Kevin Phillips struck in the 93rd minute to give Birmingham a 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday.
Owls denied by last-gasp goal
Kevin Phillips struck in the 93rd minute at Hillsborough to give Birmingham a 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday.
Blues had the chance to move level on points with second-placed Reading but looked set to suffer defeat after Lewis Buxton headed Sheffield Wednesday in front early in the second half.
However, the Owls were denied victory when Phillips nodded the ball home from Scott Sinclair's cross in the dying seconds of the match.
Wednesday began in sprightly fashion with Leon Clarke and Michael Gray, on loan from Wolves, prominent, but Owls goalkeeper Lee Grant saved superbly to keep out Lee Bowyer's header from Sinclair's 12th-minute cross.
Clarke was wayward with a volley in reply and Jermaine Johnson's low drive was easily held by visiting goalkeeper Maik Taylor.
Taylor then palmed away Darren Potter's 25-yard free-kick, while Grant parried Sinclair's angled shot at the other end.
Cameron Jerome showed great pace shortly after the restart to get beyond Owls skipper Richard Wood before cutting inside and curling a shot inches the wrong side of the far post.
City began the second period with purpose, but it was Wednesday who broke the deadlock following a goalmouth scramble in the 56th minute.
Head of steam
Marcus Tudgay's blocked shot fell to Buxton and, although his first effort was brilliantly kept out by Taylor, the former Stoke defender headed the rebound home.
Only a last-ditch tackle by Liam Ridgewell denied Clarke in the penalty area as the Owls built up a head of steam.
Jerome then beat the offside trap but, as he lined up his shot just inside the box, Wednesday centre-half Mark Beevers slid in to challenge.
By first-half standards the game had come to life. James O'Connor and then Tudgay fired in long-range efforts for Wednesday, which were not far off target.
McLeish sent on Sebastian Larsson and Keith Fahey within the space of four minutes midway through the second period for Stuart Parnaby and Lee Carsley respectively.
Marcus Bent entered the fray in the 79th minute, with Jerome making way, and Birmingham set about salvaging a point.
Wednesday defended resolutely from front to back but, as the clock ticked down in injury time, Phillips popped up to steal an unlikely point.
