Birmingham 1 Barnsley 1: Full time report

Sep 24 2011

Chris Burke`s 86th-minute strike clinched a point Birmingham scarcely deserved against an unfortunate Barnsley side.

The winger, a summer signing from Cardiff, picked the perfect moment to bag his first goal for the club, and it could have been even better for the home side as Marlon King saw his late shot rebound off the inside of a post.

But Blues` strong finish masked what was a sloppy performance littered with misplaced passes and a lack of creativity, which only gained much-needed inspiration following the second-half introduction of Nikola Zigic.

Jacob Butterfield`s clinical long-range strike looked to have ended Birmingham`s 100% home record in the npower Championship with defeat.

It was the first league goal Blues have conceded on home soil this term and Danny Drinkwater went close to a second when his effort from distance clipped the crossbar.

Nevertheless, the draw extends the Yorkshire side`s unbeaten sequence to five matches while also ending a run of three successive defeats for City.

Birmingham`s line-up showed six changes from the heavily rotated XI who relinquished the club`s hold on the Carling Cup with a 2-0 defeat at free-spending Manchester City in midweek.

And manager Chris Hughton was forced into a defensive reshuffle after just nine minutes as centre-back Curtis Davies was stretchered off down the tunnel with a serious-looking knee injury.