Sunday May 1, 2011 Day 35 Finished St. Andrew's

Birmingham City 1 - 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

  • Larsson 27’
  • Fletcher 7’ (pen.)

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  1. Ten-man Blues hold Wolves

    Ten-man Blues hold Wolves

    Birmingham held Wolves to a 1-1 Premier League draw at St Andrew's despite being a man down for over an hour. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Birmingham City
    • Wolverhampton Wanderers
    • - Don't forget you can watch highlights of this match, along with every Premier League game, from 00:01 on Monday morning (UK only).
    • 90+3 Terrible cross from Hunt flies out for a goal kick and the football world is put out of its misery as the referee blows for full-time, the draw more useful for Birmingham, who stay out of the drop zone. Wolves remain second bottom.
    • 90+2 This has been a dire match, awful really. More long, aimless balls and Birmingham have a goal kick Fletcher unable to control one.
    • 90+1 Foster lumps a goal kick long. Surprised not to see some more subs used to eat away the final seconds.
    • 90' Fletcher gets a knock on the shin but gets up and soldiers on as all three subs have been used.
    • 89' Three minutes added time.
    • 88' Yeah he was just trying to waste time. Blues will be happy with a point.
    • 87' Foster goes down after claiming a cross. Awkward landing on the ankle...
    • 86' Elokobi surges forward, wide to Hunt, great cross and there are bodies everywhere, Henry shoots, Fletcher tries to poke it in, Vokes can't get hold of it and HAMMILL but he blasts over!!
    • 85' A good Elokobi cross is knocked down by Fletcher but Vokes takes an age to shoot and eventually can't get it away, Blues clearing.
    • 84' Birmingham have a chance to keep the ball but then give it away. Henry goes long, obviously, because that's what Wolves do.
    • 83' And Milijas does not come on - instead it's Vokes for Ward.
    • 82' All Wolves still but there is a tangible lack of quality in the final ball. No sign of Milijas either - the only player they have who can unlock tight defences.
    • 81' Wolves swarm forward but Hammill's cross is poor, headed clear by Jiranek.
    • 80' Foster punches Hunt's cross when, frankly, he should have caught it with no-one near him.
    • 79' Jerome chases a long ball with Wolvs mostly stranded upfield but his pass inside aimed for Beausejour is poor and Wolves break again.
    • 78' Wolves are clearly after the win here, as Hammill races away only to be clobbered by Bowyer. A booking.
    • 77' Aside from Foster's error, Birmingham have been very solid defensively, repelling everything Wolves throw at them.
    • 76' Confusion in the Wolves box as they all leave a low ball across face of goal. Beausejour picks it up on the left...
    • 75' A far-post Hunt ball just too high for Fletcher, who keeps it in but Ridgewell brings it clear.
    • 74' Wolves with all the pressure now as they loft ball after ball into the box but Johnson and Jiranek put in some good headers before Foster claims a Hammill centre.
    • 72' Good hanging cross by Fletcher on the left and Hammill just misses it, he chases it down and surely the last touch was off a Birmingham defender but the linesman - who isn't having the best day - awards it the other way.
    • 71' A very soft free-kick awarded as Hammill touches Ridgewell on the shoulder as the Blues defender slips. The slip came first - poor from the linesman.
    • 70' Bowyer hits one on the half-volley but miles wide.
    • 69' Both sides have had seven efforts apiece.
    • 68' O'Hara has a pop from range but is falling when he strikes it, straight at Foster.
    • 67' A wild effort well wide by Jarvis and that's his last act today as Hunt replaces him.
    • 66' Hammill with a run into space and he clips in a sweet low cross but just hooked away by Johnson with Fletcher arriving.
    • 65' Finally Jarvis is up and play can resume. A welcome water break for players on both sides.
    • 64' Ridgewell is now down, possibly winded from that challenge. McCarthy is angry about something...
    • 63' Jarvis is down holding his thigh after landing heavily following a header with Ridgewell.
    • 62' Larsson to take... but he curls it over.
    • 61' Wolves complain to the referee after conceding a free-kick around two yards from the edge of the box, Hammill clearly tugging back Jerome. Larsson will take...
    • 60' Johnson heads it back to Foster as Ward chased one through.
    • 59' Foster with an easy claim from a Jarvis ball. This half has been even poorer than the first.
    • 58' Hammill hauls down Beausejour. Free-kick Blues.
    • 57' Ward tries to get inside Elokobi but the big left-back puts the challenge in. A bit of nonsense now as the ref has a word with Bowyer about something..
