IT TURNED out to be a good game for Blues not to lose, a bad game for Wolves not to win.

We will never know, of course, what might have happened had Craig Gardner remained on his feet and it had stayed an 11 versus 11 contest.

But once Gardner had been dismissed by Kevin Friend for diving, two minutes after Sebastian Larsson’s equaliser, the complexion of the derby changed.

Blues probably felt the game was there for the taking once parity had been established.

Instead, it then became more about them ensuring that the ten men didn’t allow Wolves as much as a sniff of goal again.

And that they didn’t for 61 minutes was down to their dogged fortitude and Wolves’ ineptitude when they required inspiration.

In the second half, when a major push was expected by Wolves, it never materialised.

There was only one goalmouth scramble of note that caused any consternation in the Blues defence, in the 86th minute, and even then Adam Hammill handled in the melee.

Blues will have been reasonably happy with the point, considering the circumstances.

Their Premier League destiny remains in their own hands and a crucial points gap still exists between them and the teams below.

Wolves have the worst away record in the division and looked a floored, and flawed, team in the defeat at Stoke City.

But they began with much gusto and benefitted from an error by Ben Foster, who scuffed a clearing kick straight into the path of Matt Jarvis.

He played Stephen Ward through down the channel, Foster raced out and over Ward went as the goalkeeper dived at his feet – penalty.

Steven Fletcher calmly slid the spot-kick in and Wolves had a seventh-minute lead that did wonders for their confidence and stoked their hunger.

In the 17th minute Sebastian Larsson sent a fierce free-kick right on to the face of the crossbar. The frame of the goal juddered and Wolves escaped.

They might well have escaped even greater punishment as the tackle on Gardner by Richard Stearman was awful and arguably on the 18-yard line, not just outside the area as Friend felt.