Fulham continued their recent return to form by pulling themselves out of the relegation zone with a vital 2-0 victory over Birmingham City on Saturday.

After a quiet first half, Brian McBride put Fulham in the lead seven minutes into the second half before substitute Erik Nevland snatched all three points for his side by scoring the second goal three minutes before full time.

With both the teams needing a victory in order to avoid relegation from the Premiership, the game saw a quiet opening with neither team willing to go forward. Fulham settled down and almost took the lead in the 8th minute when Simon Davis was played in by Jimmy Bullard but Birmingham keeper Maik Taylor pulled off a brilliant save to deny the midfielder.

Birmingham could have taken the lead midway through the half as Mikel Forssell found himself in possession inside the penalty area but Aaron Hughes managed to put in a tackle to deny the striker.

Fulham took a deserved lead in the 52nd minute when McBride raced forward to meet Bullard's curling free kick and head home past Taylor to put his side in front. The hosts created a number of chances to double the lead but were unable to convert them before Nevland put the result beyond doubt in the 87th minute.

As Birmingham pressed forward in search of a late equalizer, a swift counter attack saw Nevland take control of the ball inside the penalty area before slotting it past Taylor to collect all three points for his side.