Birmingham City came from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Hull City on Tuesday night at the MKM Stadium.
It was the hosts who took the lead in somewhat controversial circumstances, when Ozan Tufan turned home from a corner amid claims of handball.
However, substitute Lukas Jutkiewicz’ late goal, was enough to snatch a 1-1 draw for Blues.
As a result, Birmingham City, who were once again without manager Tony Mowbray for medical reasons, are now 19th in the Championship table, a point clear of the relegation zone.
Even so, one clear positive for Blues to take from that game, was the performance of Emmanuel Aiwu in the centre of defence.
Emmanuel Aiwu comes up good for Blues
The summer transfer window saw Aiwu join Birmingham City on loan from Italian side Cremonese, with the option to buy.
However, the centre back has had something of a mixed time of things since then, not always settling in the Championship.
On Tuesday though, the 23-year-old produced some vital contributions for his team.
Writing about Aiwu’s latest performance, the Birmingham Mail said:
“Blues needed Aiwu to step up and he delivered one of his best displays for the club. He battled and fought until the end and made some timely interceptions.”
As a result, the Birmingham City man was given a rating of 7/10 for this latest outing.
Indeed, Aiwu certainly played his part in keeping Hull City quiet on Tuesday night. According to SofaScore, the 23-year-old completed two clearances, two tackles and two interceptions in the match.
He also blocked three shots, the most of any Birmingham City player at The MKM Stadium. Aiwu also won two out of his four duels on Tuesday, and recorded a 94% success rate from his 49 passes.
Birmingham City should now have confidence in Emmanuel Aiwu
There can be no denying Aiwu needed to make a big contribution for his side on Tuesday night.
With Marc Roberts and Dion Sanderson both out of action, the 23-year-old was Birmingham City’s only fit and available centre back.
That could have caused some concerns, given how he has struggled to settle this season.
However, these stats show that Aiwu was more than capable of playing his part, in keeping quiet a dangerous Hull City side.
As a result, he has helped Birmingham City to what could yet turn out to be an important point in the battle to avoid relegation.
The fact he was able to do that without another centre back beside him, will likely only add to the belief he can be an important player for Blues going forward.
With that in mind, Tuesday night’s game could prove to be a turning point in Aiwu’s Birmingham City career.