Birmingham and Bristol City played out a 2-2 draw in the Championship's second round of regular season matches on Saturday. The result keeps both sides mid-table, with Birmingham remaining eighth on six points and Bristol City holding sixth place on seven.
Bristol City took the lead through Scott Twine at the 33-minute mark, but just nine minutes later Sam Tickle cancelled that advantage with an own goal at 42. The visitors then struck again through Dominic Ballard at 85, only for Demarai Gray to level with a penalty at 90+5.
And here's the thing about the statistics — Birmingham dominated possession at 65 per cent and registered 115 attacks, yet created only three big chances compared to Bristol City's four. The hosts had an expected goals tally of 1.98 but could only convert one of their two shots on target, while the visitors were more clinical with six shots on target and a 43 per cent accuracy rate.
To be fair, the game turned on those late moments. Gray's penalty came after Birmingham had been gradually pressing, and the visitors had nothing to lose at that stage. The hosts had already made several changes, bringing on August Priske at 78 and Jay Stansfield at 84, perhaps looking for a winner.
By then both managers had made their tactical adjustments visible. Birmingham made five substitutions in total, including Carlos Vicente and Seung Ho Paik at 62, while Bristol City brought on Jed Wallace and Lorent Tolaj at 65 before removing Scott Twine at 71.
The result means Birmingham remain unbeaten in four Championship games this season, having drawn three and won one. Bristol City's run of two wins, one draw and one loss continues, though this draw ended a pattern of mixed results from their previous outings.