Blues victorious in West Midlands derby

WOLVES 1 BLUES 2

After a near perfect first half performance in which Blues found themselves 2-0 up at the interval, the last twenty minutes was watched from the discomfort of my hands.

Let’s start from the beginning. Blues looked very nervy in the early stages but once Maikel Kieftenbeld capitalised on a goalkeeping blunder, it seemed to settle the team down. From that point, Blues started taking control and when David Derby Davis’ curled effort nestled in the back of the net, it created a bit of breathing space.

That breathing space was condensed seven minutes into the second half when Paul Robinson’s petulance resulted in him being shown a red card. It was soft, but Robbo is experienced enough to walk away after winning the initial tackle.

Wolves’ striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was nibbling away at Robbo all evening. But Robbo’s reaction could have cost Blues a vital win. Whether you agree with the red card or not is irrelevant, Robbo shouldn’t have given the referee and linesman a decision to make.

The kitchen sink came at Blues late on as Wolves peppered the area with crosses. There was many stand out performers wearing Blue tonight – Davis, Kieftenbeld, Che Adams , Ryan Shotton and Robert Tesche – but young loanee Krystian Bielik was outstanding when he was introduced from the bench.

Zola greeted the long overdue final whistle with a celebration of his own and who could begrudge him that after a few miserable weeks? He got his first half tactics spot on. The plan was to sit and contain, press when possible and make life difficult for the hosts. Until Carl Ikeme’s howler, Blues didn’t look all too threatening but, for once, they took their chances and stood strong.

The fans may be against Zola, but the players  evidently aren’t. The work rate was phenomenal and the jubilation that greeted the final whistle, from pitch and bench, was proof of the pudding.

Maybe this new scrappy, robust style is the way Zola should go with his current crop of players. The two successes under his watch have been when Blues have tried to mix it up and frustrate the opposition.

After the Fulham win, we got carried away. While tonight’s victory is pleasing, my feet are firmly on the ground.