    • 56' Johnson seems okay, he's running it off.
    • 55' Johnson pulls up after rising for a header with Fletcher... awkward landing.
    • 53' Henry is pulled up for a foul on Bowyer and is booked. Classic Henry, late and reckless even if he did have eyes for the ball.
    • 52' Well over from Bowyer after Beausejour's neat lay-off on the edge of the box.
    • 51' Okay I see what Wolves are doing now. Hammill is right mid with Foley dropping back to right back. Great play by Jarvis on the left but he fails to win a corner with his slick dribbling, the ball rebounding off him last.
    • 50' Taken short but cleared, Mancienne comes forward but he blasts miles over. Henry is down hurt.
    • 49' Foster goes walkabout again but luckily for him his slide tackle prevents Hammill from crossing one in. Corner. Hammill is playing right mid it seems. All a touch confusing.
    • 48' Dodgy defending from Jiranek as Ward - who has not gone to left back after all - chases one through. Seems Hammill will play as a full-back. Both players hit the deck and Foster claims. Could have been a penalty.
    • 47' Jerome chases one into the box but Foley tracks him and the Blues man can't reach it.
    • 46' The second half is underway!
    • - WOLVES SUB: Hammil is on for Stearman, Ward to play left-back then.
    • 45+3 Half time and it's 1-1, both goals arising from errors in a frankly poor game.
    • 45+3 O'Hara catches Bowyer around 30 yards out. The Larsson free-kick causes problems but Wolves scramble it clear.
    • 45+2 It breaks to Ward in really good space wide left but he overhits his cross, too powerful and behind Fletcher. Poor from him, Fletcher was free on the edge of the six-yard box.
    • 45+1 Jiranek has to put one out to touch as Wolves move on the left.
    • 45' Three minutes added time being played as Fletcher takes one on the chest but mis-hits his shot.
    • 44' Cross in from the Blues left is easy for Hennessey.
    • 43' Scuffed wide by Foley after a decent spell of pressure from Wolves saw Jarvis plop in a testing cross that Blues failed to clear.
    • 41' Carr crosses in but a calm header from Stearman back to keeper.
    • 40' Hennessey pumps it long and Johnson meets with a header, falling as he was pushed by Ward. Calling this scrappy doesn't do scrappy justice.
    • 39' Fletcher hits the deck in the box but no foul and he doesn't claim one to be fair.
    • 38' Indeed Mancienne is fine. Odd. Down the other end England's Matt Jarvis fouls Carr.
    • 37' Larsson clearly fouls Mancienne as he tries to run in and Mancienne stays down holding his ankle... Larsson tugged his shirt so not sure how that happened.
    • 36' A couple of Blues throws from Carr are lumped into touch...
    • 35' A rather poor spell shows why both sides are in their current predicaments - no passes reach their destinations, clearances skew up in the air and headers are missed.
    • 34' Johnson is howling for a penalty after colliding with Elokobi as they challenged for that Foster punt from halfway. Elokobi just eased him out of the way so Hennessey would be unchallenged while claiming.
    • 33' More drama as Craddock is booked when Birmingham want red, hardly lads it was a slightly late shove on Jerome on halfway.
    • 32' BIRMINGHAM SUB: Understandable really, as Phillips only really offers a poaching threat. Beausejour on in his place.
    • 31' Jerome on the left tries an audacious shot from a wide position that flies well over.
    • 30' What an idiot. Already booked, and with no real reason to dive as he was well short of the box. Maybe he lost his head after that horrible foul from Stearman but still. Blues down to 10 men.
    • 29' Gardner is sent off! A second yellow card! A dive under Craddock's challenge! Correct decision.
    • 28' Two goals, two bad mistakes from wannabe England internationals.
    • 27' BIRMINGHAM LEVEL! Terrible mistake from Mancienne as he attempts to head Foster's long punt back to Hennessey, he almost cowers from the ball, maybe losing it in the sun, underhitting it into the path of Larsson who slides the low finish under the Wolves keeper.
    • 26' Super challenge from Johnson to knock behind for a corner, with Fletcher in.
    • 25' Good keeping by Hennessey out at the feet of Phillips, who has been very quiet.
    • 24' A bit of needle as Gardner goes into O'Hara but the loanee stays on his feet and Wolves have a throw.
    • 23' Roger Johnson shows fury at the linesman for awarding a free-kick to Wolves for what seemed a nothing challenge. I have to agree with the sentiment, although his reaction is a bit excessive. Swung in by Jarvis and easily fielded by Foster.
    • 22' Good hold-up play by the impressive Fletcher but a poor centre from Foley flies well over.
    • 21' There's a Wolves player down... Henry was caught high by Jerome.
