Birmingham City 0 Wolves 2: Colin Tattum's big match verdict
IF MICK McCarthy had given the impression he wasn’t too fussed about the FA Cup, then it didn’t seep through to his team.
Blues, too, were up for a good old scrap, but found it was a night to forget when some of their familiar failings resurfaced and fortune deserted them, mainly due to the misjudgments of referee Howard Webb.
McCarthy talked about the tie losing its sparkle as it was rearranged due to the postponement from third-round Saturday on January 3.
It was a game they ‘had to play’, almost a chore, with the importance of the league and Wolves’ sticky spell no doubt weighing on his mind.
Goals by Andy Keogh and Sam Vokes in either half of a full-blooded affair saw Wolves through to a fourth-round meeting at home to Middlesbrough and may have warmed up their manager’s opinion.
For Alex McLeish, it was a frustrating evening that served only to convince him that the work he has been doing during the transfer window was necessary, and maybe increased the motivation to continue with more business.
A definite pleasing aspect for him and Blues was the encouraging performance of Robin Shroot, thrust in for his debut only a matter of weeks after playing in the Ryman League.
He showed few nerves on the left wing and his considered, neat and assured style was reminiscent of Steve Finnan just after he had made the jump from non-league to Blues.
Shroot went close to scoring as well, manoeuvring inside to take Nigel Quashie’s clever pass only to be denied by Wayne Hennessey’s outstretched leg.
That opportunity came in the 84th minute, by which time Blues were beginning to bow to the inevitable.
Yet there were key moments in the match that worked to Wolves’ advantage, primarily the contentious non-award of a penalty by Webb in the 44th minute.
Richard Stearman produced a lumberjack’s tackle on Marcus Bent that clearly missed the ball and left Bent in agony, forcing his half-time substitution, and Blues’ fans and their technical area in uproar.
It didn’t help that Wolves then promptly broke – with Bent still flat out – and only incredible goalline clearances from Franck Queudrue and Liam Ridgewell in succession stopped Vokes and Michael Kightly making it 0-2.
It was a penalty, a yellow-card tackle – and Stearman had already been booked.
Then, in the second-half with Blues attempting to mount
