Birmingham needed a late Alfie May penalty to earn a 1-1 draw against Reading in League One.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan had given the Royals a lead before half-time but debutant May struck with four minutes left to rescue a point.
Harvey Knibbs had the ball in the back of the net for the visitors after just five minutes, but the whistle had already gone for a foul on Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
The Royals did take the lead in the 43rd minute as Ehibhatiomhan found himself one-on-one with Peacock-Farrell and the goalkeeper's touch was not enough to keep the low-driven effort out.
Reading had the ball in the net for a third time after a breakaway chance in the 52nd minute, but the offside flag was raised to deny Ehibhatiomhan a second.
- Published10 August
- Published8 August
The hosts were given a lifeline in the 86th minute when Lewis Wing handled the ball in the penalty area and May made no mistake from the spot, placing his effort in the bottom-left corner to drag his side level.
Reading survived a late onslaught as Birmingham were held to a draw in their first game in the third tier in 29 years.
Birmingham did not include Wales midfielder Jordan James in their squad with speculation continuing over the player's future.
Match report supplied by PA Media.