Hull City's aspirations for a Championship play-off spot took a hit as Birmingham City staged a comeback to secure a 1-1 draw at the MKM Stadium, thanks to a stunning equalizer by Tomoki Iwata. Joe Gelhardt had given the Tigers the lead with his 14th goal of the season, but Iwata's long-range effort 13 minutes from time ensured the Blues earned a point. The result leaves Hull two points ahead of Wrexham in seventh place, with both teams having three games left to play. Hull had taken the lead when Liam Millar launched a move down the left, and after being dispossessed, the ball fell to Gelhardt, who turned and fired into the bottom corner with a crisp angled drive.
The hosts almost doubled their advantage shortly after, but England Under-21 international James Beadle atoned for his initial misjudgement by clawing a close-range effort from Oli McBurnie to safety. Birmingham were largely anonymous before the break but forced a smart low save from Ivor Pandur through Demarai Gray's fierce low shot from distance inside the final 20 minutes. Hull failed to heed the warning, and when they failed to clear another ball into the danger area, Iwata was given time to fire home a memorable goal from 25 yards. Semi Ajayi's costly miss soon followed, and Beadle's fine save from a stoppage-time McBurnie free-kick snapped Birmingham's four-game losing run on the road.
Hull's manager Sergej Jakirovic acknowledged that his team had dropped 21 points from winning positions and urged his team to be brave with three games to go. Birmingham's Chris Davies was encouraged by his team's performance, highlighting their commitment, resilience, and character to stay in the game after going behind.