Birmingham City 2, Wolves 0: Colin Tattum's big match verdict

Apr 7 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

ASK any Birmingham City supporter, and they will tell you that their team just don’t do ‘must-win’ games.

Well, that view can at last be revised after this meaty tussle when ten-man Blues responded to the needs of the situation and overcame adversity to strike a major psychological blow at the top of the table.

The tangible reward of the points from the victory edged them on to the shoulder of Championship leaders Wolves and moved them away from the chasing pack, but it also told all and sundry that, with the sharp end of the season upon us, Blues mean business.

Wolves are still in a strong position, and when you look at their run-in they would have nobody but themselves to blame if they didn’t secure automatic promotion.

Yet they will have been left a little shaken by the events at St Andrew’s last night, and it could only take another bad result for self-doubt to creep in and the pressure to ratchet up.

Reduced in number due to Lee Carsley’s awful tackle on Chris Iwelumo, which merited a red card for the captain and a stretcher for the Wolves striker, Blues not long afterwards got their noses in front through a bizarre goal and, like a dog with a bone, snarlingly never let go.

Garry O’Connor’s perseverance and determination brought up the second in the 69th minute and, with the crowd’s raucous backing recalling days and nights of yesteryear, Blues knew this was their time.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy reckoned the game was going nowhere until the sending-off and perhaps so. But thereafter his side should have taken advantage, even though Iwelumo’s thorny presence was a loss, and there was no Sylvan Ebanks-Blake due to a tight hamstring, plus broken foot victim Michael Kightly.

By the sheer force of their will Blues made sure they did what was necessary, to prevail in a ‘must-win’, with a man light to boot.

They got their tactics right, knew how to play the pitch (this was not a night for nice passing triangles) and asked serious questions of the Wolves defence, and found – as they had suspected they would be – the centre-halves and Wayne Hennessey rattled, if not flustered.

Jerome was unable to veer past the Wolves goalkeeper after Stephen Ward was pressed into a mistake by Stephen Carr and passed back into his path – a bobble did for Jerome – but he made amends in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time.

From a free-kick, Liam Ridgewell and Radhi Jaidi both nodded forward in a crowded penalty area and Hennessey wrapped one arm round the ball and Jerome but staggered as the striker, facing the wrong way, muscled him backwards. Hennessey lost his grip and footing and presented Jerome with the chance he nudged in off his knee.

It was like watching a try from a driving maul in rugby and although referee Mark Halsey and his linesman hesitated and looked at each other, as if each wondering that there must have been a foul somewhere, they came to the right conclusion.