Skipper Luke Chambers ended Town’s goal drought with a 15th minute goal and the Blues are 1-0 up against Burton Albion at half-time in the first ever competitive game between the clubs.
Teddy Bishop and Kevin Bru returned to the Town starting line-up for Grant Ward, who dropped to the bench, and Jonathan Douglas who missed out due to injury, as did Jonny Williams - who played the final few minutes at Blackburn on Saturday after his ankle injury - as a precaution.
Town started in the expected 4-3-3 formation with Bishop taking the more advanced midfield role ahead of Bru and Cole Skuse with Freddie Sears on the left and Tom Lawrence on the right of Leon Best up front.
Burton made two changes - to their XI skipper John Mousinho and Jamie Ward for Tom Naylor and Will Miller - and started in their usual 3-5-2 system.
Neither side created a serious chance in the opening 10 minutes with the best opportunity coming on seven when Lucas Akins robbed Adam Webster but the Burton striker sent the ball well into the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.
Town went ahead and ended their five-games-plus goalless run with their first chance of the match on the quarter hour.
Best left the ball to Bru midway inside the Burton half and the Mauritius international cleverly turned and played it wide to Sears on the left.
The former Colchester man moved the ball on to his right foot and whipped over a cross, which the diving Chambers met at the far post to head home Town’s first goal in eight hours and 22 minutes of football.
On 21 Jackson Irvine was shown the first yellow card of the game for a foul on Best after the Irish international had pulled off a slick turn and was making a run towards the penalty area.
There was a major let-off for the Blues in the 23rd minute when Akins was sent away on goal but, as Jonas Knudsen got back to challenge, shot wide when he ought to have done much better.
A minute later, Best found Sears in space inside the box but John Brayford got across to take the ball off his foot before the one-time West Ham trainee could get in a shot and end his 38-game personal goal drought.
Soon after, Best beat a man on the edge of the area and looked to feed Bishop, who was in space to his left, but over-hit his pass.
Burton should have got back on terms on 28 when Jamie Ward hit a powerful strike from distance which Bartosz Bialkowski could only parry out to Lloyd Dyer but the wing-back - who turned down a Town contract after a trial in February - scraped his first-time shot well wide.
It was Town’s turn to threaten three minutes later when Bishop crossed low from the right and Bru diverted the ball straight at Brewers keeper Jon McLaughlin.
Bru went even closer in the 34th minute after some head tennis following a corner. The midfielder hooked towards goal and the ball took a huge deflection and looped just the wrong side of the post.
Town claimed a penalty for handball after a subsequent flag-kick, then on 35 Skuse was booked for a foul on the breaking Dyer.
Burton were having just as many, if not more, chances than Town and two minutes later, after a quick break, Ward played the ball back to Dyer in space from the left but the former Leicester man shot well over.
The visitors threatened again in the 38th minute when a corner was cleared to Irvine, whose shot deflected wide off Best. Burton claimed it had struck the striker’s hand but referee Oliver Langford awarded only a corner and a penalty would have been very harsh.
A minute before the scheduled end of the half, Bialkowski was forced into another sharp save after Brayford had hit a strike from a tight angle to the right of goal after a well-worked move.
Town were fortunate to go in with their lead still intact at the break with Burton having had more than enough opportunities to get back on terms or even get their noses in front.
Having finally ended their long goalless run, the Blues had opportunities of their own in what had been an unusually open Championship game, which seems unlikely to end with just the one goal having been scored.
Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Webster, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Bru, Bishop, Lawrence, Sears, Best. Subs: Gerken, Emmanuel, Kenlock, Digby, Dozzell. Grant, Ward.
Burton: McLaughlin, Brayford, Mousinho (c), McFadzean, Turner, O’Grady, Akins, Dyer, Ward, Palmer, Irvine. Subs: Bywater, Flanagan, Williamson, Naylor, Miller, Choudhury, Harness. Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands).