Demarai Gray’s stoppage-time strike snatches Birmingham a point

Demarai Gray’s stoppage-time equaliser sparked wild scenes as they protected their proud home league record in the nick of time following a 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

The winger produced an acrobatic finish in the ninth minute of time added on – with home boss Chris Davies running half the length of the field to join in the celebrations with his players.

It was a dramatic twist on a night when it appeared that George Brown’s strike 14 minutes from time would snatch the Owls a valuable victory.

The striker was on hand at the far post to steer home Barry Bannan’s free-kick as the hosts’ run without defeat – stretching back to April 2024 – came under serious threat.

It was a bitter pill for Henrik Pedersen’s men as Wednesday arrived at St Andrew’s on the back of yet more bad news.

Staff wages were due to be met on the day of the game but only a partial payment had been made, leaving the entire club in limbo.

There was talk about whether the players would strike on Thursday and a planned fans’ protest ahead of Saturday’s game against Coventry have only muddied the waters still further.

And it looked even bleaker for them as Birmingham, stung by a chastening 3-0 derby defeat against Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues at the weekend, took a ninth-minute lead through Jay Stansfield.

The move started with Tommy Doyle, one of five changes made by Davies, who pushed the ball to Patrick Roberts on the edge of the box.

He was unable to control, but as Owls defender Harry Amass went to clear, Stansfield charged the ball down.

It looped over the head of the visiting defender and the £15million signing from Fulham was onto it in a flash, producing a classy finish on the half-volley across Ethan Horvath.

Buoyed by the goal, Blues were content to work the ball around but were caught cold eight minutes before the interval.

It is not something Eiran Cashin, on loan from Brighton, will look back upon with much fondness.

A ball to the right was cut out by Amass and collected by Svante Ingelsson, who attempted to find Jamal Lowe through the middle.

Cashin stepped across to cut out the pass but used his left foot and it bobbled away from him, allowing Lowe to beat Ryan Allsop and level.

Stansfield looked the most likely to change the course of the game again. He saw one goal-bound effort diverted wide and Horvath then produced the best stop of the evening, tipping his 25-yard strike wide of the upright.

The value of that was seen when Brown pounced at the far post.

However, it produced a furious response from Birmingham with Allsop pressed into attack as they chased an equaliser that Gray earned with his first goal since returning to the club.