Jake Clarke-Salter’s first goal for Birmingham rescued a 1-1 draw against Millwall and denied visiting manager Gary Rowett a winning return to St. Andrew’s.
The on-loan Chelsea centre back headed home 11 minutes from time to cancel out Shaun Williams’s spectacular 30-yard strike in the 61st minute and clinched a third successive 1-1 draw for Blues.
Clarke-Salter’s equaliser meant eight of Birmingham’s 11 goals scored at St Andrews in the Championship this season have been headed, including the last five.
Birmingham caretaker head coach Pep Clotet has now failed to beat two of his predecessors in five days after Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.
The first serious chance arrived in the 29th minute when Sunjic’s skidding drive from 25 yards brought a diving save to his left from goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski.
Jed Wallace curled in a superb cross from the left after dispossessing Fran Villalba and Smith’s towering downward header was scooped away by Connal Trueman diving to his right.
Trueman was in action again soon afterwards, palming upwards from Thompson’s volley from the edge of the box.
The half closed with Millwall going close as Wallace’s shot from an acute angle drifted just wide.
Then Gimenez screwed disappointingly wide from an angle when Maxime Colin’s through pass sat up perfectly.
Millwall punished them when Williams curled a spectacular shot into the top corner from 30 yards from Jed Wallace’s short pass.
Pressure from Blues resulted in an equaliser when Clarke-Salter glanced home Dan Crowley’s outswinging corner at the near post.
