Watford scored twice in added time to bring 10-man Birmingham’s unbeaten league start to an end with a 2-0 victory at Vicarage Road.
The Blues looked nailed on for a point even though they had lost left-back Lee Buchanan to a second yellow two minutes from time.
That was for a foul on Yaser Asprilla and the sub took his revenge seconds into stoppage time when the Colombian crossed from the right and new boy Mileta Rajovic headed in to break the deadlock with Watford’s first goal in three home games.
There was worse to come for Birmingham as another sub, Ryan Andrews, blasted a second with 95 minutes and 28 seconds on the clock.
The visitors had started brightly, threatening inside the first minute when Oliver Burke’s pass from the right set up Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield for a low right-foot shot from outside the box only for Hornets goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann to save.
Watford responded with a break down the left and, with just four minutes on the clock, City right-back Cody Drameh was booked for flooring Matheus Martins.
The Brazilian’s free-kick was on its way into the net before Blues keeper John Ruddy stretched all of his 6ft 3in frame to stop the ball squeezing under the bar.
There was more early drama as Watford’s Scotland defender Ryan Porteous fired a cross-shot from the right of the box against the far post in the ninth minute.
The Blues heeded that warning to employ a high press to keep the home side at bay. It worked, with Watford struggling to put together fluent moves – even from deep inside their own half.
Just after the half-hour, Watford’s Tom Dele-Bashiru attempted to break the deadlock, surging through midfield before unleashing a shot that flew just over the bar.
Birmingham, managed by former Watford skipper John Eustace, were clearly determined to keep a clean sheet at all costs and two men were booked within three minutes of each other – Buchanan in the 35th minute for flooring Dele-Bashiru and then Krystian Bielik for a foul on Imran Louza.
The first half had been a hard slog for Watford – 70 per cent possession yielded just four shots, one on target.
Home fans were also concerned recently-signed striker Rajovic, a 6ft 3in target man, was getting very little service.
The Dane scored twice on his first start in Watford’s previous match, a 3-3 draw at Coventry.
Two minutes before the hour, Stansfield went close for City with a shot that Bachmann just about kept out with a flying one-handed save to his left.
The Birmingham booking count had climbed to five early in the second half as first Stansfield, for heaving Porteous to the ground, and then midfielder Ivan Sunjic went into ref Keith Stroud’s book.
Eustace also saw yellow but Birmingham sensed they could steal the points, Bachmann keeping them out with a double save from Scott Hogan nine minutes from the end.
Then the roof fell in on the Blues as Rajovic and Andrews struck dramatic late blows.
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
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