Wanderers 4, BIRMINGHAM CITY 2: A FEW hours after selling top scorer Michael Ricketts for big dosh, Wanderers rattled in four goals to win their crucial relegation battle and drag Steve Bruce's Birmingham back into the survival scrap.
Twice they led and twice they were pegged back but late goals from Youri Djorkaeff (83 mins) and Delroy Facey (86) - his first in the Premiership - put the game out of the Blues' reach.
And Jay Jay Okocha, returning after injury, was at the heart of the winning surge with an imposing performance as Wanderers edged four points clear of the bottom three.
Sunderland did themselves no favours with three own goals in seven crazy first-half-minutes to lose 3-1 at home and go to the foot of the table - and West Brom had a massive victory at Maine Road to deflate Kevin Keegan's hopes of a Robbie Fowler-inspired charge into Europe.
But for much of the second half at the Reebok it looked as if Wanderers had squandered chances to impose themselves as Robbie Savage (44 mins) the Clinton Morrison (53) cancelled out leads that came courtesy of a Kenny Cunningham own goal on 12 minutes and a scrambled second from Henrik Pedersen 30 seconds after the interval.
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