Wolves 1-1 BLUES

HONOURS even at the Molineux in the big Birmingham-Black Country derby despite Blues looking good for all three points when Cameron Jerome put the away side ahead minutes into the second half.

McLeish's men were the better of the two sides over the 90 minutes and deserved their lead just after the restart as Jerome's pace was too much for Richard Stearman. Wolves hit back however through Sylvan Ebanks-Blake with only 15 minutes remaining.

A foggy afternoon at the Molineux saw the away side enjoy the majority of possession throughout the early stages. Lee Carsley and Nigel Quashie were able to get the ball down and run things in midfield.

Blues had several chances in the first half to put the game beyond the home side as Kevin Phillips missed from point blank range after Liam Ridgewell had knocked the ball down for Phillips to hit a half volley. The biggest talking point at half time however was James McFadden's disallowed goal that should have stood. McFadden had beaten the offside trap and went on to smash the ball home past keeper Wayne Hennessey only to see the linesman's flag go up.

Just before the break Nicky Hunt limped off with a hamstring problem which left McLeish with no other option but to bring on Medhi Nafti at an unfamiliar right back position. At the break McLeish made his second substitution as Phillips wasn't able to continue due to fitness reasons.

His replacement broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half as a hopefull ball up field from Quashie saw Jerome use his pace to get in behind Stearman and send Hennessey the wrong way. The travelling Blues fans went wild as Blues now had a lead to protect throughout the remainder of the game.

Inevitably Wolves came back at Blues in search of an equaliser but the Blues back line stood tall with a very professional look about Radhi Jaidi, Ridgewell and Franck Queudrue at the heart of the Blues defence. Maik Taylor also played his part in keeping the home side out.

On 74 however Blues hearts were broken as the evergreen Jaidi made his only mistake of the game which cost Blues all three points. Stephen Ward broke down the left hand side cutting in as he went past Nafti at right back. As he broke into the box his touch had looked to have giving Jaidi the chance the clear the ball away but it was miss judged by the big centre half which allowed Ward to cross to Ebanks-Blake who neatly finished low towards the far post.

Wolves could now smell the comeback as Blues really had to dig in deep and earn their money to prevent what would have been a disastrous winner for the home side. Maik Taylor especially who produced a flying save with two minutes to go, preventing Sam Vokes from scoring.

In injury time McLeish threw Quincy into battle for Marcus Bent but only to waste some precious seconds as Wolves pilled on the pressure. The lads stood firm however in what McLeish described as two points lost rather than a point gained.

This keeps Blues in the hunt for that all important top spot as they will now host Watford next Saturday at St Andrews while rivals Wolves travel to QPR.