Birmingham City sealed a point against Swansea City with a battling 1-1 draw
19:33, 17 Jan 2026Updated 20:00, 17 Jan 2026
Patrick Roberts of Birmingham City celebrates scoring a goal to make it 1-1 against Swansea City(Image: )
Patrick Roberts netted his third goal of the season to cut Birmingham City’s run of away defeats at Swansea City.
The winger’s goal cancelled out Zan Vipotnik’s opener and earned Blues their first point away from St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park since November.
The game quickly settled into a pattern of Swansea possession but it was Blues who threatened the goal first. Tommy Doyle’s low corner found Paik Seung-ho and the South Korean’s goal-bound effort was scrambled away by the hosts.
Paik’s compatriot, Eom Ji-sung, was inches away from giving Swansea the lead after a swift counter-attack. Phil Neumann sprinted back into position and kept his balance to divert Eom’s shot away from the bottom corner.
The pace of Lewis Koumas caused Swansea a problem or two in the opening exchanges and he got in behind Ethan Galbraith to lay on a chance for Marvin Ducksch. By the time Ducksch had set himself, Jay Fulton was positioned to bravely block the shot.
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A positive start for Blues, but self-destruction is always a possibility away from home.
Midway through the first half, Kai Wagner tried to shield the ball from Ronald when he should have hoofed it clear. Ronald was too sharp for the Blues newbie and broke clear to put the ball on a plate for Vipotnik to score his 11th Championship goal of the season.
Zan Vipotnik of Swansea City celebrates scoring a goal to make it 1-0(Image: )
Swansea upped the ante after their goal. A superb passing move resulted in Goncalo Franco forcing a fingertip save from James Beadle.
Blues weathered the Swansea storm and could have levelled before half-time. Koumas scampered down the left again, leaving two Swansea defenders in his wake, before pulling the ball back for Roberts to blaze over the bar.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s eyes lit up in first half stoppage time when Tomoki Iwata lashed a ball across the box. Unfortunately for Kyogo, he couldn’t make a connection from close range and his wait for a Championship goal continued.
Kyogo at least connected with Kai Wagner’s cross early in the second half but he could only knee the ball wide.
Ronald almost doubled Swansea’s lead in the 56th minute when he smashed a shot against the outside of the post after Blues had failed to clear a corner.
Jay Stansfield’s introduction followed that missed Swansea chance and the game swung in Blues’ favour.
The equaliser arrived in the 72nd minute and it was no surprise that it came via the Wagner supply-line. The German’s cross was flicked by Ducksch into the path of Roberts who, on his weaker right side this time, skipped by his marker and lashed a shot in off the underside of the crossbar.
Swansea substitute Liam Cullen had the final chance of note but his header hit the underside of the crossbar before bouncing away to safety.
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James Beadle 7
Showed good hands a couple of times to hold onto long range efforts and generally distributed the ball well. One fantastic save from Franco in the first half.
Tomoki Iwata 7
Iwata had a good battle with Eom and stepped in decisively a few times to power forward with the ball. Iwata showed his strength to stop Cullen from breaking through midfield late on.
Phil Neumann 7
Neumann recovered well to prevent Eom from scoring early on and made other important defensive contributions.
Birmingham City defender Phil Neumann closes down Swansea’s Eom Ji-Sung (Image: )
Christoph Klarer 7
A colossus in the air, taking charge on Swansea’s set pieces to ensure Blues’ goal wasn’t breached via that method. No player on the pitch won more headers than Klarer.
Kai Wagner 6.5
If Wagner needed a lesson in how frenetic the Championship can be, he got one at Swansea. The left-back was slow to the ball and Ronald, with the assist for Vipotnik, punished him.
He did, however, make up for it with a quality delivery into the box that eventually led to Roberts’ equaliser.
Tommy Doyle 6.5
There were a few useful set pieces from Doyle who battled Swansea’s talented midfielders to ensure Blues weren’t found wanting away from home on this occasion.
Paik Seung-ho 7.5
One of Paik’s best away performances of the season. He was more dynamic in possession and filled spaces well when Blues didn’t have the ball.
Patrick Roberts 7.5*
Roberts got into the game after half-time and popped up all over the place before showing skill and composure to net the equaliser.
Marvin Ducksch 6.5
Ducksch had two chances to pull the trigger in the first half but he dallied and allowed Swansea to get bodies back. You couldn’t fault his effort and he played his part in the equaliser with a flick to Roberts.
Lewis Koumas 6.5
The speed of Koumas caused Swansea problems in the first half but they nullified his threat after half-time. He could have taken more care in possession at times.
Ronald of Swansea City and Lewis Koumas of Birmingham City in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Swansea City and Birmingham City at the Swansea.com Stadium(Image: )
Kyogo Furuhashi 5.5
Kyogo pressed with purpose, as ever, but we are judging him on his ability to put chances away and when the ball reached him either side of half-time, he couldn’t make a telling connection.
SUBS
Jay Stansfield (for Kyogo, 56) 7
Stansfield’s arrival was the catalyst for an improvement from Blues in the second half. There isn’t anyone in this team who presses as well as Stansfield and his teammates responded to his insatiable appetite to win the ball back.
Willum Willumsson (for Ducksch, 85) N/A
Not used: Allsop, Sampsted, Burrell, Mazwi, Fujimoto, Wright, Isichei
How did you rate the players? Tell us in the comments…