*Villa earn derby draw*

Aston Villa restored a measure of local pride as they battled to a hard-earned draw against neighbours Birmingham City at St Andrews.

Villa suffered two humiliating defeats against Birmingham City last season - and boss David O’Leary was desperate to avoid a repeat in his first derby.

And Villa responded with a battling performance in a game high on energy but desperately low on quality to halt Birmingham’s recent charge.

Stephen Clemence wasted a first-half opportunity for Birmingham and Peter Whittingham squandered Villa’s best chance, but neither side did enough to warrant victory.

Birmingham’s point put them back in fourth position in the Premiership, but Villa will be happier with the result.

O’Leary, as expected, left out Alpay after the Turkey defender’s controversial bust-up with England captain David Beckham in Istanbul.

Birmingham had Robbie Savage back in midfield after missing two games with an Achilles injury.

And Savage swiftly made his presence felt with fouls on Gareth Barry and Gavin McCann that were both penalised by referee Mike Riley.

Birmingham posed the first serious threat after six minutes when Stan Lazaridis set up Clemence, who forced a fine diving save from Thomas Sorensen.

McCann gave Villa their first moment of hope, but his long-range effort was saved by Ian Bennett, in for the suspended Maik Taylor.

Referee Riley was letting the game flow, despite several physical challenges, but he was forced to book Clemence for a touchline collision with Lee Hendrie after 35 minutes.

Hendrie was second best in the confrontation and was forced to come off, but not before a flare-up between several players.

Referee Riley defused a potential flashpoint by bringing captains Olof Mellberg and Kenny Cunningham together to call for calm.

Birmingham saw penalty appeals waved away on the stroke of half-time when Mikael Forssell went down under challenge from Mark Delaney.

And the first half ended on a predictable note when Savage was booked for a foul on Delaney.

Delaney was in the wars again early in the second half after a foul by Lazaridis, but he was able to continue after treatment.

Forssell almost broke the deadlock with a header that flashed narrowly wide from a Lazaridis corner.

And youngster Whittingham wasted the chance to become a hero with the Villa half of the city when he looked certain to score from Juan Pablo Angel’s set-up, but fired over.

Birmingham boss Steve Bruce made a double substitution in an attempt to spark a dull game into life after 76 minutes, sending on Aliou Cisse for Lazaridis and Clinton Morrison for the subdued Christophe Dugarry, but the game was destined for stalemate.