BIRMINGHAM manager Lee Clark admitted he had been delighted to see his team snuff out the threat of Cherries' “terrific attacking players”.

Clark had goalkeeper Darren Randolph to thank as the Blues capitalised on Cherries' profligacy to complete a hat-trick of away wins.

Victory, which came courtesy of well-taken first-half goals from Andy Shinnie and Nikola Zigic, hoisted the visitors five places in the Championship, with Clark's men the biggest movers of the day.

Clark said: “I was absolutely delighted because we came up against a terrific team. They pass the ball well and have good movement. We had to be resilient and every player put in a shift when we didn't have the ball.

“We scored two good goals and probably could have kept the ball better at times. But when you keep giving it to the opposition, they will cause you problems. I can't fault the effort and application of the group.

“It was never going to be easy and I like what Eddie does here and like the group of players he has. They have some terrific attacking players but we nullified them. When they did breach us, our goalkeeper pulled off two or three excellent saves.

“They changed their system a couple of times which showed how resolute we were being during the game. When you go away from home, win and keep a clean sheet, you have to be delighted.”