Hull City's Championship Hopes Dented by Birmingham's Late Equalizer

A dramatic late goal from Tomoki Iwata denied Hull City a crucial win, as Birmingham City fought back to secure a 1-1 draw at the MKM Stadium, dealing a significant blow to the Tigers' Championship play-off aspirations. Joe Gelhardt had given Hull the lead with his 14th goal of the season, but Iwata's stunning long-range effort 13 minutes from time ensured the visitors earned a point. The result means Hull have now gone four league games without a win, their worst run of the season, and leaves them just two points ahead of Wrexham in seventh place with three games remaining. Gelhardt's 24th-minute strike had given Hull hope of sealing a league double over Birmingham, after the Tigers had ended the Blues' long unbeaten home run with a 3-2 win at St Andrew's in October. However, despite enjoying the majority of possession, Hull were unable to capitalize on their dominance, and Iwata's equalizer means they are now facing a nervous finale to the season. Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic acknowledged the significance of the result, saying: 'We're aware of dropping those 21 points from winning positions. We didn't play our best game today which makes everything very tight. We have to be brave.' Birmingham boss Chris Davies, meanwhile, was encouraged by his team's performance, saying: 'We deserved a point and if anyone could have won it then it was us. I was encouraged by our performance. The commitment from the team was there and we showed resilience and character to stay in the game after going behind.'