Birmingham City 0-0 Hull City: Blues and Tigers share the points at St Andrew's
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Keane Lewis-Potter clears off the line for Hull against Birmingham to help the Tigers earn a point at St Andrew's
Birmingham City and Hull City shared the points after a largely uninspiring Championship encounter at St Andrew's ended in stalemate.
Hull were the better side in the first half with forward Keane Lewis-Potter the brightest spark on the pitch, forcing a stop from Neil Etheridge inside the opening 20 seconds.
He warmed the Blues goalkeeper's fingers again from distance and the home defence struggled to contain the Tigers' fluidity down the left.
The home side's best moment came just before the break when Lyle Taylor's header was cleared off the line by the excellent Lewis-Potter.
Defences dominated in the second half with neither side able to fashion a match-winning opportunity.
With both sides coming into the match with underwhelming form, it was the Tigers - with just one win in their previous eight - who took the initiative.
Lewis-Potter was a hive of industry and only a smart smothering save by Etheridge prevented the young forward giving the visitors an instant lead.
Lewis-Potter then tested Etheridge again with a drive from the edge of the area after a smart cross-field move.
Blues, hunting only a third win in 10 games, struggled to create the energy of their start against Bristol City the week before with lacklustre finishes from Juninho Bacuna and Gary Gardner their best moments of the opening 30 minutes.
They came closer to breaking the deadlock though shortly before half-time when Taylor's flicked header, after Gardner had nodded back Jordan Graham's deep corner, beat goalkeeper Matt Ingram only for Lewis-Potter to hack it off the line.
Clear-cut chances were scarce after the break, with Tom Eaves hitting the side netting from a tight angle while Blues' attacking promise was often compromised by a poor final pass as the two sides - who shared six goals in each of the last two meetings at St Andrew's - drew a blank.
Birmingham manager Lee Bowyer told BBC Radio WM:
"The first 45 minutes was bad - from both teams - winning the ball and giving it away.
"We huffed and puffed in the second half but it was just that final bit of quality - the whole game lacked quality.
"It was just one of those things - all our more technical players had an off day together.
"If we just take care of that final bit then we score two or three in the second half but it's just one of those things and we have to dust ourselves down."
Hull head coach Shota Arveladze told BBC Radio Humberside:
"At the end of the day, I'm happy. Both sides knew one mistake could decide the game in the second half.
"In the first half we looked quite solid, the second was a bit more up and down.
"It was good work from the guys - we could've created more with the ball in the second half and we will work on that."