    • 20' Hennessey, who is almost albino blond these days, claims a rather aimless long ball into the box.
    • 18' Well a few talking points already - should Foster have been sent off? How on earth did Stearman stay on the pitch and out of the book even? Wolves, on balance, deserve their lead though.
    • 17' Jarvis is being spoken to by the referee for a bit of argy bargy with Larsson that was actually all the Swede's doing.
    • 16' LARSSON HITS THE BAR! After the longest delay ever the Swede curls a beauty over the wall and it dips on to the bar and over.
    • 15' A delay as the palaver calms down, the ref moving them back 10 yards too...
    • 14' Gardner is rolling around on the floor. That could have been a leg-breaker but mercifully he's okay. How has he not been sent off? Not even a booking!
    • 13' Really bad tackle on the edge of the Wolves box! Stearman rattling into Gardner! Not a penalty, but only because it was so far off the ball.
    • 12' Wolves build a move on the right but O'Hara gives it away, Ridgewell intercepting.
    • 11' Fletcher looks a bit groggy, maybe he picked up a knock, maybe it's the heat...
    • 10' Great ball from Kightly popping up wide left but Fletcher, the target, is a touch behind the play and it bounces out.
    • 9' Terrible free-kick from Larsson, about four yards over the bar.
    • 8' It's kicking off already! A slightly strong tackle on Gardner from O'Hara and Gardner totally overreacts and everyone's involved... Ferguson steams in, as does Henry, obviously. Handbags really but you can't do that. O'Hara and Gardner booked. Honestly O'Hara's tackle was fine, just a bit strong.
    • 7' GOAL WOLVES! Fletcher coolly slides it into the bottom left, Foster goes the wrong way. That goal all Foster's work, terrible keeping all round.
    • 6' Well then. Foster only booked as Ward had knocked it quite far to his left and thus was unlikely to be able to finish. Fletcher to take this one...
    • 5' Terrible clearance by Foster! Straight to Jarvis who plays Ward in and Foster flies out and takes him down! Penalty!
    • 4' Carr attempts to get around Elokobi but the Cameroonian holds firm. Throw to Blues on their right.
    • 3' Wolves doing all the attacking early on as Foster takes his time over a clearance to take some sting out of it.
    • 2' Jerome chases a long one down the left but just fails to keep it in.
    • 1' Wolves get straight into Birmingham from kick-off as Henry's ball in from the left wreaks havoc, bodies everywhere and eventually O'Hara fires wide!
    • 1' The first half is underway at St Andrew's!
    • 11:55 This just in from Bluenose on the comments board below: "Just heard Wolves got an allocation of 4,200 tickets­ & only managed to sell 2,000, some support! Looks­ like they are saving their pennies for the­ Championship!" Wolves fans, you know where to reply...
    • 11:50 Despite the optimistic noises made by Alex McLeish on Friday, Nikola Zigic has not made it into the Birmingham squad - 72-year-old Kevin Phillips starts instead. OK, he's 37. McLeish's pre-match comments.
    • 11:45 Mick McCarthy has said Wolves cannot afford another performance like that which saw them humped by Stoke in the week - and he's right. McCarthy expects improvement.
    • 11:40 Birmingham have never won a Premier League match with Kevin Friend as referee (3 draws, 2 defeats). They have scored and conceded in all five of these matches.
    • 11:35 Birmingham are without a win in all five West Midlands derby matches this season (three defeats, two draws). They also went without a win against fellow West Midlands opposition in 2007-08 (two defeats against Aston Villa) - the last time they were relegated from the division.
    • 11:30 Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers have met 119 times. Birmingham have won 36, Wolves 56 and 27 draws. Wolves are looking to complete the league double over Birmingham for the first time since 1998-99.
    • 11:25 Birmingham lie in 16th place, on 38 points - one more win will probably make them safe. Wolves are right in it, second bottom on points. But Mick McCarthy's side will leapfrog Blackpool and escape the bottom three if they win today. Much to play for. Premier League table
    • 11:20 BIRMINGHAM: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Jiranek, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Gardner, Bowyer, Phillips, Jerome... Subs: Doyle, Derbyshire, Fahey, Parnaby, Hleb, Beausejour, Davies... WOLVES: Hennessey, Mancienne, Stearman, Craddock, Elokobi, Foley, O'Hara, Henry, Jarvis, Fletcher, Ward... Subs: Hahnemann, Hunt, Berra, Hammill, Milijas, Guedioura, Vokes... Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
    • 11:15 Welcome to LIVE coverage of a potentially decisive West Midlands derby between Birmingham City and Wolves at St Andrew's!

