Wolves 1 Birmingham City 0: IT WOULD be hard to argue that it was worth the wait, but after 17 Premier League matches spanning five months Wolverhampton Wanderers finally kept their first clean sheet of the season to give them the platform for a crucial victory over Birmingham City.
Stephen Hunt’s second goal in three games proved enough to condemn a strangely subdued Blues side to defeat and put Wolves within touching distance of safety.
With another West Midlands derby to come next weekend, against their Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, this result gives Wolves a timely boost. There were a few nervous moments to endure at the end, but otherwise the home side were largely in control and thoroughly deserved to pick up a win that leaves them only one point behind Fulham, who are in 17th place, and drags Birmingham back into the relegation mix.
Hunt’s goal came via a long punt upfield from Wayne Hennessey, the Wolves keeper. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake ran on to Dave Edwards flick-on before turning Scott Dann and thrashing a low centre towards the six-yard box where Hunt, timing his run perfectly, side-footed powerfully beyond Ben Foster without needing to break stride. It was a goal that felt long overdue after Foster was forced to make four decent saves in the first half alone.
Edwards wasted a golden chance to double their lead two minutes after the restart, when he headed Stephen Ward’s cross wide from an almost identical position to the one Hunt had scored from.
Wolves continued to ask all the questions as Foster tipped Nenad Milijas’s header over the bar before Christophe Berra collided with an upright trying to turn in a cross from the Serbian as a second home goal beckoned.
Alex McLeish, the Birmingham manager, responded by making a double substitution before introducing Kevin Phillips. The striker was given the traditional welcome afforded former Albion players in these parts, but he could so easily have silenced their taunts when Craig Gardner’s floated cross picked him out in the dying minutes. Unmarked and no more than eight yards from goal, Phillips headed wide to the delight and relief of the home supporters.
Guardian Service
