If Wrexham v Birmingham was the alternative Battle of Britain on Thursday night, it certainly lived up to its billing as the League One promotion chasers played out the scrappiest of draws.

Like at Old Trafford, it was a fight between red and blue for supremacy but they cancelled one another out in front of a capacity crowd of 13,237. Ollie Rathbone scored a fine opener from range before Lyndon Dykes just about claimed an equaliser thanks to a deflection to ensure a fair result to leave the teams third and first respectively.

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This is more than a third-tier fixture, the US television audience figures are almost as important as the three points on offer. There was a lights show before the Birmingham owner, Tom Wagner, took his position in the away end with the visiting supporters, having already sunk a pint or two with them in The Turf before kick-off. Wrexham were boosted by the news that their captain, James McClean, was deemed fit after being involved in a car crash on Wednesday, although his arm was heavily bandaged.

Birmingham were upset with the referee after Rathbone had curled his precise shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards. The industrious Ollie Palmer dispossessed Taylor Gardner-Hickman before Rathbone picked up the loose ball and gave Ryan Allsop no chance. The Birmingham midfielder was clearly not aware of Palmer’s back catalogue and felt the Wrexham striker had been too physical but neither the home fans nor officials seemed concerned.

Eight minutes later the score was level again. It was all too simple for Birmingham as Marc Leonard’s corner to the back post found Dykes in space and he nodded towards goal and the ball finally nestled in the net after being diverted in off Wrexham’s George Dobson’s back but the Scotland striker claimed the goal.

Considering this is billed as the “Hollywood derby”, there was limited glitz and even less glamour in the stands. Neither of Wrexham’s owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, were in attendance, while the Birmingham investor Tom Brady was not in the Wrexham Lager Stand with his fellow Blues. Whether Jasper Carrott was here is unknown.

Birmingham dominated the first half but roles were reversed after the break when Wrexham’s physicality proved more effective than West Midlands guile. The hosts pushed Birmingham back but a Dobson shot, easily saved by Allsop, was their only attempt amid a period of positivity for Phil Parkinson’s side. Birmingham were finding it difficult to rediscover the calmness that helped them dictate matters, instead becoming resilient.

Chances were limited but there was much excitement when Ryan Barnett swung a cross into the box from the right that, possibly aided by the increasing wind, was tipped over the bar by a backtracking Allsop. The resulting corner forced the goalkeeper to remain alert as McClean steered a header on target from close range but Allsop showed impressive reactions to keep it out.

The battering rams of Palmer and Elliot Lee were replaced by the former Vauxhall Motors forward Paul Mullin and the ex-Marseille striker Steven Fletcher as a fresh strikeforce might be able to make the most of any tiredness in the Birmingham backline. Christoph Klarer and Ben Davies, however, were holding firm, battling with the new front two and heading everything that came their way as the Blues extended their unbeaten run to 15 games.

“We’ve had a lot of games like that where we pin teams in and the ball goes in, but it didn’t quite fall for us tonight,” said the Wrexham manager, Parkinson. “In terms of what we asked from the lads in terms of desire, energy, commitment – we got all that. But also that intelligence when we press. We improved from the first game we played against them [Birmingham] and we deserved the win in the end. We had them on the rack.”

If a winner was to come, it seemed as if it would result from a Wrexham corner. A couple descended into six-yard box scrambles but both sets of supporters left with the hope they were one point closer to achieving their ambitions of promotion to the Championship.

“In the first half, we conceded a goal obviously, but overall I thought we were very good,” said the Birmingham manager, Chris Davies. “We responded to that, we were calm and got control of the game again. In the second half we didn’t have the same level of control, with the crowd we invited a bit of pressure. In the end we’ve ground it out and fought hard to get the point and we will take that.”