Newly promoted Birmingham City show why they have sights set on Premier League in 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town

BIRMINGHAM, England -- It might be a smidge premature to call any game a top of the table clash when there's another 551 of them before the season's end, and yet it is hard to shake the sense that a year from now at least one of these teams will be readying themselves for life in the Premier League.

Ipswich Town already figured to be among the promotion favorites before a ball was kicked this season, but on Friday's evidence the 18th best side in last season's football pyramid were notably inferior to the champions of League One. Birmingham have built swiftly on solid foundations and if you didn't already buy them as promotion contenders you might want to consider a few stock options. A late, contentious penalty converted by George Hirst might have denied the Blues a 20th win in their past 24 home league games, but the 1-1 final score should leave no one under any illusion that this was an even game. Keep playing like this between now and May and Birmingham will have as good a shot at promotion as anyone.

The Tom Brady-backed Blues do not want for ambition and have invested aggressively in pursuit of the back-to-back rise from League One to the Premier League that their opponents managed between 2022 and 2024. The murmurs of anticipation before kick off were replaced with roars of delight when new signing Marvin Ducksch, a German international with 32 Bundesliga goals to his name in the last three seasons, was paraded. On the evidence of tonight he will have his work cut out breaking into a first XI that is humming, four new additions slotting in seamlessly alongside the side who had romped their way to 111 points last season.

Twenty minutes to go until kick off and it was obvious how the Bluenose faithful had helped deliver Birmingham City the biggest home points total in English football history last season, the ground rocking under the setting August sun. The cries that "super Chris Davies" was going to take them to the Premier League felt more like prophecy than bluster as the Blues midfield immediately stamped their mark on the game. Had Kyogo Furuhashi not seen his fine volley ruled out for a debatable foul on Jacob Graves, the roof might well have come off this place.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Ipswich's first half was how they ensured the territory and possession they were ceding did not result in a mountain of efforts on Alex Palmer's goal. The 64% possession resulting in five shots worth 0.3 xG might have you believing that Chris Davies' men were applying a sterile sort of control on proceedings. That was not the case. With Bright Osayi-Samuel pushed high down the right and Demarai Gray free to dart infield, City were perfectly willing to commit bodies forward as they relentlessly probed. The passing of Tomoki Iwata often threatened to prise Ipswich apart, with half an hour played it did but Jay Stansfield opted for power when placement might have better suited the occasion.

Set against the Blues were the former Premier League side whose approach felt altogether more lower league. Ipswich's two best openings of the first half came when Sammie Szmodics couldn't quite get onto a George Hirst flick on and when he pounced on Ryan Allsop's sloppy pass into midfield only to drive wide from just inside the box.

What was most notable about those instances was Ipswich's winning of aerial duels and loose balls. That was not a pattern that would continue into the second half, when Osayi-Samuel thundered his way through the air just inside the the opposition half, his header coming all the way to Furuhashi inside the box. The former Celtic striker did well enough getting a shot away with Greaves on his shoulder but his looping effort off the post served to tee up Stansfield for a rocket from six yards out.

Given that they only dropped two points from winning positions at home last season, it was no wonder that Birmingham seemed to be comfortable holding Ipswich at arms length. In the half hour after Stansfield's opener, Ipswich took just one shot. There looked to be nothing in this for the visitors until a 91st minute corner was headed into Lydon Dykes' outstretched arm. Like the foul on Furuhashi it was one of those decisions that was not unreasonable to give in and of itself but the fact that so many of those tight decisions didn't go their way is what turned an impressive win for the Blues into a drive by from the Tractor Boys. Hirst ensured that Ipswich's first shot on target was a successful one as anger boiled over at a ground that is not used to seeing two points snatched away from them.

The best that could be said for Ipswich is they looked like a team who needs to get into the habit of winning that their hosts developed last year. They will surely be better from here on out. There is too much talent in Kieran McKenna's squad, from which so far only Liam Delap has been a major departure. Their ranks will be strengthened with the imminent arrival of Chuba Akpom, whose services they snared when he seemed bound for Birmingham.

Most of all, however, they will only have to play tonight's opponents once more over their next 45 matches. Still, you suspect they won't be able to memory hole this game any time soon. It is the earliest of days but it would appear that promotion favorites Ipswich will have to spend a lot more time worrying about what Birmingham are doing.