Blues suffered a cruel defeat to local rivals Aston Villa at St. Andrew's after Gabriel Agbonlahor's late header stole the points for the visitors.

It was another hard luck story for Blues as they fought bravely to get back into the game courtesy of substitute Mikael Forssell's equaliser which cancelled out Liam Ridgewell's early own goal.

Former Villa man Ridgewell almost made up for his first half mistake with a late second half header that was inches away from giving his side the lead - at that stage Blues looked the more likely to win the game.

Ironically it was Agbonlahor that cleared Ridgewell's effort off the line and then he rubbed salt into the wounds as his back header beat Maik Taylor to secure an undeserved victory for his side.

Blues will also look back to the referee's failure to spot Martin Laursen clip the heels of Daniel de Ridder inside the area in the first half.

Steve Bennett's view was that the Dutchman had dived and subsequently booked him but the TV replays cleared showed that the official had got it wrong.

Zat Knight also appeared to handle inside the area but another penalty appeal was turned down although it couldn't hide a below-par performance from Blues in the first period.

Steve Bruce's side looked far livelier in the second half and deserved to draw level through Forssell's impressive diving header from De Ridder's cross.

And Jerome went close to putting Blues in front with a stinging effort and then came Ridgewell's header before Villa pinched the win.   

Bruce made just one change to the side recalling Wilson Palacios at the expense of Seb Larsson.

Once again he named an attacking bench with Gary McSheffrey and Garry O'Connor declared fit along with Forssell.

Blues started brightly and had claims for a penalty in the fourth minute. A long throw to Cameron Jerome saw the Blues striker attempt to flick the ball past Knight who stopped the ball with his arm but Mr Bennett waved play on.

Despite all the early possession disaster struck in the ninth minute when Ridgewell put the ball into his own net.

Stiliyan Petrov got the better of Johan Djourou on the wing and put the ball across the face of goal, it struck the Blues captain on the knee and bounced past Taylor.

First player in the book was Gareth Barry in the 15th minute for a nasty late challenge on Johan Djourou that left the Blues defender requiring treatment.

Blues were getting sloppy with possession and a stray ball allowed Barry to slot through to John Carew who hit a low angled shot which Taylor parried across goal. Thankfully Kelly was there to hook the ball away to safety.

It was a tense affair for the home side with the visitors looking threatening with every attack and the referee favouring them with the majority of his decisions.

In the 24th minute Ashley Young tried his luck with a curling shot from distance but it sailed over the bar into the Tilton Road.

Blues' main threat was coming from de Ridder and in the 32nd minute he was cautioned for diving after clearly being tripped by Laursen in the box.

The Blues boss was livid with the decision with De Ridder in a perfect position to shoot after skipping past Bouma.

Mr Bennett continued with his crazy decisions when De Ridder tackled Young, who fell over, but won the free-kick.

The Blues defence was still uncertain as Djourou and Kelly collided and let the ball slip through to Carew who fired wide.

Once again another bizarre decision saw Mehdi Nafti concede a foul against Young on the corner of the box with replays showing he clearly played the ball.

Justice was done with Young smashing the ball straight at Barry who was trying to unsettle the Blues wall.

In the last minute of the half there were chances at either end in the space of a few seconds.

The first fell to Agbonlahor who escaped Blues' attentions before firing a low shot that Taylor blocked with his legs allowing the hosts to go racing away.

The ball was knocked out to Kapo who sent Jerome clear but his decision to cut inside was a poor one and his shot was blocked.

Half-time: Blues 0 Aston Villa 1

Bruce made a tactical change for the second half with Forssell replacing Palacios. This saw Forssell partner Jerome up front with Kapo reverting to the left.

Blues almost got off to a flying start when Jerome turned Knight on the edge of the box but unfortunately just as he unleashed his shot the Villa defender recovered to slide in and block it for a corner.

Fabrice Muamba was the third Blues man in the book for a very late challenge on Petrov in the 50th minute.

Mr Bennett's pen was getting hotter by the minute with Stephen Kelly the next Blues man in the book for another tame challenge on Young, who took flight upon the slightest contact.

Blues went close when neat footwork by De Ridder saw the Dutchman jink his way down the right before fizzing a shot across goal that Villa scooped away.

Forssell tried his luck moments later with a shot from distance that flew a yard wide of the post.

On the hour mark Forssell went close again when Muamba picked him out in the box but the Finn's shot was deflected on its way taking the sting out of it.

Blues got the breakthrough in the 62nd minute when substitute Forssell headed Blues back on level terms.

It was a fine move started by Muamba with de Ridder supplying the cross and Forssell finishing with a bullet header from six yards.

Midway through the half Jerome broke clear of the Villa defence and cut inside past Laursen before unleashing a rasping shot that Carson could only push away.

Blues were dominating now and seconds later Forssell teed up Jerome on the edge of the area but his shot flew high into the Tilton.

Martin O'Neil made his first change replacing Carew with Luke Moore in the 69th minute.

A minute later Kelly stopped Young on the penalty spot with a last ditch tackle. The ball was flicked back to Nigel Reo-Coker who volleyed high over the bar.

In the melee leading up to this Nafti was injured and ultimately stretchered off. Larsson replaced the unfortunate midfielder.

Steve Bruce made his final substitution in the 75th minute with O'Connor coming on for Jerome.

Ridgewell almost made amends with a dipping header from Larsson's corner that just cleared the bar.

Blues were pushing Villa hard in the latter stages and forced two quick corners; the first Carson flapped at and the second saw Ridgewell's header agonisingly cleared off the line by Agbonlahor.

Then almost in a carbon copy of last week's game at Everton, Blues conceded a goal in the dying moments.

Ashley Young picked out Agbonlahor who glanced in a header that bounced past Taylor and left the Blues fans gutted. The Villa striker got booked for his over-the-top celebrations.

Despite four minutes of injury time Blues could not grab a lifeline and fell to their sixth defeat in seven games.

Full-time: Blues 1 Aston Villa 2

Blues: Maik Taylor, Stephen Kelly, Rafael Schmitz, Liam Ridgewell, Johan Djourou, Fabrice Muamba, Mehdi Nafti (72, Seb Larsson), Daniel De Ridder, Wilson Palacios (45, Mikael Forssell), Olivier Kapo, Cameron Jerome (75, Garry O'Connor)
Goals: Mikael Forssell(62)
Bookings: Daniel De Ridder (32), Fabrice Muamba(50), Stephen Kelly(54),

Aston Villa: Scott Carson, Wilfred Bouma, Olof Melberg, Martin Laursen, Zat Knight, Gareth Barry, Nigel Reo-Coker, Stiliyan Petrov, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, John Carew (69, Luke Moore)
Goals: Liam Ridgewell o.g.(9), Gabriel Agbonlahor(87)
Bookings: Gareth Barry (15), Gabriel Agbonlahor(87)

Attendance: 26,539