Wrexham’s wait for a first home win in the second tier for 43 years will go on after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Birmingham at the Racecourse.
George Dobson headed the Red Dragons in front inside the first 15 minutes of a first half they dominated, but Patrick Roberts struck just 20 seconds after the restart to ensure the points were shared in the game dubbed ‘The Hollywood Derby’.
Without Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, or Birmingham shareholder Tom Brady, in attendance, there was an absence of the usual glitz off the pitch and a cagey first 10 minutes suggested the action would follow suit.
Fortunately, it soon sparked into life. Max Cleworth won a corner, then rose to head the subsequent delivery goalwards, before Dobson ghosted in to nod it beyond James Beadle. But for Beadle, it might have been two just over five minutes later, when Marc Leonard gifted the ball to Lewis O’Brien, but the England U21 goalkeeper produced a strong save to keep out the shot that followed.
Leonard and Demarai Gray tested Arthur at the other end, but the Blues racked up an expected goals figure of just 0.33 by the break.
Whatever Birmingham boss Chris Davies said to his players at half-time worked a treat. Jay Stansfield reacted to a poor clearance by Dobson, drove on and located Roberts, who darted into a gap between Wrexham’s central defenders, collected the ball and rolled the equaliser into the bottom-right corner.
In truth, that took the sting out of the game and, after the goal, neither side hit a single shot on target.
The first meeting between the two sides in League One last season produced the same scoreline, before Birmingham won the return fixture 3-2. They go again at St Andrew’s on April 11, when much more could well be on the line.
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### Parkinson frustrated by timing of equaliser
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson spoke to Sky Sports:
“First half we were good. We got the goal and had some other good chances to extend the lead. We’re just so disappointed to concede straight after the break, from our kick-off.
“Okay, there’s a ricochet, which then opens the pitch up, but we could do better in terms of staying with the runners in and around the box and that moment gave Birmingham a lift in the game.
“It probably could have gone either way in the second period. Did we have as much possession or sustained periods in that second half? No. Did they do better? Yes. But sometimes that early goal lifts teams.
“All in all, it’s been a tough week for us, with Derby, Leicester and Birmingham. They are three hard games and the lads have given us everything.
“It’s the third game in six days for both teams and the conditions were difficult, so we will take the point. It’s frustrating not to get all three, but they are a good team.”
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### Davies: Anyone who thought Championship would be walk in park is deluded
Birmingham manager Chris Davies speaking to Sky Sports said:
“We’ve had a few difficult games on the road where we’ve not got anything out of it, so this was a point gained. I thought we could have had all three based on the game but we’ve come to a difficult place and it’s important to come away with at least something.
“The message at half-time was to stay calm, not lose their heads, continue to play. We showed some really great signs in the first half. We needed more forward runs, because there were gaps to exploit but we needed people to run without the ball to exploit those gaps and we did that more and more in the second half.
“That was a brilliant start for us because you get a lift from that. I said at half-time that we need to score from a set-piece if we can, but we played a reasonable game without being at our best and we showed what we’re trying to do.
“We are creating chances, we’re solid and we didn’t give too much away tonight. I was pleased with how we played. Wrexham are a solid team and we’ve been the better team overall. We’ve looked like us. We play a different style to them and we wanted to impose our game, rather than it being more like a Wrexham game.
“We just got better as the game went on but we can’t keep going a goal down and expecting to win games. The determination after that goal was better from corners, but not enough.
“My expectation is reality, I know how hard the Championship is. Anyone who thought this would be a stroll in the park is deluded.”
https://www.skysports.com/football/wrexham-vs-birmingham-city/report/534426