Birmingham 2-2 Club Brugge: Late Marlon King penalty sees Chris Hughton’s side grab point against Group H leaders

Chris Hughton’s Birmingham stunned Group H leaders Club Brugge with a fantastic second-half comeback to seal a 2-2 draw at St Andrew's.

Birmingham were poor in the first-half as they struggled to deal with the pace of the Brugge strike-force and went 2-0 down after goals from Akpala and Meunier.

Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game

Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets!

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25

Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200

Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20!

But City rallied impressively in second-half. The Blues came away with a hard-earned point following goals from Jean Beausejour and Marlon King to leave them second in Group H.

The game was slow to get going with Birmingham making a host of changes from their last Championship fixture whilst the visitors were playing under a new coach for the first time.

Birmingham had the best opportunity to break the deadlock in the 25^th minute through a free-kick from left-back David Murphy but saw his curling effort hit the cross-bar. The home side were awarded a free-kick right on the edge of the Brugge area following a hand-ball and the resulting free-kick had Vladan Kujovic well beaten but the wood-work came to their safety.

In the 39^th minute the visitors took the lead in smart fashion through a volley from Thomas Meunier. Brugge pushed men forward for a corner and the resulting corner somehow found an un-marked Meunier who had time to chest the ball, then control on his knee before volleying emphatically past Doyle in the Birmingham goal.

In just the 43^rd minute Brugge doubled their lead through their top scorer Joseph Akpala as he tapped in from close range. Brugge picked up a loose pass from Beausejour and countered swiftly through Vasquez who freed Odjidja who squared the ball to Akpala leaving him with the simplest of opportunities to double their advantage.

In the 55^th minute Birmingham got back into the game after a smart finish from the lively Beausejour. Some good work from Chris Burke on the right picked out Zigic in the area who chested the ball down and tried to get his shot away but it was deflected into the path of the Chile international who made no mistake from 10 yards out.

In the 70^th minute Guiran N’Daw produced a sparkling effort which was met by an even more impressive save from the Brugge goalkeeper. N’Daw picked up a loose ball 25-yards out and volleyed it first time ferociously but the goalkeeper got finger-tips to the effort to see it onto the post.

In the 72^nd minute Birmingham were back level through Marlon King from the penalty spot after a foul from Brugge captain Ryan Donk. Beausejour twisted and turned in the visitor’s area before being hauled down by the Dutch defender and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Birmingham produced a fine second-half display to take advantage of a nervy Brugge defence to leave them in a strong position in Group H. The Belgian side still top the group, but only on goal difference as Hughton’s men continue to defy the odds.