Birmingham City 1-1 Ipswich Town, EFL Championship: George Hirst The Hero In Curtain-Raiser

George Hirst's 95th-minute penalty helped Ipswich Town rescue a 1-1 draw against Birmingham City in a feisty Championship curtain-raiser at St. Andrew's. 

Birmingham appeared set for the perfect start upon their return to the second tier after Jay Stansfield had given them the lead 10 minutes after half-time. 

But as the game ticked into stoppage time, Lyndon Dykes was penalised for a harsh handball inside the area, with Hirst confidently dispatching the resulting spot-kick. 

The hosts made a strong start and thought they had edged in front with just eight minutes on the clock when Kyogo Furuhashi lofted the ball over Alex Palmer. 

However, the goal was disallowed by referee Andrew Kitchen for a foul on visiting defender Jacob Greaves by Kyogo before his sublime finish. 

Birmingham's dominance was rewarded in the 55th minute when Kyogo's effort struck the post, with Stansfield on hand to smash the rebound into the roof of the net. 

But there was to be late drama after Blues substitute Dykes' outstretched arm stopped a goal-bound header by Greaves in the box, with Hirst making no mistake from 12 yards. 

That decision saw tempers flare during the final minutes of second-half stoppage time, with neither side able to find a winner to get their season off to a triumphant start. 

Data Debrief: Championship returns with a bang

After waiting nearly three months for the Championship to restart, Birmingham and Ipswich delivered an enthralling clash which is hopefully a sign of things to come in what looks set to be the most unpredictable chapter in the second tier's history. 

Birmingham more than made their mark on their return to the Championship, marginally leading the expected goals (xG) metric after registering a tally of 1.38 from their 11 shots to Ipswich's 1.31 from their seven attempts. 

And after finishing as Blues' top scorer in League One in 2024-25, Stansfield got himself up and running here, with the Birmingham forward also registering a game-high number of shots (three), but his strike ultimately proved in vain. 

While Birmingham will be frustrated at not closing the game out, their impressive record at St. Andrew's continued. They are unbeaten in their last 26 home games (W21 D5), only having a longer unbeaten home run between October 1970 and April 1972 (36 games).