The win was only the Blues' second in 10 league games and although the performance was anything but perfect it may yet prove a crucial turning point in a season which was fast descending into meltdown.
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Larsson also had a gilt-edged chance for the visitors after Bikey gave the ball away for Burnley only for the Blues' substitute to shoot over.
The Cardiff Blues centre only won the first of his 12 Wales caps during last year's RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam campaign.
The Ospreys seemed sure to score when wing Shane Williams broke free down the left, but instead of exploiting the space outside the Blues' only defender - namesake Gareth - the wing cut inside and the chance was gone.
Only the best will be good enough for the Blues manager, whose side lost 1-0 to Charlton Athletic in 2005.
Denis Leamy stretched to score a try in the 60th minute and Manning kicked a penalty while Blair kicked Blues' only points of the half with a penalty.
Having struck twice against Arsenal to land the Carling Cup, Drogba says he will only be happy if his goals land the Blues some silverware in Europe.
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The only uncapped player is Blues full-back or wing Jamie Roberts, who could make his debut against England.
But the visitors' defence was typically determined and for all their efforts the Blues had only James' try to savour.
First he cut through feeble Sale defence to open his account with the Blues in only his second appearance for the Welsh region.
Craig Gardner's dismissal against Wigan in September is the Blues' only red card of the season, although they are in a lowly 18th place in the most recent edition of the Premier League's Fair Play Table.
Richard Hibbard is the other surprise omission but Blues lock Bradley Davies is the only uncapped man.
Blair's conversion took the score to 23-7 and the Blues out of reach of the visitors with only eight minutes remaining on the clock.
Toffees centre-back Sylvain Distin could only loop a clearing header back towards his own goal to let in Cameron Jerome but the Blues striker controlled on his thigh only to half-volley wide from just inside the area.
The Blues have taken only four points from the last 15 available to them in the league.
With Glentoran losing at Seaview, the Blues are now only two points off the pace and they have a game in hand on the leaders.
The visitors had given up a penalty in the build-up and with Thomas back on the field the Blues opted to take a five-metre scrum, only for the Dragons pack to front up and disrupt their opponents.
Cole made only 28 league starts in his final two seasons at Chelsea, was on the pitch for only 10, 613 of the 23, 940 Premier League minutes the Blues played in his seven years at Stamford Bridge and has started one England match since 2008.
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Former England scrum-half Walshe knows the Blues, who have only been beaten once themselves, will need to pull out a season-best performance to take the spoils.
It was the only instrument they had, a guitar, and they played the guitar and sang the blues.
Norton-Knight's forgettable Blues bow was not the only aspect of the Welsh side's disappointing season-opener.
With seven minutes left David Blair sniffed a half-gap and shot through only to be dragged down just short of the Blues' line.
But Blues are only three points above the Hammers, albeit having played two fewer matches, while a mere seven points separate the Premier League's bottom 11 teams.
Meanwhile, McLeish's ire was not only confined to Wilshere's challenge, the Blues boss also raging about the penalty decision from which Arsenal equalised at the Emirates, accusing Gunners striker Chamakh of diving.
Farrell came on for the last 21 minutes at blind-side flanker but could do little to stem the tide as the Blues went back to the top of the group B table as the only side with two wins out of two.
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After the hosts had been pegged back to 1-1 and seen Victor Obinna sent off for a crazy kick out at Sebastian Larsson, Cole bagged the winner with only 10 minutes left - and it was a personal nightmare for Blues keeper Ben Foster, who let the striker's soft shot roll under his hand and trickle over the line.
It's perhaps the only festival in the world where you can watch camel racing while listening to amped-up desert blues, where hawkers sell headscarves rather than burgers and where you can camp in a Tuareg tent among miles of empty sand dunes.
The Blues, though, missed out only on penalty-kicks last year after their 26-26 extra-time semi-final draw with Leicester.
Before this season United had tasted success against the Blues in the Abramovich era in only one game (November 2005).
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