Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised his side for overcoming the expected stern challenge provided by Reading to earn a point in their 0-0 League One draw at the SCL Stadium.
After a patchy first half, the game came to life in the second period with each side creating chances to break the deadlock.
Reading threatened with good efforts from Lewis Wing, Jayden Wareham and Chem Campbell.
But league leaders Birmingham also went close, particularly when Lyndon Dykes saw his effort blocked on the goalline by home defender Amadou Mbengue.
“Reading are very strong at home,” Davies said. “I think they’ve got the third best home record in the league.
“So, for us, it was always going to be a test today and I think that we did well to ensure that we got a point.
“That clearance off the line, that was the big chance of the match. So if anyone deserved to win, it was probably us.
“Lyndon got himself into a good position in the box. Either side of Mbengue and the ball nestles in the corner.
“But you have to say that it was a good goalline clearance as well.
“Sometimes these things happen and it’s all about how you respond. You have to get straight back at it.
“I thought that we were the better team in general play, even though at times it was very scrappy.
“The pitch was a bit bouncy and neither side could get any real fluidity with their passing moves.
“But we can’t blame the pitch. There was more to it than just that. We had some good spells and then spells where we couldn’t quite get the control that we wanted.”
Play-off hopefuls Reading are now unbeaten in five matches.
“I felt that we probably had the better opportunities in the game apart from the odd mistake by us,” Reading manager Noel Hunt said. “One of which we had to clear off the line.
“But in terms of open play, I thought that we had two or three really good chances.
“Birmingham are a good side and they’ve got a good manager. They’ve got bags of quality all over the pitch.
“They’ve done so well to be where they are and rightly so.
“But our boys, I thought that they were immense. We pressured Birmingham into playing long, we won the ball back high and we tried not to give them a moment.
“It was about us today in terms of how we went about the game. So I’m very pleased with the performance.
“I wanted us to be aggressive, I wanted us to get in people’s faces, and then we could get the ball down and try to play.
“I thought that it all worked quite well.”
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