Mulder stars for Swansea to leave Birmingham frustrated

Goalkeeper Erwin Mulder proved he was worth the wait as Swansea held on for a point at Birmingham.

Full debutant Mulder - in for the injured Kristoffer Nordfeldt - had to wait 408 days for his Swans bow last week and was their saviour at St Andrew's as the visitors claimed a 0-0 draw on Friday.

The 29-year-old, who kept his place after coming off the bench in the 1-0 win over Preston, repelled a first-half onslaught from Lukas Jutkiewicz, Omar Bogle and Jacques Maghoma.

Michael Morrison's bundled effort was disallowed for offside but Mulder inspired the below-par Swans, who failed to register a shot on target.

Graham Potter's side moved joint top of the Sky Bet Championship after an unbeaten opening three games but rarely looked like extending their 100 per cent start at St Andrew's.

The hosts, in contrast, are still looking for their first win after coming up against an inspired Mulder.

The Dutchman's first job of a busy first half was to grab Bogle's 12th-minute effort after Jota's shot was blocked.

Maghoma then saw his strike deflect wide before Swansea survived when Morrison bundled in - after Mulder had saved from Harlee Dean - only to be ruled offside.

It was all Birmingham and Mulder beat away Jutkiewicz's effort with Swansea clinging on.

The Swans struggled to cope with Blues' relentless pressure with Mulder their only line of defence and he gathered Jota's low shot.

Yet Jutkiewicz should have broken the deadlock after 33 minutes when he was slipped through by Jota but, after wriggling free, he dragged his shot wide with just Mulder to beat.

It never seemed the hosts' wastefulness would cost them though as Swansea never presented a threat.

There was no response from the visitors - who managed just one first-half shot to Birmingham's 14 - and the hosts continued to press after the break.

But the clear chances dried up as the visitors finally began to find their footing after the hour.

While there was no goal threat they at least stemmed the tide of Birmingham attacks as the hosts lost their first-half spark.

Bogle did head over with 18 minutes left and substitute Che Adams blazed wildly off target following Jota's chip.

And Blues were forced to settle for a point when Jutkiewicz's late header dropped wide.