EFL Championship: Birmingham City 1-1 Aston Villa

Steve Bruce was unable to return to Birmingham City with a victory but maintained his unbeaten tenure with Aston Villa as the visitor gave up a first-half lead to leave St Andrews with a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw in the EFL Championship on Sunday (AEDT).

Villa had gone ahead through a Gary Gardner header in the 29th minute, but it couldn't hold back a spirited home side in the second half, allowing David Davis space to fire home in the 71st minute and level the scores.

The Blues would have moved back into the play-off places with a victory, but remain in seventh spot while Villa sits 15th on the table after a slow start to its season.

Tension was high before kick-off in the "second city derby", with Bruce returning to the club he managed from 2001 to 2007, but the first half proved a decidedly cagey affair, with few chances on offer for either side.

Clayton Donaldson should have put the home side ahead in the 19th minute, but his header from right in front of goal hit the underside of the bar and bounced down on the goal-line without crossing it, and the ball was eventually cleared by a scrambling Villa defence.

Ten minutes later, Birmingham found itself behind after Gardner rose well to power a header of his own beyond Blues goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak, creating a 1-0 lead the visitors would hold until deep into the second half.

The hosts emerged for the second half a different side, piling the pressure on the Villa defence, which showed signs of cracking in the 52nd minute when Jacques Maghoma pounced on a mistake to find himself one-on-one against Pierluigi Gollini in the Villa goal.

But the Congo midfielder blinked first and allowed Gollini to make a scrappy save, allowing time for the rest of the Villa defence to scramble back and clear the ball to safety.

The home support didn't have to wait much longer to cheer a goal, though, as City poured forward and got the reward it arguably deserved. A quick break down the right saw the Blues move the ball into the box, and as Villa tried to clear, Davis was on hand to lash home the equaliser from just outside the box.

Birmingham had a couple of other chances to grab all three points, most notably when the ball fell kindly for Clayton Donaldson 12 yards out, but he hooked his right-foot shot just wide of the target.

The Blues were then knocked off their stride when Rhoys Wiggins suffered what appeared to be a serious injury, hyperextending his left knee as fired a shot on the run, and then clattered into Rudy Gestede as the Villa man rushed out to block.

While Wiggins got his shot away, it rolled wide of the target and he was taken off on a stretcher looking like his season might very well be over. Blues boss Gary Rowett later confirmed the player had badly damaged knee ligaments and heard a snap, but a timeframe on his recovery will remain unknown until the injury if assessed further.