Trevoh Chalobah netted his first senior goal to equalise Jonathan Kodjia’s header with Town and Aston Villa level at 1-1 at half-time, however, the Blues were dealt a blow when Tayo Edun was shown a harsh red card for a second bookable offence six minutes before the break.
Bartosz Bialkowski was in goal with former Villa youngster Janoi Donacien at right-back, Jonas Knudsen at left-back and Toto Nsiala - making his home debut - at the centre of the defence alongside skipper Luke Chambers.
In midfield Cole Skuse returned having been left on the bench at Exeter with Chalobah and Jon Nolan, also making his home debut.
Edun was handed his first Championship start for the Blues on the left with Gwion Edwards on the right having missed the game against the Grecians with a quad injury, while Ellis Harrison got the nod as the lone striker.
Freddie Sears, Grant Ward and Kayden Jackson were among the subs having started at Exeter.
There was no place for Teddy Bishop or Danny Rowe in the 18, the pair having made their first appearances of the season following their injuries as subs at St James Park. Villa included former Blues midfielder Conor Hourihane on their bench.
After an uneventful opening, the Blues almost went in front via their first serious attack in the 13th minute.
After Chalobah had headed away a dangerous Villa cross from the right, Edwards made a powerful run down the Town right flank beating a number of players as he did so before playing inside to Nolan.
The former Shrewsbury man in turn fed Edun on the left, from where the on-loan Fulham midfielder sent over a cross which Edwards met at the far post as he broke into the box but the Welshman was unfortunate to see it smash against the bar.
Going so close to a goal gave both the fans and the players a boost with the Blues putting the visitors under pressure for the next few minutes. Harrison was narrowly beaten to a cross from the right by Mile Jedinak, then not long after was just unable to get in a shot on the turn after the ball fell close to him inside the box.
On 19, following a Knudsen long throw which had been flicked on by Harrison, Chalobah saw a shot blocked and Chambers hit his subsequent effort wide.
But two minutes later, Villa went in front. John McGinn whipped over a cross from the right and Kodjia flicked a near-post header across Bialkowski and into the net.
In the 29th minute Edun was very harshly booked for a challenge on Ahmed Elmohamady, which left the Egyptian international requiring treatment, having very clearly won the ball.
It was far from the first decision which had frustrated the Blues’ support with Jack Grealish in particular having shown a tendency to go to ground very easily and to stay there for some time.
From the resultant freekick a third of the way inside the Town half to the right, Grealish sent the ball into the box and Kodjia’s header scuffed the top of the bar.
On 33 Edwards out-battled Alan Hutton on the Blues right and sent over a cross which was just too high for Edun at the far post.
Three minutes later, Town levelled. Knudsen hurled in a long throw from the left, Harrison made a nuisance of himself as it came over and contributed to Villa keeper Orjan Nyland dropping the ball. Chalobah was quickly on to it and hit a low shot on the turn into the corner of the net to claim his first senior goal.
But on 39, only three minutes after getting on terms, the Blues were reduced to 10 men, just as they were in the corresponding fixture last season.
The already-booked Edun fouled Axel Tuanzebe just inside the Town half and referee Robinson showed the England U20 international his second yellow and then a red card.
The tackle which led to the second card was at most borderline worthy of a caution, Edun had arrived a little late, while the challenge which led to the first wasn’t a foul.
As the very unfortunate Edun made his way towards the tunnel, he was applauded off by the Town support.
Fans’ frustrations with referee Robinson continued as the regular stoppages for apparent injuries to Villa players continued before the official was roundly booed as he made his way off at the break.
The scoreline was a fair enough reflection of a half in which chances had been relatively rare at both ends.
Town might have taken the lead when Edwards hit the bar, but could also have found themselves two goals behind when Kodjia similarly struck the woodwork having found the net with his earlier header. Chalobah took his chance clinically when it came.
Edun’s red card will mean there will be a tough 45 minutes ahead for the 10-man Blues and holding on for a point against one of this season’s early form teams from this point will viewed as a successful afternoon’s work.
Town: Bialkowski, Donacien, Nsiala, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Chalobah, Edwards, Skuse, Nolan, Edun, Harrison. Subs: Gerken, Jackson, Spence, Ward, Sears, Downes, Kenlock.
Villa: Nyland, Tuanzebe, Chester (c), Jedinak, Hutton, Elmohamady, Bjarnason, McGinn, Adomah, Grealish, Kodjia. Subs: Moreira, Taylor, Whelan, Hourihane, Green, Elphick, Hepburn-Murphy. Ref: Tim Robinson (West Sussex).