Brett Pitman netted a 32nd minute equaliser from the penalty spot as Town and Birmingham drew 1-1 at Portman Road, David Cotterill having put the visitors in front 10 minutes earlier.

Winger Larsen Touré was handed his full league debut with Ryan Fraser, dropping to the bench having ben a doubt after taking a kick in Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Leeds.

Up front, McCarthy started with Pitman and Freddie Sears with Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick on the bench.

Birmingham made three changes, Andrew Shinnie, Neal Eardley and Demarai Gray coming in for Jon Toral, Paul Caddis and Jacques Maghoma.

The Blues started on the front foot and in the third minute Pitman hit a low 25-yard shot which Birmingham keeper Tomasz Kuszczak claimed down to his right.

On six Touré won a corner on the right, Ainsley Maitland-Niles sending over the flag-kick and a defender diverting it over ahead of Tommy Smith.

A minute later, Maitland-Niles cut the ball back from the left of the area to Sears, who shot only just over Kuszczak’s goal.

The Blues continued to press, Pitman heading a looping 10th minute right-wing Touré cross wide.

David Cotterill picked up the game’s first yellow card for a late challenge on Touré with Town on the break after the former Bristol City man had lost possession to Maitland-Niles on halfway.

Birmingham threatened for the first time in the 13th minute but Town skipper Luke Chambers blocked Shinnie’s powerful shot on the edge of the box.

Moments later, left-back Jonathan Grounds exchanged passes with Shinnie and broke into the area on the left but Dean Gerken was off his line quickly to block. Play continued and Cotterill chipped weakly into Gerken’s arms.

The Birmingham winger hit a subsequent shot well wide on 16, then two minutes later Touré was even more wayward at the other end, his strike flying deep into the lower tier of the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand.

Town had begun the game strongly but the visitors had started to look the more dangerous side and in the 22nd minute they went in front, although with some element of good fortune.

Shinnie latched onto a flick-on from a throw on the left and, as Christophe Berra lost his footing on the wet pitch, broke into the box before finding Cotterill breaking into the area on the right, and the Wales international smashed the ball past Gerken.

However, the lead would last only 10 minutes with the Blues getting back on terms in the 32nd minute from the penalty spot.

Maitland-Niles made a superb run from inside his half and just about reached the ball on the byline and cut it across but into Kuszczak’s arms. As he crossed Jonathan Spector dived in and, after the ball had gone, took the on-loan Arsenal man’s legs from under him.

Despite there being few appeals from Town players, referee Keith Stroud pointed straight to the spot, much the anger of the Birmingham players who protested bitterly. Pitman took the spot-kick and confidently beat Kuszczak to net his third goal of the season.

Cotterill forced Gerken into an uncomfortable save in the 34th minute after a freekick had been harshly awarded against Jonathan Douglas on the left, five yards outside the area. The Birmingham winger’s shot moved wickedly in the air and Gerken only just pawed it away from goal.

Town claimed another penalty a minute later when Sears went to ground under pressure from Eardley but the Town striker appeared to have been fairly outmuscled and the initial challenge looked to be outside the area in any case.

Cotterill continued to try his luck from distance, shooting wide in the 41st minute, prior to Maitland-Niles twisting and turning five yards outside the Birmingham box and hitting a shot well over.

As the half moved into injury time Paul Caddis replaced the injured Eardley for the visitors.

Neither side threatened again before the whistle ended an entertaining and open half with the scoreline a fair reflection of the game.

The Blues started well but failed to make their early dominance tell. The visitors began to get more into it and Grounds had had the game’s best chance prior to Cotterill’s goal, which owed much to Berra’s slip.

Town hadn’t looked particularly like getting on terms until the penalty, which was the result of a tremendous Maitland-Niles run.

While Spector certainly arrived late and caught the Blues winger, it was the type of foul which is usually given outside the area but less often in the box. Pitman took his penalty with great composure to leave the scores level at the break.

Birmingham youngster Gray scraped the first shot of the second half well wide two minutes after the restart.

The Blues weren’t far away from going in front in the 52nd minute when Maitland-Niles and Pitman both showed clever feet in the area before eventually finding Sears to the right of the box.

The ex-Colchester man hit a low effort back across Kuszczak but sub Caddis cleared off the line. Following the corner, Touré shot over. On 59 Douglas was booked for a foul on Shinnie.

Three minutes later, after a lengthy bout of head tennis, Touré crossed from the right and Pitman just about got his head on the ball under pressure and it bounced wide.

Tommy Smith made a vital block from Clayton Donaldson in the 64th minute after initially appearing to misjudge the flight of Michael Morrison’s cross from the right and allowing the Birmingham frontman to get in a shot. Two minutes later, Murphy replaced Pitman for the Blues.

