Ippswich needed a stopping time penalty to save a point when they started their search for an immediate return to the Premier League with a 1-1 draw to Birmingham on Friday.
Birmingham, back in the second row of English football after he was crowned champion of League One last season, took the lead in the opening match of the 2025/26 championship campaign in the 53rd minute.
Jay Stansfield broke the impasse when he followed after the Japanese Kyogo Furuhashi, formerly a favorite at the fans at Scottish Champions Celtic, hit the post.
Birmingham, whose minority owner is seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, dominated territory and possesses while they record their 26th successive unbeaten home competition.
But on just 1-0 ahead, there was always the risk that an equalizer and Ipswich, banned from the Premier League, managed a man with their only shot on the goal of the match.
With five minutes of the eight added to playing, an Ipswich corner was to the distant pole on the arm of the unfortunate Lyndon Dykes, which did not seem to be deliberately.
But Dykes's arm was raised and referee Andrew Kitchen has awarded a penalty, with George Hirst van Ipswich from the place.
The goal led to a short fracas between the teams, where objects were thrown on the field by frustrated fans of Birmingham.