Manchester City's title hopes were hit when a Craig Gardner penalty earned Birmingham a vital point at St Andrews. The visitors scored inside four minutes when Carlos Tevez hooked in, only for Nikola Zigic to poke in David Bentley's low free-kick for a precious equaliser. City regained the lead before the break when Aleksandar Kolarov curled in a stunning free-kick from 25 yards. With 13 minutes left, Patrick Vieira fouled Kevin Phillips and Gardner fired in to snatch a draw for the strugglers. Despite the Carling Cup finalists finishing this lively battle at St Andrews just one point above the relegation zone, they showed great spirit in the second half after trailing 2-1 at the interval. Bentley was a constant thorn in Manchester City's side and with new signings Obafemi Martins and Curtis Davies to come in, Birmingham should have enough to stay up. With the league's top two Manchester United and Arsenal winning on Tuesday, three points was imperative for the visitors and it had all looked pretty comfortable at the half-time. Roberto Mancini's men burst out of the blocks and no sooner had Ben Foster smothered Edin Dzeko's low cross, the Birmingham keeper was picking the ball out of the net. The efforts by David Silva were crucial as the Spaniard's darting run carved open the defence and when he fed the ball through to Tevez for a second time, the Argentine squeezed in a low shot from 10 yards. It was a shocking start for a team seeking only a second win in nine league games, but halfway through the first period their persistence paid off as they grabbed the equaliser. Winger Bentley, a threat throughout on the left and right, drove a low free-kick into the box and as the defenders looked on, Serbian Zigic poked out a foot to get the slightest of touches for his third goal of the season. It was no less than Birmingham deserved for showing great character after conceding so early on but as the interval loomed, but another set piece resulted in City going in front again. Dzeko was hauled down clumsily by Gardner and Kolarov prowled on the edge of the box before curling the ball deliciously to the right of a bemused and wrong-footed Foster. In was perhaps some comfort for Micah Richards who had to be stretchered off moments before the goal with a head injury after clattering into his team-mate Nigel de Jong when trying to clear the ball. With the injured De Jong replaced by veteran Vieira at the break, the visitors found themselves increasingly exposed by the pace and menace of Bentley. The player on loan from Tottenham lashed over from 30 yards and then set up Roger Johnson with a teasing cross from the right but the defender could only nod wastefully wide from six yards. City, though, slipped into their shell, with only Tevez and Jerome Boateng showing occasional sparks of invention, and their complacency merely invited the hosts back into the game. With Foster standing up well to block Tevez's effort when one-on-one, Manchester City were left to rue their wasteful finishing when Birmingham grabbed a fully deserved equaliser in the 77th minute. Vieira, who had already miscued a number of bad passes in midfield, blocked a run from substitute Phillips and referee Kevin Friend showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Midfielder Gardner showed no fear as he stepped up to belt home Birmingham's second and all-important equaliser. With the last kick of the game, Kolarov was just wide with another dangerous free-kick but it was Birmingham who hung on, leaving Mancini to trudge off the pitch knowing his players had missed a huge opportunity to boost their title aspirations. Source: BBC