Birmingham missed their chance to climb back into the play-off zone after a dramatic night of twists and turns against Norwich at Carrow Road.

The Blues seemed to be coasting as they went in at half-time two goals up after dominating the first period.

But Norwich staged a remarkable fightback and two goals from Craig Bellamy and one from Chris Llewellyn put the Canaries 3-2 ahead.

But the drama did not end there as Birmingham striker Peter Ndlovu struck with two minutes left for his second goal of the night to even up the honours.

Birmingham took the lead after 12 minutes when Ndlovu headed in unmarked at the far post after an accurate cross from Northern Ireland international Jon McCarthy.

Norwich had nearly broken the deadlock four minutes earlier when winger Adrian Forbes' cross was deflected onto his own post by Birmingham full-back Michael Johnson.

But that was the closest Norwich came in a woeful first half performance by the home side.

Birmingham attacked at will and should have been further ahead by the time they finally added a second a minute before the break.

A slip by Llewellyn allowed McCarthy to slide a ball through to striker Dele Adebola and the former Crewe man beat Andy Marshall at the goalkeeper's near post.

Norwich manager Mike Walker must have had stern words for his side at the break and their eagerness to fight their way back was apparent when they took the field more than a minute before their opponents showed up.

Norwich then had the boost of an early second half goal when Daryl Sutch hit a long ball from the left-back position and Bellamy got goalside of the defence to slip the ball past Birmingham keeper Ian Bennett.

Eleven minutes later Norwich were level when Forbes crossed from the right, Bennett could only parry and Llewellyn shot into the empty net from eight yards to notch up his first goal for the club.

Ndlovu then hit the post after breaking free and his miss proved costly as after 68 minutes Bellamy scored his eighth goal of the season and the second of the night to put Norwich ahead.

Bellamy was in the right place at the right time after Shaun Carey's shot had deflected off the back of Johnson's legs. It looked as though Norwich would hold on to the unlikely lead especially after Marshall made a quite breathtaking reaction save from a close-range Adebola back-header.

But the final twist of an eventful night came when Zimbabwe international Ndlovu back-heeled past Marshall from a Brian Hughes cross with two minutes remaining.

Even then there was time for Bennett to pull a fine save from a Bellamy free-kick and for Marshall to keep out an exquisite lob from Birmingham's former Norwich defender Steve Bruce.

Teams:

Norwich: Marshall, Sutch, Segura (Kenton 57), Grant, Fleming, Jackson, Forbes, Fleck (Coote 67), Llewellyn, Carey, Bellamy.

Subs Not Used: Mills.

Goals: Bellamy 47, Llewellyn 58, Bellamy 68.

Birmingham: Bennett, Johnson, Charlton, Bruce, Ablett, Marsden, McCarthy (Forster 90), Robinson, Adebola, Hughes, Ndlovu.

Subs Not Used: Grainger, Purse.

Booked: Ablett.

Goals: Ndlovu 13, Adebola 44, Ndlovu 88.

Att: 9,819

Ref: A Bates (Stoke-on-Trent).