Barclays Premier League
Gareth Davis reports from St Andrews

Tito Villa came off the bench to net his first goal in a Derby shirt and earn Paul Jewell's side a deserved 1-1 draw at Birmingham City.

The Argentinian had been named among the substitutes but he replaced Robert Earnshaw with 30 minutes to go and rose on 89 to meet Dean Leacock's delightful cross.

It was no less than Derby warranted on an afternoon of few chances, though they fell behind to Sebastian Larsson 68 minutes.

The Rams almost pinched it in stoppage-time through Giles Barnes but they will go home satisfied with a point.

Roy Carroll and Alan Stubbs were included for their Rams debuts at St Andrews - and there was a recall for French winger Laurent Robert.

He was in for the injured Stephen Pearson, injury also ruled out Claude Davis so Stubbs started, while Carroll replaced Lewis Price in goal.

Otherwise the Rams were unchanged from the side that drew 1-1 with Manchester City in midweek, though they were watched by Australian international Mile Sterjovski - still awaiting international clearance, but now in the country.

Skipper Robbie Savage and winger Craig Fagan were returning to their former club and received contrasting receptions, while Hossam Ghaly could have been a Birmingham player back in August.

Stubbs's first touch produced the first opoportunity with just 17 seconds gone as Garry O'Connor charged down his clearance and pulled the ball back for Fabrice Muamba, but Darren Moore got in to block just inside the box.

Birmingham kept up the pressure and threatened with a couple of set-pieces before Olivier Kapo headed Sebastian Larsson's right-wing cross over the bar.

The tricky Kapo warmed Carroll's hands for the first time on 11 minutes as he cut in from the left and fired in a shot that Derby's new keeper dived right to save.

Carroll was in action again eight minutes later with a fine save to his right from Larsson's 25-yard free-kick that looked to be heading for the corner.

And Blues - breaking quickly after a Derby attack came to nothing - soon should have been in front.

Larsson and James McFadden were involved to feed O'Connor out on the right, and his teasing cross was headed narrowly over by McFadden from the edge of the six-yard box.

But clear opportunities were few and far between at either end of the field as both sides struggled to exert any form of superiority on the other.

Derby's first real sight of gooal arrived ten minutes before the interval as Savage started a move that saw Fagan cross to the far post, where Robert Earnshaw couldn't contorl his volley.

Back came Birmingham and they found the back of the net, only for O'Connor's close-range tap-in to be ruled out.

O'Connor was in an offside position when McFadden was released on the left, though his first header was superbly saved by Carroll and with the flag already up for offside, the Scottish international rolled the ball home from Larsson's pull-back.

Robert was first into referee Peter Walton's notebook for a late challenge on Stephen Kelly down the Birmingham right.

McFadden whipped over the resulting free-kick and it caused plenty of problems for Carroll, who had to tip the ball behind as it arrowed towards the far post.

Robert caught Kapo with another late one ono 42 that earned him another talking-to from Walton and gave the home side another set-piece in another dangerous position.

McFadden again took it but this time Carroll had no problems in claiming.

It hadn't been a particularly pretty first half though the Rams were certainly looking solid without having seriously threatened to open the scoring themselves.

Birmingham opened the second half brightly and had a lot of the ball in and around the Derby box during the first couple of minutes without managing to forge a clear-cut chance.

McFadden did well to create a shooting opportunity for himself on the edge of the box but his effort was safely wide of Carroll's near post.

At the other end Derby forced a series of corners and though Robert's deliveries weren't great, they came so close to taking the lead from the third.

Blues failed to clear and the ball fell to Dean Leacock, who rolled it back for Kenny Miller to curl past Maik Taylor only to see his shot rebound away off the inside of the post.

Marc Edworthy picked up a 55th-minute caution for time-wasting as he delayed taking a throw-in, though it seemed a harsh decision as the experienced full-back was recovering after colliding with the advertising boards.

The game was starting to open up a bit more, backed by an increasingly loud atmosphere, and Kapo twice had opportunities from inside the penalty area but on both occasions he missed his kick with a low cross rolling in front of him.

Leacock was next in the book on 59, for a challenge on Damien Johnson, and that was the cue for a double Derby change as Giles Barnes replaced Robert and Tito Villa took over from Earnshaw.

But the next chance fell to McFadden, who picked up Kapo's cross at the far post and blazed his opportunity over as Carroll closed him down.

And the Rams' third change followed on 66, though it was an enforced one as Darren Moore limped off to be replaced by Andy Todd - with Birmingham taking the lead seconds later.

David Murphy picked up a return pass and crossed deep from the left where Larsson got up with Edworthy.

The ball span up into the air but as it dropped, Birmingham's number seven was in position to slide his chance past Carroll and notch a potentially vital goal for the home side's survival hopes.

It was harsh on Derby in a game of very few chances to that point but it illustrates the necessity to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.

There was a yellow card for Miller on 79 minutes, for clipping the heels of substitute Mauro Zarate - on for goalscorer Larsson - as he made ground on a long run.

And the Rams found themselves on level terms with just seconds of the 90 remaining.

Barnes out-stripped Liam Ridgewell for pace down the right and got to a long ball before controlling it and pulling it back to Leacock.

The number five's cross looked inviting and cried out for a number nine to get on the end of it - Villa duly obliged with a glancing header off the post for his first goal in a Derby shirt.

Derby's card count continued as Savage was cautioned and they came close to stealing all three points in stoppage-time as Barnes made himself space inside the box and curled a shot with the outside of his right foot that Taylor grabbed well.

A late free-kick for Birmingham was the final action as it was met by a Derby head - as many had been all afternoon.

BIRMINGHAM: Maik Taylor, Ridgewell, Kelly, Martin Taylor, Murphy, Muamba, Larsson (Zarate 75), Johnson (C), Kapo, McFadden, O'Connor.

SUBSTITUTES: Doyle (GK), Parnaby, Jerome, Forssell.

DERBY: Carroll, Leacock, Stubbs, Moore (Todd 66), Edworthy, Fagan, Savage (C), Ghaly, Robert (Barnes 59), Miller, Earnshaw (Villa 59).

SUBSTITUTES: Price (GK), Teale.

ATTENDANCE: 25,924.