaign. Douglas now faces a three-match ban.
There hadn’t been much in the half as a whole with both teams having created opportunities - Town’s best was probably Murphy’s early header - and the two keepers each having made saves.
The Blues were made to pay for poor defending for the goal and having been reduced to 10 men have an uphill task to get back into the match in the second half.
Town switched Bru for the more combative Luke Hyam ahead of the start of the second half.
Skuse struck the first shot after the restart from distance but it gave Kuszczak little problem, then Paul Robinson got his name in the referee’s book for a foul on Fraser with the Blues starting the half on the front foot, despite their numerical disadvantage.
But nine minutes after the break the home side doubled their lead. Donaldson knocked down a long kick from Kuszczak and on-loan Arsenal midfielder Toral smashed an unstoppable volley past Gerken from 25 yards.
Despite what now looked a hopeless cause, the 10-man Blues kept pushing forward in ever greater numbers, Sears winning a couple of corners with strong runs into the area from first the right and then the left, but without the set pieces coming to anything.
On 64 Murphy fed a speeding Fraser down the left and the on-loan Bournemouth man took the ball into the area before hitting a low shot across the face of goal from a tight angle.
Two minutes later, again after Fraser had outpaced defenders down the left, Murphy laid the ball back to the Scot but his shot flew well over.
At the other end Gleeson saw a 67th minute shot deflected through to Gerken from the edge of the area, off a Town hand claimed the Birmingham players and fans, but not referee Bull.
Any doubt about which way the points would be were going were ended in the 70th minute when Kieftenbeld made in 3-0 with the afternoon’s second stunning volley.
The Blues again made heavy weather of clearing a ball in from the left and Chambers’s hook away fell to the former Groningen midfielder lashed past Gerken and into the corner of the net.
Sears looped a Fraser low cross over on 75, then a minute later Smith was booked for a foul on Donaldson on halfway.
With 12 minutes remaining Brett Pitman and Luke Varney replaced Sears and Murphy, then a minute later James Vaughan replaced Buckley for the home side.
Four minutes after coming on, Varney fed Fraser to his left inside the area when he might have shot himself, but the winger’s effort was blocked.
Birmingham’s Grounds was extremely lucky to avoid a red card on 84 when he caught Fraser in the face with a high boot just outside the area. Amazingly referee Bull failed to see the challenge as a foul let alone a card. If Douglas’s challenge warranted a red card, then that certainly did.
Gleeson smashed a shot not too far over, then Gerken required treatment after colliding with Vaughan as the two went for a Donaldson knockdown. The Blues keeper was eventually able to continue.
Deep in injury time Fraser, once again Town’s outstanding player, cut in from the right and struck a shot which flew just over the bar.
The game had been an even affair with both teams creating chances until Douglas’s red card, Birmingham having made the most of poor Town defending for Buckley’s opening goal.
The Blues continued to take the game to the home side in the second half and had a number of decent chances, but holes began to open up in the Town backline and Birmingham capitalised with first Toral’s and then Kieftenbeld’s brilliant strikes.
While the scoreline was a reflection of the 90 minutes overall, the game had been much tighter when 11 against 11.
The result sees the Blues - previously undefeated in seven away from home in the Championship - drop to eighth with Birmingham moving ahead of them but only a point behind Sheffield Wednesday in the final play-off place.
Town have a free Saturday next weekend with scheduled opponents Reading still in the FA Cup. The game has moved to the following Tuesday, February 2nd.
Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, Bru (Hyam 46), Fraser, Sears (Pitman 78), Murphy (Varney 78). Unused: Bialkowski, Digby, Foley, Hyam, Maitland-Niles.
Birmingham: Kuszczak, Caddis, Morrison (c), Robinson, Grounds, Gleeson, Kieftenbeld (Solomon-Otabor 74), Davis (Adams 90), Buckley (Vaughan 80), Toral, Donaldson. Unused: Legzdins, Spector, Lowry, Brock-Madsen. Referee: Michael Bull (Essex). Att: 18,272 (Town: 1,887).