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{ Birmingham City's Nikola Zigic is mobbed by his team-mates after scoring the winner against West Ham United. Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA

The Upton Park crowd had made it plain that they did not appreciate the unique talents of Nikola Zigic. "Does the circus know you're here?" they chorused at the beginning of the second half. The beanpole Birmingham City striker would enjoy the heartiest of last laughs.

His goal settled this dismal game and spirited three precious points in the relegation struggle back to St Andrew's. It was one that showcased not only his aerial power but also West Ham United's patented ability to shoot themselves in the foot.

Only Mark Noble knew what he was thinking when he leapt recklessly into the back of David Bentley on the Birmingham left and the award of a free-kick by the referee Chris Foy was merely the prelude to the punishment. The substitute Sebastian Larsson curled it in to the back post and Zigic, having lost his marker, thumped a header home.

The Serb moved to Birmingham from Valencia last summer for £6m and this was his sixth goal for the club, making each of them pretty expensive. This one felt priceless. Zigic's introduction as a substitute swung the Carling Cup semi-final second leg against West Ham in his team's favour but Premier League points are the hardest currency.

Today was Avram Grant's 56th birthday but this was no way to celebrate. Apart from a late blast from the substitute Demba Ba on his debut, which rattled the near post, West Ham created little of note. After the tonic of the midweek win at Blackpool, the frustration of taking two steps back was palpable. The club's supporters did not even put their hearts into the booing at full-time.

The match was flat at the outset, as always seems to be the case with early kick-offs. There was a lack of tempo and sharpness, with Birmingham seemingly content to stay solid in midfield and look to punch on the counter.

West Ham, with Victor Obinna high up on the left flank and Robbie Keane scuttling about up front, were on the front foot slightly more but the lack of quality in both teams made for slim pickings. Misplaced passes and hopeful punts forward pockmarked the action.

The highlight of the first half came when the fourth official stepped forward to indicate that there would be only one minute of added time. The crowd had been treated to one shot on target, from Frédéric Piquionne in the 20th minute, which drew a routine save from Ben Foster and the occasional flicker from Obinna and Keane.

For Bimingham, the outstanding Roger Johnson timed a run into the penalty area but not his header and Zigic sent another one over the crossbar.

West Ham lost James Tomkins to an injury in the warm-up and his replacement in central defence, Matthew Upson, succumbed to tendinitis at half-time. Manuel da Costa came on to take over the watch on Zigic, which has to be one of the most physical challenges in football.

Alex McLeish, the Birmingham manager, switched to a five-man midfield on 57 minutes, when he swapped Cameron Jerome for Larsson, which placed even more emphasis on Zigic, and the second half was marginally better than the first.

The goal raised the temperature but West Ham could find no riposte. Ba, the £6m signing from Hoffenheim, hit the woodwork from a tight angle in the 77th minute but that was as close as his team came.

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