Town still wait for their first win of the season after two second-half Lukas Jutkiewicz goals denied them victory over Birmingham at St Andrew’s having been two goals in front via Jon Nolan and Matthew Pennington at half-time, the game ending 2-2. Nolan netted on 26 and Pennington - who was sent off for a second yellow card late on - doubled the lead in the 41st minute as the Blues looked set to claim three points under Paul Hurst for the first time but Jutkiewicz struck on 48 and 68 to dash their hopes.

Town, wearing their all orange second strip, fielded an unchanged XI for the first time this season, while Ellis Harrison dropped out of the 18 due to injury and Andre Dozzell was on the bench for the first time since the opening day game against Blackburn.

The Blues, watched by former assistant manager Terry Connor and England U21s coach Aidy Boothroyd from the directors’ box, found themselves under pressure from the off and the home side went close to going in front in the fourth minute.

Following a Jota corner, Gerken first saved from Lukas Jutkiewicz, then reacted quickly to crowd out Che Adams’s follow-up.

The ball subsequently fell to Gary Gardner on the edge of the area from where he curled a shot past Gerken’s right hand but off the outside of the post.

After a frantic first few minutes Town gradually began to get on the ball and on 10 Grant Ward struck their first shot, albeit a weak effort from distance which gave Lee Camp in the Birmingham goal little trouble.

On 15 Nolan stabbed the ball into the path of Jonas Knudsen on the left and the Danish international crossed deep to Gwion Edwards, who shot over from a very tight angle wide of the back post.

Birmingham continued to have most of the ball, although without a creating another chance, but on 26 the Blues went in front.

Pennington played a ball down the right for Kayden Jackson to chase and the former Accrington man cut in and laid a pass back to Nolan, who smashed his first Town goal into the top corner from just inside the box.

Town began to look more confident on the ball having gone ahead before a stop-start period in the game due to head injuries. Following one of those stoppages in the 35th minute, a Harlee Dean freekick from deep was nodded wide by Jutkiewicz.

Birmingham thought they’d equalised in the 39th minute when Haverhill-born Michael Morrison nodded a looping header back and over Gerken from Jota’s left-wing cross but somehow Knudsen managed to hook it off the line.

And two minutes later, the Blues doubled their lead. Chalobah won a corner on the left and Ward whipped over a low ball which the unmarked Pennington turned home from six yards to claim his first goal for Town.

Birmingham were unable to seriously threaten again in the remaining minutes and the half-time whistle drew boos from a home crowd still to see their team win this season.

Conversely the Town players left the field to applause from their fans having ended a half with a two-goal advantage for the first time under manager Hurst.

Having been fortunate not to go behind in the early stages, particularly when Gardner hit the post, the Blues gradually got themselves more into the game, although the Midlanders had continued to look the more dangerous team prior to Nolan’s opening goal.

Birmingham would have been on terms - probably deservedly - but for Knudsen’s brilliant off-the-line clearance, but in the game’s next passage of play Pennington made the most of some lax Birmingham set-piece defending to make it 2-0.

The home side swapped Gardner for Maikel Kieftenbeld ahead of the second half and two minutes after the restart the Blues went close to a third.

After Pennington had been fouled five yards outside the area, Nolan curled a freekick just wide of Camp’s left post.

But a minute later the home side pulled a goal back. Jutkiewicz was played in on goal by Jota and slipped the ball to the right of the advancing Gerken.

The goal livened up the previously sullen home crowd as their side took the game to Town looking for an equaliser.

On 52 Pennington was booked for a cynical foul on Jacques Maghoma after Nsiala had been caught in possession inside his own half.

Five minutes later, Town went close. Chalobah was found by Pennington as he broke forward and crossed to Ward. The former Spurs chested the ball down past his man but his shot wasn’t powerful enough to test Camp.

Despite the blow of conceding the early goal, the Blues were starting to look the more threatening side and on 62 Edwards did well to get past Kristian Pedersen on the right but sent his low cross behind Nolan and a number of other team-mates.

But almost immediately Birmingham, who replaced Charlie Lakin for Connor Mahoney in the 65th minute, twice went close.

