Hull City's Play-Off Hopes Dented by Birmingham's Late Equalizer

Hull City's chances of making the Championship play-offs suffered a setback as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Birmingham at the MKM Stadium. The hosts had taken the lead through Joe Gelhardt's 24th-minute strike, but Tomoki Iwata's stunning long-range effort 13 minutes from time earned the visitors a point. Hull's failure to win means they have now gone four league games without a victory, their worst run of the season, and they remain two points ahead of seventh-placed Wrexham with three games left to play. Gelhardt's goal had given Hull hope of sealing a league double over Birmingham, but Iwata's equalizer means they had to settle for a draw. The result leaves Hull's manager Sergej Jakirovic calling for his team to be brave and try to win their remaining games, while Birmingham's Chris Davies was encouraged by his team's performance and felt they deserved a point.