Tomoki Iwata’s late stunner ensured Birmingham City dented Hull City’s play-off hopes with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the MKM Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Iwata slammed home from distance with 13 minutes left to cancel out Joe Gelhardt’s first-half opener and deservedly earn Blues a share of the spoils.
Blues started on the front foot, but the game’s first real chance fell Hull’s way 17 minutes in.
Lively right-winger Mohamed Belloumi played a neat one-two with Gelhardt before unleashing a shot that James Beadle had to beat away.
Ibrahim Osman (left) battling with Hull winger Mohamed Belloumi | Image: @BCFC
Hull broke the deadlock seven minutes later, this time from the left flank.
Liam Millar cut inside and the ball dropped invitingly for Gelhardt, whose first-time effort deflected off Phil Neumann before beating Beadle.
The hosts came close to doubling their lead when a long throw-in that Blues failed to deal with fell to Oli McBurnie. Beadle stopped flapping to make a good save before Neumann hacked the ball to safety.
Carlos Vicente showed a glimpse of his talents with a speedy run down the right channel seven minutes before half-time.
The Spaniard then whipped one into the far post, but Ibrahim Osman couldn’t guide his header on target.
That was about all the attacking flair Blues could conjure in a first half where they failed to properly test Tigers goalkeeper Ivor Pandur.
They didn’t trouble Pandur too much after the restart either, and Chris Davies summoned Demarai Gray and Marvin Ducksch from his bench shortly after the hour in an attempt to inject some firepower into Blues’ attack.
But it was Iwata who drew Blues level with a thunderbolt in the 77th minute. Kai Wagner’s left-wing cross was half-cleared by John Egan, before Iwata set himself on the edge of the area and rifled into the top-right corner.
Iwata celebrates with his teammates after powering in Birmingham City’s equaliser at Hull | Image: @BCFC
Hull, who were in desperate need of the points to boost their play-off hopes, were hunting down a winner and would have scored one had Semi Ajayi not slammed wide from eight yards three minutes from time.
Blues weathered the late storm and held firm to secure a hard-fought point on Humberside. On the balance of play, a draw was a fair result in a game where Blues deserved their point after a much-improved second-half display.
### _Here’s what Blues boss Davies told BBC Radio WM post-match…_
_“We_ have _seen Tomoki (Iwata) do some fantastic finishes but that and Demarai Gray away at Southampton are the two individual goals which stand out for me._
_“Overall the players are really encouraged right now. There aren’t too many games this season where we’ve gone a goal down and come back and got something. That’s a really good sign._
_“From where we were, they are now looking like a team who can get a result in almost any game. We (now) have two home games which we really have to attack. The key is not to let this season tail off.”_
**Were you pleased with the draw considering Hull’s play-off aspirations? Let us know on our X page: @BluesFocus!**
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_Featured Image: @BCFC_