The last club to secure promotion from League One to the Premier League in successive seasons were ill-prepared for their sudden rise to the summit of English football; it was merely a happy accident of an excellent managerial feat. So it is no surprise that Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich are back in the Championship at the first opportunity.
Should Birmingham emulate their opponents from this opening fixture they have no intentions of following the same path. Every bold statement to emerge from the club over this summer makes it abundantly clear that this period in the second tier is expected to be brief. Sights have been set high and, on the basis of this performance against opposition that took points off Chelsea, Tottenham and Aston Villa last season, it is easy to see why.
There is, if not a swagger, then a resolute belief in the way Birmingham’s players go about their business. That they did not begin their campaign with a win should do little to deter from the dominance they showed for the vast majority of this encounter. When Jay Stansfield smashed home from close range 10 minutes into the second half it was just rewards for their performance.
Alas, a harsh decision for handball against the substitute Lyndon Dykes gave George Hirst the opportunity to equalise from the penalty spot in injury time. He did not waste it. Honours even, but it did not feel that way.
If the bookmakers are to be trusted – unwise words – then both of these teams stand an excellent chance of playing top-flight football next season. Before a ball had been kicked, Ipswich were generally considered to be favourites to win this year’s Championship, with Birmingham no lower than third in the odds.
The two clubs landed in this division following vastly contrasting fortunes in their previous campaign. While Birmingham broke a Football League record for points (111) and wins (34) when romping to the League One title, Ipswich picked up just 22 points in the briefest of Premier League stays.
This is an intoxicating time to be a Birmingham supporter: signings aplenty, bullish proclamations and a television documentary that their American chair, Tom Wagner, boasted in his programme notes is one of “Amazon Prime’s top performing shows”. No surprise, then, that St Andrew’s was bouncing long before kick-off. If the only trade-off local fans must make for such delirium is the slightly odd sight of a United States flag flying above their home stadium then it is one they will happily stomach.
In his short managerial career, Chris Davies has garnered a reputation for playing football a certain way: namely maximum possession, quick tempo and a rapid press. All three were in evidence here from his confident Birmingham side.
The hosts could count themselves unlucky not to gain an early lead when the former Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi – one of four summer signings in Birmingham’s starting XI – produced a wonderful lob to embarrass the goalkeeper, Alex Palmer, who was marooned some way out of his six-yard box. That excellent finish was swiftly ruled out though, with the referee, Andrew Kitchen, deciding the Japan international had fouled Jacob Greaves to win the ball in the first place. It was a soft decision, to say the least, and the home fans ensured they made their disdain loud and clear.
For all that it was an immensely watchable opening half, – played with no shortage of spice to a raucous backdrop in the stands – decent efforts were in short supply. Sammie Szmodics lashed wide after a dreadful Ryan Allsop error and Stansfield drove over from 15 yards, but two meek Birmingham long-range efforts marked the only shots on target by half-time.
If there was a team to break the deadlock, it seemed inevitable that it would be the hosts, such was their casual dominance of the ball. So it proved 10 minutes after the break. Furuhashi’s chip over the onrushing Palmer rebounded off the far post straight into the path of Stansfield, who had all the time in the world to rifle the follow-up past the defender Dara O’Shea and into the roof of the net from a few yards out.
Davies’ side did not lose a single home league game last season – compiling the second-longest unbeaten home run in the club’s history – and only one side who fell behind at St Andrew’s left with a point.
It looked for a long time like Ipswich would not add to that tally, until a corner was headed back across goal where it struck Dykes’s outstretched arm at very close range. Hirst delivered and the points were shared.
