Midlands | Late Ipswich penalty denies Birmingham

Birmingham City 1 - 1 Ipswich Town

George Hirst struck a stoppage-time penalty to earn Ipswich Town a point and snatch victory from Birmingham City’s grasp in the Championship’s opening fixture.

Author | Peter Grainger 

Stadium | St. Andrew's

Birmingham appeared set for a deserved win after Jay Stansfield put them ahead early in the second half, only for Hirst to hold his nerve deep into added time.

A closer look at how the drama unfolded

Jay Stansfield’s second-half strike looked set to seal victory for Birmingham City, who extended their unbeaten home league run to 26 matches after dominating much of the contest.

Stansfield pounced after Kyogo Furuhashi’s effort had come back off the post, and given Birmingham’s control of possession and territory, the result appeared beyond doubt. But at 1-0 the game remained alive, and Ipswich found their opening.

Five minutes into the eight added on, an Ipswich corner was flicked to the far post and struck the arm of Lyndon Dykes, who could scarcely have known about it. Referee Andrew Kitchen nonetheless pointed to the spot.

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Ipswich had managed just one effort on target all evening, but it proved decisive as George Hirst converted to secure an unlikely point.

Interesting stats

Birmingham City has now recorded a draw on the opening day for the fourth consecutive year, with only one loss in their last eleven opening matches. 

Meanwhile, Ipswich has extended their impressive record to just one defeat in their last eleven season-openers, achieving five wins and five draws during that period.

Clips from the crowd

Best reaction

Jamie, a Birmingham fan, was impressed with his side's performance, saying: "We were very unlucky to not take three points against a side that were in the Premier League last season and will be among the favourites to get promoted."

Ipswich defender Jacob Greaves told the media after the match: "It was very tough. For the first 15 minutes, we found it tough. When they went 1-0 up we got back in the game and it only looked like us to equalise and go on and get three points. I thought he gave a foul on the keeper. I knew George was going to score and he probably got the point we deserved."