Town boss Mick McCarthy admitted that his side got out of jail via Christophe Berra’s injury time equaliser but felt the Blues deserved their point at Birmingham. Berra nodded home a Paul Anderson cross for the second time in the game to see Town to a 2-2 draw at St Andrew’s.
"Great, lovely, isn’t it? I think we deserved to get out of jail,” He said. "I think the two goals we gave away were awful and I think the two goals we scored were great. I’m sure Lee thinks similar.
"Bad marking for the first and an awful pass for the second, but a great finish. I think Birmingham look a different side this year. I have to say, I thought they were very good.”
The Blues manager was delighted to see Christophe Berra net twice, adding to his goal in the corresponding fixture last season, which was his first in English football.
"Good, let’s hope that continues,” he said. "We were teasing him about the first one, but I think he did get his head on it having seen it on our replay.
"The second one, there was no doubt at all. It was a great cross from Paul Anderson, actually both of them were, he got two assists.
"His freekick was a great freekick and his cross facing the wrong way was outstanding. Two assists and two goals for Christophe. Great, let’s get more out of him. He’s good in the air, he should score goals.”
Having come close to grabbing a late point on Saturday, McCarthy was delighted to have done so tonight: "But for great defending against Reading when Reading headed one off the line in the 94th minute on Saturday [we would have got a point].
"I’m not saying we were unlucky because it was brilliant defending by them he [Shaun Cummings] did his job, but we could have got something then.
"So, to come here tonight and get something, and I think deservedly in the end, is very pleasing.”
The Blues boss says every point will prove vital come the end of the season: "Every point’s a prisoner. Last year when we didn’t get in the play-offs people were saying ‘if you’d have won this, won that, done this, done that…’ near the end of the season when we lost to Watford and drew with Bournemouth.
"What about us losing at home to Leeds when we were 1-0 up, what about us losing or drawing [other early games]? Just get your points, put them on the league table and that’s it, they can’t go anywhere then.”
Regarding Birmingham’s penalty claim when Tommy Smith appeared to trip Paul Caddis, McCarthy said: "As it happens, I was hoping and praying it wasn’t. But I haven’t seen it again close up, so I don’t know. Some you get, some you don’t.”
He says drawing rather than losing will have a significant effect on the squad ahead of Saturday’s derby with Norwich City: "It makes a huge difference to travelling back on the coach, how you feel, how you approach tomorrow.
"We’re all in tomorrow to recover because we’ve had a hard start to the season. It just creates a different atmosphere having got something from the game.”
Birmingham boss Lee Clark was disappointed his team couldn’t hang on: "Frustrating, I’m gutted for the players, they didn’t deserve it, we deserved another victory.
"It would have capped a brilliant week at home to claim three wins on the bounce. But it wasn’t to be but we can’t be too downhearted because I think the players have given another terrific performance in both aspects.
"They’re a powerful team, they’ll do a lot of damage to teams over the course of the season.”
Clark was convinced his side ought to have been awarded the spotkick: "I think we could have gone 3-1 up with a penalty. I’ve seen it again. [Paul Caddis] is on goal so it would be strange for him to go down. I’ve had a good look at it.”
"I’m not sure where five minutes of injury time came from, there wasn’t a physio on the pitch. But of course [the time] is there to be seen out, we always knew they were going to be a threat from crosses and set plays.”