Birmingham City were frustrated after being held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke City at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on Saturday, missing out on the opportunity to move within three points of the Championship play-off places.
Blues took the lead in the first half through Tomoki Iwata, but an unlucky Phil Neumann own goal late in the game cost Chris Davies’ team all three points. Despite their good home form this season, Birmingham were unable to capitalise in a game that added little to either team’s promotion aspirations.
Davies was particularly upset by a contentious first-half judgment that ruled away an earlier Iwata goal. The midfielder had finished from a Jay Stansfield delivery, but the effort was ruled off owing to a foul in the build-up by Marvin Ducksch, perplexing the Blues manager.
Speaking after the game, Davies questioned the officiating’s consistency and cited what he saw as repeated fouling on newcomer August Priske that went unpunished.
The draw came during a hectic week for Birmingham, who had recently completed the £6 million signing of Priske from Djurgarden. The 21-year-old made his Championship debut from the bench and had a bruising introduction to English football.
Davies revealed that the Blues expect further transfer action before the January deadline, with prospective incomings and outgoings still being considered.
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