Blues Match Zone

Birmingham go top – again!

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Steve Bruce admitted that his team were lucky to be at the top of the table against following this five-goal thriller at the Molineux.

For the neutral observer, this was an incredible game with all the thrills and spills that could possibly be wanted out of a football match; end to end play, goals, penalty shouts, goalkeeping heroics and passion from two teams desperate for a result.

Bruce had fielded an unchanged team from the one that was victorious at Leicester a few days previously.

During the first half, Wolves had a lot of the play with Keogh, Bothroyd and Kightly all causing problems for the Blues’ defence. There was plenty of attacking play from both sides to keep the fans entertained.

Colin Doyle kept Birmingham in the game during the first half with a series of excellent saves, some of them from point blank range. Their supporters were probably quite relieved that the score was still 0-0 at half time.

However, as the second half unfolded the game took the watching fans through every aspect of football’s roller-coaster ride.

Andy Cole was first to score with a shot that only he could have accomplished, flicking the ball neatly over Matt Murray with a shot that seemed to send the world into slow motion for a few seconds. Cole was subbed soon afterwards for Cameron Jerome as he was feeling his hamstring.

Wolves equalised courtesy of McIndoe who took advantage of N’Gotty’s error at the back. Birmingham were forced to chase the game again and Wolves got their noses in front, again from McIndoe with a second header, supplied by the highly dangerous Keogh.

Wolves’ fans howled in disbelief Jaidi floored Kightly and the referee merely waved play on. At 3-1 Birmingham may have found the game beyond them.

The equaliser was only six minutes later when Bendtner latched on to a McSheffrey corner with a bullet header that nearly took the back out of the net.

McSheffrey also supplied the ball to Jerome for the goal to take Birmingham ahead with just two minutes to go. Jerome beat the offside trap and put a low shot in from the left hand side with Bendtner nd McSheffrey also bearing down on Murray.

The drama wasn’t over yet though; Bruno N’Gotty was again the culprit as he barged Jody Craddock in the area to win a penalty for Wolves in injury time.

McIndoe stepped up to get his hat-trick, but the resulting shot was poor and easily (and gratefully!) saved by Doyle to send him to Man of the Match and the visiting Blues fans into ecstasy.

With two games to go, Birmingham’s fate is absolutely in their own hands again, but Steve Bruce is not taking anything for granted.

Player Ratings

Bruno N’Gotty
Too many individual errors today.

Stephen Kelly
Needs to be back in his rightful position.

Martin Taylor
Mostly solid; sometimes tries to overplay.

Rahdi Jaidi
Got caught out by Keogh and Kightly.

Stephen Clemence
aother good commanding performance in the middle.

Fabrice Muamba
Still the best midfield pairing with Clemence. Covers miles per game.

Gary McSheffrey
Laid on two goals; seems to be returning to form.

Seb Larsson
Good all round midfield performance.

Andy Cole
Fantastic debut goal.

Nicklas Bendtner
Great header; a menace in the air and some good attacking play.

Cameron Jerome
Intelligent play beat the offside trap. May have got serious stick from Bendtner and McSheffrey if he hasn’t scored!

Manager Rating
Steve Bruce kept his nerve and played a winning team again. Bringing on Cameron Jerome for Cole supplied the winner.

Opponent Rating
McCarthy was livid at the end of the game, but he is rightfully very proud of the young Wolves side he has put together this season.

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