Referee Steve Smoger was an almost invisible presence in the ring as both men went at it, although he did have a word with Froch when he landed with a shot after the bell at the end of the eighth.
The Midlanders will hope the victory will kickstart a campaign that looked to have hit the buffers, but the sense of trepidation enveloping the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year underlines the seriousness of the predicament facing Owen Coyle's men.
Close to midnight part of the horizon was suffused with a pearly glow, and presently, on skytime, the great moon peered above the water, then seemed to bound free, eager to pace along its arching trail, throwing a path of molten silver on an ebon sea.
They admitted that there were corruptions in the Church of Scotland, but denied that these corruptions were such as to render a separation from her necessary.
