Frustrated Blues show that they can compete with best

THE dawn of the new Championship season at St Andrew's was marred by controversy as Birmingham City were denied by a stoppage time penalty.

- By ALEX DICKEN

George Hirst converted in the 95th minute to cancel out Jay Stansfield’s opener and stop Blues from recording what would have been a deserved victory against Ipswich Town.

Andrew Kitchen adjudged Lyndon Dykes to have handled the ball at an Ipswich corner and he didn’t get much else right on a bad night for the referee.

Here are our talking points after Blues start with a point...

Blues match the favourites

The first game of the season is rarely going to be free-flowing, fantastic football. There is plenty of time for that.

Blues matched the enthusiasm of a white-hot St Andrew's crowd to create the better openings and keep Ipswich, who many fancy as the favourites for promotion, at bay before the controversial penalty award.

Other than a chance for Sammie Szmodics in the first half which was all of Ryan Allsop’s own doing and the debatable penalty, Ipswich barely laid a glove on Blues. Big money signings from their Premier League days Szmodics and Jack Clarke were well handled by a Blues team that looks capable of keeping clean sheets once again.