Birmingham did their best to make amends for their FA Cup exit at the hands of Portsmouth by sending the crisis club nearer relegation with a 2-1 victory at Fratton Park on Tuesday.

Cameron Jerome's double put Birmingham, beaten 2-0 by Portsmouth in their FA Cup quarter-final at Fratton Park on Saturday, on course for a win that moved the Midlands club up into eighth in the Premier League table.

A stoppage time header from Nigeria striker Nwanko Kanu, who scored the goal that won Portsmouth the 2008 FA Cup final, came too late for the struggling south coast side. Defeat left Pompey four points clear at the bottom and with the prospect of falling further behind if a nine-point penalty for entering administration is imposed by the Premier League.

Portsmouth are due to return to the High Court on 15 March to answer a winding-up order brought by British tax authorities. If a judge decides Portsmouth cannot overcome debts said to be totalling £76 million they could be liquidated and go out of business completely. Administrator Andrew Andronikou has pledged to fight the rule, which has never been tested as no top flight club has ever suffered this fate.

We can't just keep reading in the papers every day that we are nine points down. Of course it affects the players, but when they come to the pitch, they are trying everything they can do to win the games.
Postmouth coach Avram Grant on the possible loss of points

But Pompey coach Avram Grant admits his team would like to know for definite how many points they will have to claw back if they are to avoid relegation. "I still believe that this needs to be decided on the pitch and we'll see how we get on," he said. "We can still do it, but we need to know for sure what will happen. We can't just keep reading in the papers every day that we are nine points down. Of course it affects the players, but when they come to the pitch, they are trying everything they can do to win the games."

Jerome put Birmingham in front in the 16th minute when he ran onto a through ball from Christian Benitez to shoot under England goalkeeper David James. The same duo combined again three minutes before half-time, with Jerome scoring after being played in by Benitez's backheel.

Portsmouth, who failed to make their early pressure count, grabbed a goal back late on when Kanu, on as a substitute, headed in a cross from on-loan Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara but Birmingham held on to all three points.

Bent claims first hat-trick
In the day's other English top flight clash, Darren Bent's first Premier League hat-trick helped inspire Sunderland to a badly-needed 4-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers at the Stadium of Light. This win was Sunderland's first in 15 league matches and moved the north-east club six points clear of the relegation zone.

Fraizer Campbell gave the Black Cats a dream start in front of watching American owner Ellis Short by opening the scoring after just 44 seconds. But it was £10 million striker Bent who ensured Steve Bruce's side enjoyed a first Premier League success since 21 November with goals in the 64th, 74th (a penalty after Bolton's Sam Ricketts was sent-off for a second yellow card) and 88th minutes.

Sunderland settled any nerves among the home supporters with less than a minute played when Campbell turned in Lorik Cana's looping cross past Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. The Black Cats could have been further ahead before the break but had to wait until midway through the second half when Lee Cattermole played Bent in and the forward outpaced Ricketts before firing past Jaaskelainen.

And the match was over as a contest 10 minutes later when Ricketts, already booked, was sent-off for barging Bent to the ground from the spot. Bent scored the ensuing penalty and there was still time for him to grab his 18th league goal of the season when he turned in Campbell's cross.

Following the match Bruce said Fabio Capello, the national side's Italian manager, should look at Bent. "I have had a bad enough time trying to pick a team for the last three months, so I am not going to tell Fabio Capello how to do it because he has been there, worn the T-shirt and done it," he said.

"All I can say is he must be in his thoughts, he has to be because of his goalscoring exploits. No disrespect to us, but to be at a team in the bottom half of the table and get what he has got, it's fantastic."