A ball over the top sent Gray in on goal in the 68th minute but it appeared to get caught under his feet and a combination of Chambers, Smith and Berra crowded him out.

Town went close a minute later when Maitland-Niles’s corner from the left reached Chambers but too quickly for the Town captain to react. He stuck out an instinctive foot and the ball flew wide, just beyond Murphy.

The Blues continued to look the more dangerous side, Spector doing well to get the ball away from Murphy from Chambers’s cross. On 71 McGoldrick took over from Touré, who was warmly applauded off the field.

A minute later, Town had a great opportunity to claim the lead for the first time. Knudsen’s cross from the left fell to Maitland-Niles eight yards out but the 18-year-old screwed his shot well wide much to his frustration.

Gerken was out quickly to clear ahead of Donaldson in the 76th minute. Soon after, Donaldson went to ground under pressure from Smith and claimed a rather ambitious penalty. On 80 Maitland-Niles was given a warm ovation when replaced by Fraser.

Two minutes later, McGoldrick whipped over a low cross from the left which Grounds turned behind ahead of Murphy.

And from the resultant corner, the Irishman ought to have netted his first goal of the season but headed Fraser’s corner over the bar.

On 86 Berra was booked for a foul on Donaldson just outside the area to the right. From the freekick Stephen Gleeson shot wide after Cotterill had played the ball across to him.

But Town were continuing to present the greater attacking threat in the closing minutes, McGoldrick hitting a low effort across the face of goal from the right and then Skuse seeing a 20-yard shot deflect wide as the game entered its final scheduled minute.

The Blues continued to push during five minutes of injury time, Fraser hitting a low shot to Kuszczak, then Knudsen sent over a cross from the left which was missed by everyone.

Town kept up the pressure right to the whistle which came as Fraser prepared to take a corner.

A draw was probably a not unfair result but the Blues will feel they had more than enough chances to win it in the second half.

Maitland-Niles in particular will believe he should have taken his opportunity, while Murphy probably should have netted his header and Chambers might have done better with his chance, although it came very quickly to him.

The result moves the Blues up to fourth ahead of the rest of the weekend matches with Town next in action at Manchester United on Wednesday.

Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, Touré (McGoldrick 81), Maitland-Niles (Fraser 80), Pitman (Murphy 66), Sears. Unused: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Parr, Coke.

Birmingham: Kuszczak, Eardley (Caddis 45), Spector, Morrison (c), Grounds, Gleeson, Kieftenbeld, Cotterill, Shinnie (Maghoma 73), Gray (Robinson 86), Donaldson. Unused: Legzdins, Toral, Davis, Brock-Madsen. Referee: Keith Stroud (Hampshire). Att: 18,973 (Birmingham: 471).

Photo: Action Images

Michael11 added 22:09 - Sep 18 Difficult game to judge tonight. Quite a disappointing performance and a lucky equaliser but second half was dominant and probably should've won the game in the end. Without Fraser and McGoldrick we lacked a cutting edge and creativity. Take a point and move on to an easy away win at Old Trafford!
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Superblue95 added 22:11 - Sep 18 Disappointing not to win tonight but thought we played quite well and thought Birmingham provided an entertaining game, was surprised with how decent they looked. Draw probably a fair result considering we never should have been awarded a penalty, not that any of us are complaining with a slice of luck especially after berras slip. Thought AMN was fantastic and so too were Lar Lar Toure, Pitman and Smith. Gerken gets a lot of stick so only fair he gets a bit of praise for how quickly he got off his line to get to chambers poor back header in the second half. Looking forward to the united game now COYB!

