A penalty from Paul Caddis has given Birmingham City a 1-0 lead over 10-man Middlesbrough at St Andrew's.
Middlesbrough started the game confidently, and came close to finding an early goal when Emilio Nsue's deflected effort drifted just wide following good work from Adam Forshaw.
Andrew Shinnie was Birmingham's most creative player in the early stages of the match, and he tested Dimi Konstantopoulos with a powerful low strike from just outside the box.
Both sides appeared eager to get on to the front foot throughout the first half, with Konstantopoulos being forced into another save to deny David Davis.
However, the Middlesbrough shot-stopper's night was over before the interval when he picked up a red card for bringing down Clayton Donaldson in the box after a weak pass from Ben Gibson.
The mistake allowed Caddis to step up from 12 yards, and confidently stroked the ball home to give Birmingham the lead in first-half stoppage time.
Callum Mulvihill
