Birmingham City were forced to settle for a point on the opening night of the Championship season after a controversial stoppage-time penalty earned Ipswich Town a 1-1 draw at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.
Jay Stansfield’s second-half strike looked set to hand Blues a deserved victory in front of a sold-out 27,508 crowd, but George Hirst’s spot-kick deep into added time rescued a point for the visitors.
Strong start in front of home crowd
Chris Davies’ side began brightly, feeding off a red-hot atmosphere as they pressed last season’s Premier League outfit high up the pitch.
Kyogo Furuhashi thought he had given the hosts the lead after just eight minutes when he lobbed Alex Palmer, only for referee Andrew Kitchen to rule he had fouled his marker. The Japanese forward was a constant threat, linking well with Stansfield, who himself saw a shot drag wide, while Demarai Gray tested Palmer from distance.
At the other end, Sammie Szmodics spurned Ipswich’s best first-half chance, firing wide after a misplaced pass from Ryan Allsop.
Stansfield pounces to break deadlock
The breakthrough arrived on 55 minutes after clever link-up between Furuhashi and Stansfield. The former’s deft chip over Palmer rebounded off the post, leaving Stansfield perfectly placed to smash home from close range.
Ipswich enjoyed their best spell following the goal, but Blues’ back line, marshalled by captain Christoph Klarer, stood firm to limit their threat.
Late drama spoils night
As eight minutes of stoppage time were signalled, Ipswich forced a late corner. From Ashley Young’s delivery, the referee judged that the ball had struck substitute Lyndon Dykes’ arm, awarding a penalty to the visitors.
Hirst calmly sent Allsop the wrong way to level the match, denying Blues a winning start to the campaign.
Davies takes positives
Despite the frustration, Davies praised his players’ performance. “I was very, very happy with our performance,” he said. “I thought we were the better team throughout, strong defensively and aggressive in our press. To dominate a match like that against that level of opposition is really encouraging.
“It does sting, because you’re so far into the game and it’s pretty much won, but these things happen. We have to take our medicine and move on.”
Blues now turn their focus to building on a confident display as the season gets underway.
