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Football has a habit of compressing an entire afternoon into a few seconds. At St Andrew's, Bristol City's performance will inevitably be remembered for two of them: one moment of extraordinary invention from Dom Ballard and one raised flag that left Michael Skubala describing the eventual penalty decision as "crazy".
Ballard's goal deserved to win any match. With his back to goal, the substitute met Rio Cardines' cross with an improvised flick that looped beyond James Beadle and into the Birmingham net.
It was audacious, instinctive and almost impossible to defend. The sort of finish that momentarily silences a large home crowd because everybody inside the ground needs a second to understand what they have just seen.
It put City 2–1 ahead with five minutes remaining and appeared to have completed an excellent away performance. Then came the fifth minute of stoppage time, a crowded penalty area and an ******* istant referee convinced that Jason Knight had handled the ball.

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