Pembridge will also recall the game with some fondness. The diminutive midfielder drove a superb 25-yard shot, with his supposedly weaker foot, past former Fulham keeper Maik Taylor.
"I've never seen Mark kick a ball with his right foot let alone score a goal like that," said Coleman. "But I was delighted for him because he never gets the pats on the back that he deserves.
"He does all the nasty jobs that a lot of players don't like doing and he just shuts his mouth and gets on with things."
The victory ends a run of three consecutive defeats and gives Fulham a much-needed fillip ahead of Tottenham's visit to Craven Cottage. However, for long periods it looked as though their sequence of poor results would continue.
Stephen Clemence, Dwight Yorke, Darren Anderton and Jesper Gronkjaer were all denied by Crossley as Birmingham laid siege to the visitor's goal in the first half.
But the Fulham goalkeeper saved his best moment until the final minute of the match. Emile Heskey turned sharply before firing a left-foot shot, but Crossley dived to his right and somehow turned the ball around the post.
"We know we didn't play well but we dug in and we kept believing," said Coleman.
"We need to bounce on from this now and show that same determination and togetherness on Saturday against a good Tottenham team."