First Gerken did well to get a strong arm to palm Adams’s shot from the edge of the box wide, then from the corner Jutkiewicz’s looping header bounced off the top of the bar and over.

However, the home side didn’t have to wait too much longer for an equaliser. Gerken’s punch from a 68th minute freekick on the right flew straight up in the air, Dean’s header was blocked on the line, Chalobah stopped a subsequent effort with his chest but Jutkiewicz eventually found a gap and smashed in the leveller.

Town found themselves under heavy pressure following the second Birmingham goal, Mahoney seeing a shot from a tight angle on the right deflected behind. On 73 Jota curled a shot over.

The Blues swapped Ward for Freddie Sears in the 81st minute, the former West Ham man taking up a role behind Jackson with Nolan switching to wide on the left.

Mahoney wasn’t too far from a winning goal in the 85th minute with a low shot from the right of the box which flew just past Gerken’s right post.

A minute later, skipper Luke Chambers nodded down a freekick from deep but Sears just couldn’t reach it.

Then on 87 the Blues had a golden chance to reclaim the lead. Jackson, who had enjoyed his best game since joining Town, escaped down the left and cut across to Sears, however, the ball flew just behind the striker and it was cleared from inside the six-yard box.

With two minutes remaining the Blues were reduced to 10 men for the third time this season. This time Pennington was the man to see red following his second yellow card for a foul on Maghoma.

Immediately, Edwards was sacrificed for Janoi Donacien as Town looked to see out the final few minutes for a point.

The Blues found themselves under significant pressure during injury time and Birmimgham nearly won it when Jutkiewicz was found in space at the far post but Gerken reacted quickly to close him down and block. Moments later, the whistle ended an entertaining topsy-turvy affair.

Town will be kicking themselves that they are still waiting for their first win of the season having been two goals in front.

The timing of Birmingham’s first goal gave them impetus and momentum at the start of the second half and despite Town having the occasional moment of their own going forward, the potential for second home goal was always there.

The Blues, who climb a place to 22nd in the table, defended staunchly to hang on to their point in the closing stages, particularly after going down to 10 men, and might even have grabbed a third goal on the break.

Going into the match a first away draw of the season wouldn’t have been viewed as a bad result.

However, in the context of having been 2-0 up at half-time it’s major chance to claim a first victory missed at the 10th time of asking in the league and with two very tough fixtures - Middlesbrough at home on Tuesday which Pennington will miss and Swansea away on Saturday - in the next week.

Town: Gerken, Pennington, Nsiala, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Skuse, Chalobah, Edwards (Donacien 88), Nolan, Ward (Sears 81), Jackson. Unused: Bialkowski, Graham, Downes, Dozzell, Edun.

Birmingham: Camp, Pedersen, Morrison (c), Dean, Colin, Lakin (Mahoney 64), G Gardner (Kieftenbeld 46), Jota, Maghoma, Jutkiewicz, Adams. Unused: Trueman, Roberts, Harding, Solomon-Otabor, Bogle. Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire). Att: 21,612 (Town 1,096).

Photo: Pagepix

Chondzoresk added 19:10 - Sep 29 TimmyH I agree with many of your posts. We were 0-2 up. Then shot ourselves in the foot. 0 wins from 10 is atrocious. I vouched for Hurst when he got the position, but now I'm increasingly concerned. The standard we are seeing are nowhere near acceptable for ITFC. Some are leaping around like nutty frogs because we drew against Brum is pretty see through. Remember we were 2 up. I still just believe in PH, but things need to change......and pronto.

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bluemike1969 added 19:16 - Sep 29 Swn98. Don't normally agree with you but totally agree with you on giving Dozzell a run out. In fact, why not bring back Nydam as he was on the bench again. I personally feel it was 2 points lost today and Gerken saved us. I love my club and am passionate about it but we mustn't get into verbal abuse with each other. Stick together for the good of our club. I"m getting fed up of zero wins as well with a manager clearly out of his depth and bringing on Sears with less than 10 mins remaining..... Genius!

