Birmingham City 1 Cardiff City 1: Big match verdict
Birmingham City 1 Cardiff City 1
Lee Bowyer marked his debut with a 94th-minute equaliser that spared Birmingham's blushes against a Cardiff side who had looked destined for their first victory at St Andrew's since 1966.
The midfielder, on loan from West Ham until the end of the season, smashed the ball into the top corner from eight yards after the visitors had twice failed to clear their lines inside the penalty area.
In truth, the late heartbreak was harsh on Cardiff who were probably worth the three points on the overall balance of play against a Blues side who started brightly but failed to show enough quality throughout and did not really test goalkeeper Peter Enckelman.
Joe Ledley's sublime second-half volley looked to have won it for the Bluebirds.
The Wales midfielder connected with Radhi Jaidi's half-cleared header from just inside the area and let fly with a powerful angled strike that flew into the top corner and left Maik Taylor with no chance.
The point extended Cardiff's unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions, while it kept Blues in touch with the race for automatic promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship.
Alex McLeish made six changes to his Blues XI from the side knocked out of the FA Cup in midweek with January signings Bowyer, Scott Sinclair and Hameur Bouazza all making their debuts.
Cardiff boss Dave Jones, however, kept faith with the same side that beat Reading in the cup two weeks ago.
Visiting keeper Enckelman received a rousing reception from the home crowd prior to kick-off as he made his first start at St Andrew's since his infamous howler playing for Aston Villa in 2002 when he let a throw-in from team-mate Olof Mellberg trickle under his foot and in to the net.
And his nerves were tested from the off as McLeish's new-look Blues side attacked from the first whistle.
Kevin McNaughton appeared to block the lively Bouzza's left-wing cross