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tractorboy12341234 added 22:13 - Sep 18 Toure was immense tonight, shame McGoldrick didn't start feel he disrupted the Brum defence when he came on!
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bushbaby7 added 22:14 - Sep 18 A performance worthy of 3 points!! We play like that for the rest of the season we'll be in the mix at the end! Some stand out performances pretty much all round!! Although it's only a draw in on my way home happy with a quality performance!
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irish_tractor added 22:15 - Sep 18 I thought toure stood out for me with pitman and niles. As said by sky sports any other night a lot of our passes would of dropped but they didn't. Great to see murphy back him and didz great when they came on. Birmingham have that game in hand and could be sitting second. Confident for the utd game.
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ivegottheblues added 22:16 - Sep 18 An awful performance. Too much hoofball, poor defending especially Chambers & Berra, and an inability to string two passes together. Even MMs staunchest supporters can't be satisfied with this rubbish.
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jollyroger added 22:17 - Sep 18 Hopefully bru and bish will be back soon to feed our 4 good strikers as they didn't get much service tonight only high balls pumped up to them
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blueboy1981 added 22:23 - Sep 18 ........... a game of if's, but's, and maybe's - definitely has to be seen as 2 points dropped. Typical of games we should, and must, win at home. We didn't lose tho' - and maybe we should have become accustomed to being 'happy' with a point ...... not me tho'.
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EssexTractor added 22:23 - Sep 18 Birmingham an ok side, lucky to be ahead and if we had conceded that penalty we would have been a little unhappy. But technically a foul so well spotted Mr Stroud. Class in the game very poor on both sides. Our defenders defended but their ball distribution continues to be, in my opinion, woeful. Picking a winning lottery ticket number might be easier than when Luke ?Chambers passes to a man in blue.Donaldson is a handful and gave Berra lots to think about. Smith was sturdy enough. Knudsen I thought after one viewing was going to be a quality signing but he seems so unsure of himself. To date his long throws have been ineffective, he managed one good cross from the left and someone needs to really encourage him Toure tried hard and drew some applause when subbed. Pittman slotted in a good penalty. Murphy still out of sorts. McGoldrick had a good cross shot toward the end . Fraser looked Sharp. Niles produced the true moments of being a footballer. Freddie ran down channels and always gives VFM but how much he and us spectators would love skilful visionary midfielders to open defences, create ohhs and aaahs and leave us going home with a sense of excitement. Ours tonight lacked those talents.

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TimmyH added 22:25 - Sep 18 Personally find us frustrating to watch at times. First half Birmingham were the better team and frankly we could have played all evening with that starting 11 and not scored if it had not been for that rather dubious penalty. Although Toure grated well that starting midfield looked bereft of ideas and generally flung it forwards to Pitman/Sears. Second half better as we looked to get more players forward and Birmingham seemed to sit back more but the finishing was woeful and it wasn't until thankfully McG and Fraser came on we looked like we could do something but it was to little to late. A point was really all we deserved, hopefully by next weekend we will have Bish and Bru back and the awful Douglas will be relegated to the bench (fingers crossed). I think the commentator wrapped things up nicely tonight 'A lot of endeavour but not much quality'.

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KBsSocks added 22:25 - Sep 18 Which game did you watch, ivegottheblues ? First half even, with a lucky-ish penalty decision; second, we were the better team - much more creative, and more flair.
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gorse added 22:25 - Sep 18 A fairly typical performance, but real signs of improvement. Berra mostly excellent but horribly exposed by Douglas just letting his man run off on several occasions, one leading to their goal. Toure a delight esp in first half, always back to cover. AMN hottt but did leave space for Cotterhill (sp?) who looked a threat and finished with best passing stats of anyone. Overall pretty good all round, but still no idea why Douglas and Skuse are playing at the same time. Defence still not inspiring huge confidence at times, but we were unlucky not to have something drop for us in the area and take 3 deserved points. COYB!

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TimmyH added 22:28 - Sep 18 * agreed @blueboy - after the Leeds result a point isn't good enough, games like this we should be winning.
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JimInGreensboro added 22:30 - Sep 18 I disagree with the glowing comments about our performance. We were gifted the equalizer and did not offer a controlled attack until Murph et al appeared late on. Birmingham easily could have popped in one of their infrequent chances, even with Donaldson acting virtually solo. Our corners lacked quality and we didn't make their keeper handle the ball enough on a soggy night. Glad we got the point.

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runaround added 22:37 - Sep 18 An entertaining yet ultimately frustrating game. Had enough play & chances to win 2 games but were denied by a combination of poor finishing, good defending & bad luck. Birmingham are streets ahead of where they were last season & could well challenge if they keep Donaldson & Gray fit but we were the better side & on another day could have won. Keep playing like that & we'll do well but vital we beat Brizzle City

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TractorBoy666 added 22:40 - Sep 18 First home game I haven't been able to get to tonight so I had to resort watching it in a Norfolk pub! I thought their goal came against the run of play and I still feel so nervous when the ball is in our final third and I felt a more attacking side may have opened us up a bit more. I thought it was a penalty but can understand why some think it was soft but Maitland-Niles has been fantastic and his run was superb. Could and probably should have scored second half especially from the AMN chance and Murphy just needs some confidence back. All in all the last two performances have been much better since last Friday. Toure was also good! Bring on Old Trafford.