  • Summary

    • 86' Elokobi surges forward, wide to Hunt, great cross and there are bodies everywhere, Henry shoots, Fletcher tries to poke it in, Vokes can't get hold of it and HAMMILL but he blasts over!!
    • 43' Scuffed wide by Foley after a decent spell of pressure from Wolves saw Jarvis plop in a testing cross that Blues failed to clear.
    • 29' Gardner is sent off! A second yellow card! A dive under Craddock's challenge! Correct decision.
    • 27' BIRMINGHAM LEVEL! Terrible mistake from Mancienne as he attempts to head Foster's long punt back to Hennessey, he almost cowers from the ball, maybe losing it in the sun, underhitting it into the path of Larsson who slides the low finish under the Wolves keeper.
    • 16' LARSSON HITS THE BAR! After the longest delay ever the Swede curls a beauty over the wall and it dips on to the bar and over.
    • 13' Really bad tackle on the edge of the Wolves box! Stearman rattling into Gardner! Not a penalty, but only because it was so far off the ball.
    • 7' GOAL WOLVES! Fletcher coolly slides it into the bottom left, Foster goes the wrong way. That goal all Foster's work, terrible keeping all round.
    • 5' Terrible clearance by Foster! Straight to Jarvis who plays Ward in and Foster flies out and takes him down! Penalty!
    • 11:20 BIRMINGHAM: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Jiranek, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Gardner, Bowyer, Phillips, Jerome... Subs: Doyle, Derbyshire, Fahey, Parnaby, Hleb, Beausejour, Davies... WOLVES: Hennessey, Mancienne, Stearman, Craddock, Elokobi, Foley, O'Hara, Henry, Jarvis, Fletcher, Ward... Subs: Hahnemann, Hunt, Berra, Hammill, Milijas, Guedioura, Vokes... Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

    • Starting line-up

      • B. Foster Yellow Card
      • S. Carr
      • R. Johnson
      • M. Jiránek
      • L. Ridgewell
      • B. Ferguson
      • C. Gardner Red Card
      • S. Larsson Goal
      • L. Bowyer Yellow Card
      • K. Phillips Substitution Out (32′)
      • C. Jerome

      Subs

      • S. Parnaby
      • C. Doyle
      • M. Derbyshire
      • C. Davies
      • K. Fahey
      • J. Beausejour Substitution In32′
      • A. Hleb

    • Starting line-up

      • W. Hennessey
      • R. Stearman Substitution Out (45′)
      • M. Mancienne
      • J. Craddock Yellow Card
      • G. Elokobi
      • K. Henry Yellow Card
      • J. O'Hara Yellow Card
      • K. Foley
      • M. Jarvis Substitution Out (67′)
      • S. Fletcher Goal
      • S. Ward Substitution Out (83′)

      Subs

      • S. Hunt Substitution In67′
      • M. Hahnemann
      • C. Berra
      • A. Hammill Substitution In45′
      • S. Vokes Substitution In83′
      • A. Guédioura
      • N. Milijaš

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      Yellow Card - -
      Defenders
      - -
      - -
      - -
      - -
      Midfielders
      - -
      Red Card - -
      Goal - -
      Yellow Card - -
      Strikers
      Substitution Out32′ - -
      - -
      Subs
      Substitution In32′ - -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      - -
      Defenders
      Substitution Out45′ - -
      - -
      Yellow Card - -
      - -
      Midfielders
      Yellow Card - -
      Yellow Card - -
      - -
      Substitution Out67′ - -
      Strikers
      Goal - -
      Substitution Out83′ - -
      Subs
      Substitution In67′ - -
      Substitution In45′ - -
      Substitution In83′ - -

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