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jas0999 added 19:19 - Sep 29 TimmyH - sadly it would seem that folk have very low expectations. They are of course entitled to their opinion. As are you and I agree. Birmingham aren't Barcelona. Being two up and only drawing is not a good result. It's an average one. I didn't see the game today but listened to it on the radio. Mick Mills - someone who rarely says anything critical against ITFC was damming in his comments. Birmingham were the better team in both halves according to him. He said we were poor. So, although we nicked a point after throwing away all three, is that what it's now become? Celebrating a point when two up against average opposition? Some folk also seem to forget we were genuinely unlucky early days under RK. We looked like winning games. I remember watching us against Watford where we battered them but somehow didn't win. Hit the post twice. We haven't under PH as even today we almost lost from two up with Brum being better than us. Second half according to those at the game was abysmal. Sadly, some folk find the current situation acceptable. No wins in ten and rarely looked like winning. In my book unacceptable. In others exceptional. As I say, each to their own.

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blue86 added 19:54 - Sep 29 a draw away to birmingham is a good result but.... after having a 2 goal cushion, and being desperate for our FIRST win of the season, it would have been nice to try and see the game out. what worries me is we havent scored many goals and arent defensively great either, also how much bad luck have we had? alot i think! would love for it to just click, but the longer the winless streak goes on the harder it gets. i dont want to be negative and would like to see hurst turn it around but just have this niggly feeling relegation is a very real possibility this season.

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TimmyH added 19:56 - Sep 29 Well said Jas0999...but it seems generally at the moment (some posters) if your not 'a glass half full' kinda guy your talking tosh
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Esseeja added 19:57 - Sep 29 I feel as if we have took 2 steps forward in attack but a few steps backwards in defence. Notice the pattern of attack first half defend last half like McCarthy did
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 20:02 - Sep 29 We didn't lack effort today, but I am sorry to have to admit we lacked quality. We were very lucky to get the point in the end. Brum were the better team by some margin, and they weren't that good. I think our plan can only be to hopefully avoid relegation and then hope PH can slowly build on what we've got. At the moment, we are playing a lot of hoofball down the channels that doesn't look much different to last season, but we don't have the same threat up front that we had then. I'd hoped for a different style of football, but so far that hasn't really happened. We can't seem to pass the ball around in midfield with any kind of conviction. Jackson looks as though he might be ok (not spectacular) but he has no support. Edwards tries hard and tackles back well, but doesn't really produce much end product, and anyway there is no-one there in the box if he does. We look like a very disjointed outfit. Like many others, I'd like to see at least some of our youngsters given a chance: Nydam, Dozzel, Downes would do to start. I think they might play better together than some of our current squad. Anyway, we need to support the team, and I still support PH, but it looks like a long and bumpy road ahead.

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Lathers added 20:03 - Sep 29 Jas0999 - to be fair we did have a much better squad when Keane started his tenure. The thing right now is we aren't going to get better... this is what we have and we aren't strong enough for this standard, so as much as I appreciate that some on here are still clinging to positivity, we are heading in one direction. The only question for me is whether we accept this and stick with PH to bounce us back as a stronger team, or look to make a change which I'm not convinced is worth doing with Marcus Evans in charge. He has decided to make us a selling club and has to be made fully accountable for the mess we find ourselves in.

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04willr added 20:11 - Sep 29 Would definitely have taken a point and scoring two goals beforehand. However, to throw it away is a real disappointment. Their first goal was so simple. In the end, lucky to cling on thanks to a great Gerks save. Positives: point, goals, Nolan, Edwards, Jackson Negatives: throwing lead away, midfield quite static and Nsiala about a useful as a marzipan dildo.
3

blueboy1981 added 20:49 - Sep 29 Let's not get too carried away with this point, 2-0 up, nearly lose it at the death - and STILL no win in sight, is the stark reality of it all. However, a point away from home is just about acceptable - the second half wasn't tho'.
3

blueboy1981 added 20:52 - Sep 29 ...... a Gerks 'bloomer' for the second goal - Bart would have been crucified for that ... !!
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blueboy1981 added 20:55 - Sep 29 ..... and the first goal conceded was Sunday League defending - no point in condoning such.
2