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blueherts added 22:51 - Sep 18 AMN was all over it - enjoyable to watch but it highlights how much we miss a creative midfielder. That is so evident esp tonight. The pieces are all there IMO and with Bru and Bish coming back I think things will be much better for our forwards! Not a bad point but we need to be winning at home.
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PJH added 22:53 - Sep 18 Did enough in the second half to win it. Our penalty dubious but then their goal due to slip by Berra. Impressed with Toure and Gerks looked a bit more confident. Big game coming up-against Bristol City.
1

HackneyBlue added 22:58 - Sep 18 Do not like to blame individuals for poor games-difficult game made more difficult by some shocking passing,how can professional footballers struggle to control and play straightforward passes ,i must have seen half a dozen passes completely lacking any end product and that was from one player,miskicks under no pressure were a plenty. MM must make it so clear that defenders must not control or dwell on the ball .

3

Surco72 added 22:59 - Sep 18 Personally thought Toure and Pitman played really well , Toure put a lot if good balls in and would have liked to see him play with Murph on pitch as I thought Sears should have gone off . Back four still look so shaky and that was with Smith having a great game again . Chambo was caught out or beaten by his man on numerous occasions and only offers a hoof going forward which us pointless with two small strikers. Toure was better at defending Gray than Chambo stick him in at right back . But for me the biggest problem to our defending is our central midfield as they both offer nothing don't protect the back four enough offer nothing creatively and both really slow . Better teams will do what Brighton and Reading did to us , I do not expect to see Brum or Leeds near the playoffs come May

5

happybeingblue added 23:03 - Sep 18 I think any neutral would have switched over to the rugby if they watched it on TV ... scrappy game lacking any quality from both sides .. think that's a case of draw a line under that and move on. getting bored of the long throw ins already did that with wickham few yrs ago alwYs came to nothing ... bit more football please!!
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blueherts added 23:16 - Sep 18 Douglas is a waste of space FACT
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budgieplucker added 23:33 - Sep 18 Impressed with Toure, very good all round game, he gave Chambers a lot of support in defence and put some good balls in going forward. Also he had some success in the air. AMN also had a good game. However, Ryan Fraser looks a class apart on the wing, we certainly had more vigour, energy and threat after he arrived on the pitch. Up until then we looked solid but rather wooden. I am afraid I thought David McG looked well of the pace tonight and half a yard too slow after he came on and Freddie was then wasted playing a deeper role.

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prebsa added 00:09 - Sep 19 Disappointed with the result tonight. Gerken did better tonight after letting a few goals past him he made a few good saves and that should help his confidence. I thought chambers was very poor tonight, most of his passes were just hopeful loops down the right flank and he got beaten way to much defensively, berra was unlucky to slip for the goal but tonight i felt like smith was our best defender, he gets alot of stick and its hard for him on the right hand side but i felt tonight he was really solid and dealt with everything that was thrown at him. Toure but in a really good shift and really impressed, didn't give up and got really stuck in and won us the ball back alot, AMN was equally as good working really hard and was all over the pitch, getting stuck in and getting the ball back and i feel it showed as just before he was subbed he did look very tiered from all the hard work he had put in. I like Douglas i think he is a decent player but i don't think that him and skuse can play together, they are both the same type of player and i feel like one of them, probably Douglas needs to be witched with either bru or bish, yes both of them were injured but they are back now so they need to get back into the side to create that decisive pass we need. We have four really good forwards, and if im honest i would be playing sears and mcgoldrick, but others would pick different combos and that's fine, with those two we don't have the height that Murphy offers us but i feel like this year we will be playing the ball on the floor more and therefore perhaps they will be our best options but im sure throughout the year they will be changing about and im happy with that. Overall tonight game was not as great as it could of been, we just need to be a little more solid at the back and keep it on the floor. It started getting closer and closer to 90mis and the ball ended up to be going up in the air more and more, we just need to not panic and keep playing the way we were at the start of the game. Having said all of that we are now working at almost 2 points a game which is automatic form so if the team keep working hard and MM and TC keep working their magic then we will definitely be up their at the end of the year! COYB!

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Minneapolis_ITFC added 01:12 - Sep 19 There's been a lot of talk about the spot kick decision but McCarthy says he was satisfied with it and the match official was right in his thinking. Say no more.. It appears Birmingham created a fair many chances themselves, played well for the most part and could just have easily finished as victors so many would argue a draw in the end was a fair outcome. They appear a team that will be challenging for the promotion places also by end of season but time will tell. Obviously disappointed to only take a point from todays home fixture but once again the opposition seem a useful team and it's been a decent (Reading apart) start to the season. Other games to come tomorrow where we may be knocked down a place or two by end of weekend but still in a very good position to challenge. Maybe both teams had one eye on their respective big League Cup games coming up soon against heavyweight opposition but whatever the case, one point for both and in the end, whatever the furore with regards the penalty incident, probably just about a fair result.

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