Birmingham seal unlikely 2-2 draw with Derby with two stoppage-time goals

Birmingham staged a stunning late comeback to grab a 2-2 draw against Derby as the Rams missed the chance to go top of the Championship.

County had looked in control after Jamie Ward's first goal since September and a Tom Ince strike had put them 2-0 up, but Birmingham silenced the iPro Stadium by drawing level in stoppage-time through a Paul Caddis penalty and a Clayton Donaldson goal.

It was not the result Derby wanted on a day when the crowd stood to join in a minute's applause before the game for former Rams great and manager Dave Mackay, who died on Monday at the age of 80.

The opener came as Will Hughes played in Johnny Russell just inside the area in the 20th minute and, although his low shot was parried by Darren Randolph, Ward arrived to score with a cross-shot that struck the inside of a post and bounced over the line.

Hughes rattled the bar with a left-footed shot from 20 yards following a short corner in the 27th minute and Jeff Hendrick put Ince through five minutes later only for the winger to lose control.

But the speed of Derby's passing and movement was starting to stretch Birmingham and when Ward got away down the left in the 39th minute, David Cotterill was booked for a blatant trip.

The half ended on a flash-point with Birmingham boss Gary Rowett involved in a heated exchange on the touchline with several Derby players after he felt Russell should have given the ball back to his team instead of kicking into the corner.

Rowett saw his team fall further behind three minutes after the break when Hughes found Ince on the right edge of the area and he slipped past two defenders before driving a low shot inside Randolph's right post.

Derby were close to a third minutes later when Russell had a shot blocked and Craig Forsyth's follow-up was scrambled away, but Birmingham showed they were still in the game when Cotterill curled a free-kick narrowly wide in the 57th minute.

Rowett made a double substitution in the 64th minute but Derby carried the greater threat, with Hughes having a 20-yard shot charged down after Ince set him up.

Birmingham had a chance to pull a goal back in the 77th minute when the ball broke to Donaldson 12 yards out but Forsyth got across to put the ball behind for a corner which Lee Grant held comfortably.

The game was turned on its head in stoppage-time when Robert Tesche was tripped by Ince and Caddis sent Grant the wrong way with the penalty.

Then, with the home fans screaming for the final whistle, Birmingham won a corner which was scrambled in by Donaldson after Wesley Thomas hooked the ball back to secure a dramatic point.