David Dunn kept heads above water at Birmingham thanks to a late equaliser against Wigan for only their second point from their last nine away games in the Barclays Premiership.

Substitute Dunn had only been on the pitch 12 minutes when he became the first Blues player for more than 13-and-a-half hours to score away from home.

It was enough to salvage a draw for relegation-threatened Birmingham after Wigan striker Andreas Johansson had headed the Latics into a 49th-minute lead at the JJB Stadium.

It many respects the game encapsulated the recent form of both sides in terms of their home and away records.

In the opening exchanges the Blues at least appeared a side high on confidence again after their morale-boosting victory over Bolton on Tuesday which had followed a goalless draw with champions Chelsea.

That lifted the club out of the bottom three for the first time in six months, affording them a significant glimmer of hope they can avoid the drop.

Knowing they could put daylight between themselves and the bottom three following Portsmouth's 2-2 home draw with Blackburn earlier in the day, Bruce's side pressed and harried, resulting in two chances inside the space of 60 seconds from the seventh minute.

From a high, hanging cross floated over by Damien Johnson, Martin Taylor exquisitely controlled the ball that ran to Chris Sutton. The former England striker arrowed in a first-time, right-footed shot which had goalkeeper John Filan at full stretch in tipping the ball around the post.

That led to City's first corner from which they again came close, with Olivier Tebily stooping to meet Jermaine Pennant's outswinger with a cushioned header.

Although the chance would have shaved the right-hand post anyway, Leighton Baines helped it on its way but his touch was missed by referee Howard Webb, denying City another corner.

But from that moment the game degenerated, with inspiring moments only sporadic, and mainly from Wigan as they were more enterprising.

After Sutton had seen a low curled shot deflected wide after being set up by Pennant and Emile Heskey, Wigan twice came close.

In the 27th minute Roberts attacked back-tracking Blues captain Kenny Cunningham from wide on the left.

As the veteran centre-back held off making a tackle, it allowed Roberts a sight of goal, culminating in a powerful shot which would have crept inside the left-hand post but for Maik Taylor's superb finger-tip save.

As the war of attrition continued, Roberts teed up Jimmy Bullard in the 39th minute for a 25-yard strike which cleared the bar by inches.

The game was crying out for a goal, and it mercifully arrived just over three minutes after the break. Damien Johnson inadvertently flicked on a Bullard free-kick from deep on the edge of the area to an awaiting Paul Scharner.

The Austrian centre-back then powered a diving header back into the danger area where Johansson looped his own header past Taylor.

That at least brought a response from City, with Heskey flicking a left-wing cross from Matthew Sadler into the side-netting at the near post.

Then Tuesday's goalscorer Jiri Jarosik produced a weak sidefooted shot with only Filan to beat after a low right-wing ball from Pennant had threaded its way through a crowd of players.

Johansson should have sealed the points soon after, but toe-poked a shot past the left-hand post, and after Tebily had seen Scharner clear a goal-bound header off the line, the Blues' lifeline arrived in the 77th minute.

Heskey did all the leg work down the left wing, beating Scharner before delivering a low ball into the six-yard box.

From there, Dunn sidefooted home his third goal of the season - and his first since January 28th - and the first from a City player since Jarosik's consolation in a 4-1 defeat at Manchester City on December 17th.