Birmingham City sealed a point on the road at Wrexham courtesy of a goal from Patrick Roberts
Birmingham City reporter for BirminghamLive and the Birmingham Mail
James Beadle of Birmingham City
Birmingham City battled back to earn a 1-1 draw at Wrexham to stop the rot on the road.
Blues arrived at the Racecourse Ground having lost their last three away games without scoring but they bounced back from George Dobson’s early goal to take a point thanks to Patrick Roberts’ first in Royal Blue.
Blues’ defending at set pieces has been in the spotlight and Wrexham only needed 13 minutes to expose the obvious weakness.
Josh Windass’s corner was headed goal-wards by Dom Hyam and Dobson flicked it into the net from close range.
Statistically speaking, Blues have now conceded six goals from set pieces in the Championship – more than any other team.
Chris Davies made the big call to hand James Beadle his Championship debut and the goalkeeper repaid his manager with a crucial stop to prevent Lewis O’Brien from swiftly doubling Wrexham’s advantage.
O’Brien cut out Marc Leonard’s blind pass but Beadle won the one-v-one battle to keep Blues within touching distance.
Demarai Gray fashioned Blues’ first chance for himself with a jinking run and shot from 20 yards that Arthur Okonkwo parried behind for a corner.
Gray had a clearer scoring chance when he collected Tomoki Iwata’s right-wing cross towards the end of the first half. Wrexham full-back Issa Kabore slipped to make Gray’s task easier but the winger couldn’t hit the target.
Blues only needed 22 seconds of the second half to find the equaliser. Jay Stansfield found space inside Wrexham’s half to thread a pass through to Patrick Roberts and the winger finished expertly across Okonkwo.
Davies introduced Kyogo Furuhashi just after the hour in an attempt to capitalise on Blues’ control.
Kyogo was soon released by Stansfield but his cross-cum-shot from the right side of the penalty area came to nothing.
The Japanese striker had the ball in Wrexham’s net in the 84th minute after toe-poking the ball past Okonkwo but his celebrations were cut short by a flag on the far side.
There wasn’t to be a winner for Kyogo or Blues in a frenetic close to the game but, crucially, Blues cut a run of away defeats with what Davies will believe is a positive result before the international break.
Blues remain in the top half of the Championship table for now, two points clear of Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham after a repeat result at the Racecourse Ground in the Hollywood Derby.
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James Beadle 8*
Other than one second half corner that Beadle flapped at, it was a positive league debut for the 20-year-old goalkeeper. A superb stop from O’Brien in the first half bailed out Leonard and kept Blues in touch.
Tomoki Iwata 7.5
Iwata showed that he can play right-back at this level and played the position intelligently against Wrexham. He naturally inverted into midfield but Iwata produced one good cross to create a chance for Gray.
Christoph Klarer 8
You can always rely on Klarer against Wrexham. The Blues skipper matched Moore in the physical battle and improved as the game wore on.
Birmingham City captain Christoph Klarer
Jack Robinson 7
Robinson wasn’t messing about with his former Sheffield United teammate Moore in the vicinity. He took no chances and did his job well.
Alex Cochrane 7
Cochrane was solid enough against flying wing-back Kabore and wasn’t beaten too many times. He used the ball well, too.
Marc Leonard 6.5
Leonard almost gifted O’Brien a goal with a terrible first half pass but he recovered to get Blues playing after half-time.
Paik Seung-ho 7
A much better performance from Paik on the road. He dovetailed nicely with Leonard in midfield and caused Wrexham problems when he drifted over to the left.
Patrick Roberts 7
The on-loan Sunderland man was busy on the right wing, constantly coming inside to combine, and it was one of those out-to-in runs that resulted in his goal. Roberts never looked likely to waste his chance.
Demarai Gray 7
Gray enjoyed plenty of positive moments, including a wicked cross that Dykes might have done more with. The 29-year-old had a good chance to score at the end of the first half.
Demarai Gray(Image: Getty Images)
Jay Stansfield 6.5
Blues’ record buy struggled at the Racecourse in January but he had an influence on this one, particularly in the second half. Stansfield registered his first assist of the season with a neat pass to Roberts.
Lyndon Dykes 6
It was no surprise to see Dykes start due to his physical presence and there were some useful combinations with Stansfield before he was replaced by the diminutive Kyogo.
SUBS
Kyogo Furuhashi (for Dykes, 65) 6
It feels like the goal is getting closer. Kyogo looked dangerous after coming on.
Keshi Anderson (for Gray, 71) 6
Anderson was influential off the bench in this fixture last year and played well again.
Lewis Koumas (for Roberts, 71) 5.5
Not as influential as Anderson on the other flank but still a willing runner.
Tommy Doyle (for Stansfield, 80) N/A
Not used: Allsop, Cashin, Neumann, Sampsted, Fujimoto
Attendance: 10,669 (1,287)
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