Barnsley 1 Birmingham 1: Match report
Birmingham defender Martin Taylor went from villain to hero inside the final 10 minutes as he made up for his defensive blunder with a late equaliser at Barnsley.
Taylor missed his headed clearance with 10 minutes to go to leave Michael Mifsud with the simple chance of putting the home side ahead.
Taylor would, however, grab a point that proved precious after leaders Wolves could also only draw at home to Ipswich.
But the result means Blues have still not won away from home in 2009 - a worrying run that threatens to undermine their push for automatic promotion.
Barnsley boss Simon Davey opted for an attacking 4-3-3 formation with Jon Macken drafted in alongside Maltese pair Michael Mifsud and Daniel Bogdanovic in attack.
Birmingham made two changes with Carlos Costly and Damien Johnson replacing the injured Marcus Bent and Lee Bowyer. Striker Garry O'Connor made a return to the bench after being out since October due to a groin injury.
Costly spurned the first chance of the game, after 10 minutes, when he headed over under pressure from a Sebastian Larrson free-kick.
At the other end Franck Queudrue made a diving block at the far post to deny a goal-bound Bogdanovic volley.
As the game settled Blues extra man in midfield meant they had most of the ball, but too readily wasted it with errant passes and hopeful long balls forward.
After a half hour, Costly finally chose to run at the home defence and should have been rewarded for his craft when his low centre found Johnson at the near post. The midfielder, however, could only toe-poke his close-range chance wide.
