Birmingham reclaimed top spot in the Coca-Cola Championship table thanks to a 1-0 victory over bottom club Leeds at St Andrews.

On-loan Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner netted the only goal of the game and his 10th of the season for Blues, who moved up from third to hold a one-point advantage over promotion rivals West Brom and Derby.

But defeat heightened United's relegation fears, with the Elland Road club now without a win from their last four fixtures and lying four points adrift of safety with the worst goal difference in the division.

The visitors were on the defensive during the game's early stages and in the 13th minute Birmingham went close when David Healy cleared Gary McSheffrey's 25-yard free-kick off the line.

From the subsequent corner, taken by McSheffrey from the Blues' right, Bendtner headed the ball home in the 15th minute.

Robbie Blake tested goalkeeper Colin Doyle with a low-bouncing free-kick fired from outside the Birmingham box before play switched to the other end where an ambitious McSheffrey volley was fired across goal following Sebastian Larsson's right-wing supply.

Just before the half-hour mark Manuel Rui Marques headed a Robbie Blake free-kick inches over the Birmingham bar, before Richard Cresswell beat Bruno N'Gotty in the air and then got the ball back from Healy.

Doyle got his fingertips to Cresswell's shot but the ball bobbled goalwards and hit the base of the post before being cleared off the line by Stephen Clemence.

With 10 minutes to the break, Leeds captain Kevin Nicholls fired over.

In the 56th minute Blake was replaced by defender Armando Sa, allowing Eddie Lewis to move higher up the park.

But the United rearguard was breached just moments later as Bendtner set up Clemence, although the midfielder could only sidefoot over the bar when under no pressure inside the Leeds penalty area.

In the 61st minute the visitors made their second change as Ian Moore replaced Jonathan Howson ahead of Jemal Johnson, the Wolves forward on loan with Leeds, coming off the bench for Healy in the 68th minute.

Leeds survived another scare in the 71st minute when a miscued Cresswell corner looped over his shoulder and goalkeeper Graham Stack before bouncing off the crossbar.

Birmingham made their first change when, with 15 minutes remaining, Cameron Jerome replaced Rowan Vine and the substitute made an immediate impact by forcing a right-wing corner which was punched away by Stack.

Fabrice Muamba limped out of what was proving to be a dreary second half in the 81st minute with Medhi Nafti the player introduced, before Julian Gray was swapped for Larsson.

Stack dived to his right to save from Bendtner in the closing stages before the striker hit the post with less than two minutes remaining.

Teams:

Birmingham Doyle, Kelly, N'Gotty, Martin Taylor, Sadler,Larsson (Gray 84), Muamba (Nafti 81), Clemence, Bendtner,Vine (Jerome 76), McSheffrey.

Subs Not Used: Maik Taylor, Campbell.

Booked: Muamba.

Goals: Bendtner 15.

Leeds Stack, Richardson, Rui Marques, Heath, Lewis,Howson (Moore 60), Nicholls, Douglas, Blake (Armando Sa 57),Healy (Johnson 67), Cresswell.

Subs Not Used: Einarsson, Carole.

Att: 18,363

Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).