Birmingham City 2-2 Swansea City: Late Troy Deeney goal denies Swans comeback win

The unmarked Scott Hogan rises to head in his ninth goal of the season

Troy Deeney hit a late equaliser as Birmingham City claimed a point from an entertaining 2-2 draw with Swansea.

Swansea had looked set for a comeback victory at St Andrew's, having fallen behind to Scott Hogan's early header.

Olivier Ntcham's fine 20-yard drive brought the visitors level before a rare goal from captain Matt Grimes.

But veteran Blues skipper Deeney struck from point-blank range for his third goal in 10 games to salvage a point for John Eustace's side.

Russell Martin's Swansea move up to eighth in the Championship having failed to win in four matches, although three of those have been draws.

Birmingham, who have lost only once in their last eight, climb a place to 10th.

Swansea had been left ruing a slow start in their weekend draw against Wigan, but lessons were not learned as they were once more exposed in the early stages.

Birmingham, fresh from a hard-fought win at Stoke, began on the front foot and scored with their first notable attack.

Emmanuel Longelo swung in a cross from the left and three Swansea defenders inexplicably allowed leading scorer Hogan to head home unchallenged from point-blank range.

Blues top scorer Hogan's ninth strike of the season was made simpler by Steven Benda's decision to come off his line only to get nowhere meeting the cross.

Tahith Chong might have doubled Birmingham's lead but for Grimes' precise sliding challenge, before the Swansea midfielder helped carve out the equaliser.

After Grimes' fine pass sent Ryan Manning racing into the area, Swansea's chance looked to have come and gone when the wing-back's shot from a tight angle cannoned off the post.

Ntcham had other ideas, however, as he gathered the rebound 20 yards from goal and produced his latest high-class finish, the ball arrowing beyond the diving John Ruddy and into the far corner.

Having levelled through their first significant foray into home territory, Swansea went ahead via the second as Luke Cundle fed Joel Latibeaudiere in space down the right.

He picked out Grimes, who swept the ball beyond Ruddy to score his first goal since May 2021.

Swansea players congratulate captain Matt Grimes (second left) after his first goal in the Russell Martin era

Birmingham had started the night with the joint-best defensive record in the second tier, but were undone by a Swansea side who have taken more points from losing positions than any other second-tier side this season.

The hosts had the first sight of goal after the break, Juninho Bacuna shooting wide from outside the box, before Grimes followed suit at the other end.

Birmingham then huffed and puffed for long spells, although Welsh substitute Jordan James was denied by a fine Harry Darling challenge.

But with Eustace's men facing a first home defeat since August, Dion Sanderson rose high to head on Bacuna's corner and Deeney was left with the sample task of guiding the ball home.

Birmingham City head coach John Eustace:

"Obviously I'm delighted with a point. For me the most pleasing thing is the character we showed to get back in the game and the subs making a difference. We keep going until the end, It's all about the squad.

"For the first 20-25 minutes we were really good, then we lost our discipline and conceded a really poor goal. Then they scored a really good goal just before half-time.

"Swansea are a top team at this level. They play fantastic football. But second half we were much better with our shape. That never-say-die attitude was there to be seen again."

Swansea head coach Russell Martin:

"The overriding feeling is pride for the players, the way they bounced back after a difficult start. We have a young group. We are very early into the journey with a lot of the players.

"They played with immense courage on the ball. But we have a problem at the set-piece again. That's about taking responsibility, listening to the detail and then carrying it out.

"We have conceded far too many goals for the amount of shots and chances we give away, so we have an issue with that. But some of the football first half was outstanding - we had some incredible performances. That's why I am frustrated."

Who's next?

Birmingham City are at home again this Friday night, against Sunderland, while Swansea City are on the road again the following day, at bottom club Huddersfield Town, in their final game before the month-long World Cup break.