Three things we learnt from Birmingham's 1-1 derby draw with Aston Villa

By Scott Challinor

Steve Bruce wore the pantomime villain’s cape on his return to St. Andrew’s, donning the claret and blue of fierce rivals Aston Villa in the familiar old dugout area. He remains unbeaten as Aston Villa boss after Sunday’s encounter, which ended honours even and so added another absorbing chapter in the tales of clashes in the second city.

David Davis, nominated as Sky Sports’ man of the match on the day rescued a deserved point for hosts Birmingham, bypassing his man and firing low across the keeper to restore parity in the first league meeting between the two sides since 2011. Despite the relentless pressure the Blues would apply to their opponents, they could not get the precious winner, but were good value for their point after their second-half performance. They needed it too, after going a goal behind following a looping header in the first-half scored by Gary Gardner, a boy-hood Villa fan.

But what did we learn from this latest clash between the two rivals, who will both be hoping to be in the promotion mix near the end of the season?