The hosts dominated early possession and piled pressure on without creating many chances, although Jay Stansfield opened the scoring shortly after the restart from a rebound.But deep into stoppage time, George Hirst was the hero from the spot, firing home a penalty after Lyndon Dykes' hand ball in the box, leading to a 1-1 draw in the West Midlands.Azor Matusiwa started in midfield - making his Championship debut (Image: Ross Halls)Team newsAlex Palmer, set to be Town’s no.1 this season, started in goal, with newly-appointed skipper Dara O’Shea and Jacob Greaves the centre-backs in front of him. Ben Johnson was preferred to Ashley Young at right-back, while Leif Davis was deemed fit enough to start at left-back.With loan signing Jens Cajuste not included in the matchday squad, Azor Matusiwa made his debut in English football alongside Jack Taylor.Chiedozie Ogbene returned to competitive action for the first time since his Achilles injury at Brentford on October 26th. Sammie Szmodics started in the no.10 role, with Jack Clarke on his preferred left flank and George Hirst leading the line.Birmingham City XI: 4-2-3-1: Allsop; Osayi-Samuel, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Tomoki, Paik; Gray (Laird 82'), Stansfield (Dykes 82'), Anderson (Gardner-Hickman 89'); Kyogo (Doyle 76')Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Palmer; Johnson (Young 68'), O’Shea, Greaves, Davis; Matusiwa (Humphreys 85'), Taylor; Ogbene (Broadhead 68'), Szmodics (Chaplin 68'), J. Clarke (Al-Hamadi 79'); HirstTown were fortunate as Kyogo was deemed to have fouled Jacob Greaves before scoring (Image: PA)Under pressureA deafening atmosphere built before kick-off, with the noise rising further as Birmingham had their first foray forward in the third minute. Keshi Anderson cut in from the left flank after being afforded a yard of space by Johnson, but he crossed the ball straight out of play.Then came a huge let-off for Ipswich. Following a bit of head tennis, Greaves let the ball bounce over him as Kyogo brushed through, lobbing Palmer and sending the home fans wild. Referee Andrew Kitchen ended up disallowing it for a foul, infuriating those in blue.In truth, it was a scrappy game. Fouls made it feel incredibly stop-start, although Ipswich did benefit from some key calls going in their favour.A literal scrap ensued in the 18th minute following a challenge between Taylor and Bright Osayi-Samuel, with both players booked as a result.Birmingham came again in the 22nd minute, with Jay Stansfield breaking down the left, cutting inside and finding Kyogo. The former Celtic man took aim but fired into side netting.At this stage, the hosts had around 70% possession, with Town struggling to get into the game, although their opponents hadn’t managed to fashion many clear-cut chances.A golden chance fell Ipswich’s way in the 25th minute as Birmingham were caught playing out from the back. Ryan Allsop’s pass out was intercepted by Szmodics, who, under pressure from Christoph Klarer, blasted his shot wide from just inside the box.Town struggled to maintain extended spells of possession (Image: Ross Halls)Suffering out of possessionBirmingham carved through Ipswich’s back line in the 32nd minute after a spell of extended possession, with Tomoki playing a clever through ball to Stansfield, who fired well over the crossbar.Up the other end, O’Shea weighted a perfect ball down the left for Davis, who cut into the box and took aim with the outside of his left boot, shooting just wide of the near post.There was a brief interval around the 36th minute as Szmodics went to ground for treatment, allowing both teams to come towards the dugouts for a drink and some instructions. Three minutes later, an intercepted Matusiwa pass bounced back to Stansfield, who cut inside and fired wide once again.A great tackle from Greaves denied Osayi-Samuel from Anderson’s cross four minutes before the break, although the flag was raised for offside.Matusiwa had a tough half, and it was capped off as he lost possession to Stansfield and fouled Anderson in the 43rd minute. Demarai Gray stepped up to take the free-kick from around 30 yards out, but shot straight into the gloves of Palmer.Then, in the first of two minutes of stoppage time, Hirst managed to shake off his man and rush down the right, finding Ogbene, who in turn set up Johnson for a cross. Taylor got into a good position to attack it, but couldn’t make the right contact with his header.Town conceded shortly after the interval (Image: Ross Halls)Falling behindThe tempo of the first half continued into the second. Up one end, Hirst clattered into Osayi-Samuel as he ran for the ball, sending the right-back flying. Then, up the other end, Tomoki flicked the ball wide from inside the box after Town failed to clear their lines.Just as things started to slow down, Birmingham raised the roof with an opener. Palmer's goal kick was knocked back into the final third for Kyogo, who chipped the goalkeeper and hit the post. O'Shea couldn't react fast enough as it bounced out to Stansfield, who smacked the ball into the roof of the net in the 55th minute.There were chances for Ipswich to react - a corner in the 63rd minute, for example, where Davis' delivery was headed well over by O'Shea. Other than that, it was limited.Hirst bagged his first goal back in the second tier to level the scores (Image: Ross Halls)Late dramaKieran McKenna rolled the dice before the 70th minute, with Nathan Broadhead and Conor Chaplin both introduced, while former Aston Villa man Ashley Young was given a hostile welcome onto the pitch from the home crowd.But Birmingham were assured in possession, enjoying their time on the ball. While they were able to get it into advanced areas, they couldn't create chances to kill off the game.Ipswich, on the flip side, found it hard themselves. George Hirst cut an isolated figure up front, while the lack of attacking options became clear when striker Ali Al-Hamadi was brought on to play right wing.It looked destined for a defeat, until it didn't. A hand ball off Dykes from a corner saw Town awarded a penalty, which Hirst dispatched, cupping his ears in front of the home fans, who responded by throwing bottles in his direction - a beautifully violent end to the match.Attendance: 27,508
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