blueboy1981 added 20:58 - Sep 29 ........ looking at the goals conceded again on TV - no defensive organisation at all.
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dirtydingusmagee added 21:02 - Sep 29 if Evans was in F1 instead of football he would be trying to win the Championship with Lada's.
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herfie added 21:09 - Sep 29 Did not see the match, but listened to Suffolk radio commentary. Also, tend not to comment whilst post-match emotions run high and tend to cloud rational judgement! But today's performance and result, whilst offering the eternal optimists the odd crumb of positivity, only serves to underline our serious shortcomings in competing in this league. We lack sufficient quality, a.worrying inability to get the ‘basics' of the game right, do not impose ourselves enough, seem disjointed and lacking confidence. Taken together, against experienced, battle-hardened C'ship players and reams, means that we will inevitably struggle to win games. There will almost certainly be a tipping point - question is when, and what options will exist to affect change. Honestly not intended to be doom and gloom, but reflecting the reality of where we are within the pro game.

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blueboy1981 added 21:09 - Sep 29 Paul Hurst - you are becoming tedious, you are never short of words, and anyone suffering from insomnia could do worse than listen to your long, monotone, drawn out interviews that quite honestly don't make much sense. Guaranteed to see you into the land of nod. Let's have less of the talk, more in terms of results i.e a WIN at long last - 11 games ? - I've lost count, without a WIN is indefensible. More action - less talk Mr Hurst - whilst you still have the chance .... !!

7

Tractorboy1985 added 21:22 - Sep 29 The trophy post and what sums up our football club in few words goes to dirtydingusmagee!! Well done fella.. no more need to be said!
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Tractorboy1985 added 21:24 - Sep 29 You know what you are... you know what you are.. Marcus Evans.. you know what you are..........
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Tractorboy1985 added 21:31 - Sep 29 I feel the protest that should have happened 3 seasons ago is on thee horizon.. I'll be there! EVANS OUT!!!!!
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penuthead57 added 21:37 - Sep 29 Does this season remind anyone of when you buy the latest FM but you've been using a 5 year old version and think it'll be okay to just jump straight in not knowing the new features then finding out that maybe you should have done the tutorial?!
1

Pilgrimblue added 21:39 - Sep 29 All PHs signings are league 1 and that's where we're heading. Sending out all our younger players is a crime and will be his undoing. Woolly is better than Nsiala but was shipped out before we found out. Nydam is wasting away in Scotland but meanwhile our u23 are playing with style under guidance of two up and coming coaches. Just imagine what they could do with those two plus Morris et al.

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Pip50 added 21:41 - Sep 29 Evans out what who is sacking him it's like your mortgage company being given their orders and you keeping the house. Wise up he owns the club. Be patient our manager will come good.
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ihatecanaries added 23:07 - Sep 29 I won today unlike town, I laid a town win at half time with odds of 1/6. Cheers town for being so predictably useless, at least i'm £300 better off. You would make a mint this season backing us not to win
-1

ipswich134 added 23:24 - Sep 29 I see a team struggling , but to say it's going to be relegated it's far too early. People didnt mentioned we got only 4 defeats. Also we now seem to have settled on our first 11. This is by no means near Paul jewel's horror team. It takes time to get used to a style, manager n division. But once they do, we will fly.
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Minneapolis_ITFC added 02:20 - Sep 30 Not everyone can take in or witness the true extent of what occurs out there so guess allowances can be made but maybe today was an OK score. True there was no eventual victory after the two goal lead but a point on the road seems adequate and at least players showed there are goals in the team. You can't ignore however this start is by and large unacceptable. I hold Evans primarily culpable for the situation and Hurst must take his share of blame also. Pity is it's going to be another season of ultimately doing nothing bar one or two standout scores and the misguided belief of a play-off opportunity somewhere along the way. You got reasons for optimism maybe, but the bigger picture dictates the worries and concerns outweigh the more positives aspects of what this team / season can offer.

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