FULL-TIME: Blackburn Rovers 1 Birmingham City 0

But Gary Bowyer’s boys made hard work of it against a managerless Birmingham side who played the final half-an-hour with 10 men after Neal Eardley was shown two yellow cards in the nine minutes immediately after Marshall’s winner.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Up until Marshall broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, Rovers, who as a result of their first victory in five matches move up to 11th in the standings and three points behind the play-offs, had toiled on a cold October evening at Ewood Park.

But after it they dominated and they should have put the game to bed long before Andrew Shinnie so nearly brought Blues level deep into injury-time.

Rovers boss Bowyer made two changes to the team that started Saturday’s last-gasp 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town.

One was enforced as the suspended Matt Kilgallon dropped out for Alex Baptiste, and the other was tactical, to allow Marshall to move back into midfield.

The versatile star, whose injury-time strike earned Rovers a dramatic point at Portman Road, had started the past three matches at right back.

But Adam Henley was given his chance to nail down the position after taking the place of left-winger Craig Conway.

Malcolm Crosby and Richard Beale, in caretaker charge of Birmingham after Lee Clark’s sacking on Monday, were forced to make two changes, Colin Doyle replacing the suspended Darren Randolph between the posts, and Eardley replacing the injured David Davis.

It was Doyle’s first league start since April 2012.

And he should have been picking the ball out of the back of the net just six minutes in.

A precise pass from Tom Cairney sent Jordan Rhodes scampering away down the right and his first-time cross into the middle of the area could not have been more inviting for Corry Evans.

But inexplicably the midfielder failed to get a touch to it.

Evans should have been made to pay less than a minute later when a long ball over the top of the Rovers defence found Clayton Donaldson with just Jason Steele to beat.

But the striker stabbed wastefully wide.

Both sides allowed each other plenty of space in the opening exchanges and, after Donaldson sent a header over from a David Cotterill free kick wide, only a desperate clearance denied Rudy Gestede a certain goal.

Markus Olsson played a sharp one-two with Rhodes and looped over a cross that Doyle spilled into the path of Cairney.

Cairney squared the ball across the box for Gestede, who would have turned it home had it not been for Paul Robinson’s intervention.

But Rovers’ intention to put Blues, who came into game unbeaten in their last three away from home, under pressure from the kick off, disappointingly, failed to materialise.

There was a serious lack of tempo and zip to their play in the first half while their final ball was also badly lacking.

And they would have been behind at the break had their goalkeeper not made two saves, one superb, in the space of four minutes.

Firstly Steele got down smartly to gather a crisply struck low drive from Koby Arthur before he flew to his left to turn deny Paul Caddis a stunning goal after Henley inadvertently headed a cross into his path.

Rhodes tried to lift his lacklustre team with a sharp turn and shot which whistled past the post.

But half-time came at the right time for Rovers.

And six minutes after it they went in front.

Rhodes, whose approach play impressed, spread the ball out wide to the left to Marshall who, foolishly, was shown the inside by the Birmingham backline.

And Marshall made them pay as he shifted the ball on to his right foot before drilling it in off the near post.

It was the start of a nine-minute spell to forget for Blues.

After Steele made an important stop with his legs from Caddis, Eardley was given his marching orders after he picked up a second booking for a cynical trip on Markus Olsson.

From then on Rovers did all the running, with Shane Duffy heading the resulting Cairney free kick wide before Doyle made a breathtaking double save.

Marshall danced his way into the area and was only prevented from putting a finishing touch to his jinking run by the outstretched left leg of Doyle, who then did brilliantly to pick himself up to keep out Cairney’s follow up.

The Irishman was also equal to a stinging right-footed effort from Olsson.

But he should have been beaten by Birmingham old boy David Dunn, a 66th-minute replacement for Gestede, after he brought a clever chipped pass from the hardworking Lee Williamson down in the box.

Blues were now really riding their luck and, after more dazzling wing play from Marshall, Cairney saw a shot hit a defender and, unbelievably, come back off the post.

Luke Varney, who came on for Rhodes 10 minutes from time, then had the opportunity to kill the contest from a lovely Cairney through ball.

But he blazed over after Doyle raced out to his feet.

There was always the danger of a sting in the tail and Birmingham substitute Shinnie so nearly provided one in the second minute of injury-time when his 20-yard piledriver crashed against the bar before the ball was hacked to safety.

Rovers: Steele, Henley, Baptiste, Duffy, Olsson, Cairney, Williamson, Evans, Marshall, Rhodes (Varney 80), Gestede (Dunn 66). Subs not used: Eastwood, King, Taylor, Tunnicliffe, Conway.

Booked: Gestede, Duffy.

Goal: Marshall 51.

Birmingham: Doyle, Eardley, Edgar, Robinson, Grounds, Caddis, Gleeson, Arthur (Reilly 71), Gray (Thomas 65), Cotterill (Shinnie 80), Donaldson. Subs not used: Trueman, Packwood, Hall, Novak.

Booked: Eardley.

Sent off: Eardley 60.

Referee: Robert Madley.

Attendance: 12,852.