Wolverhampton Wanderers stretched their lead at the top of the Championship to four points but, more significantly, to 10 points from third place as they proved they know how to win ugly. Léo Bonatini’s early goal proved sufficient for a sixth successive victory to cement their mantle as title favourites.
After the aesthetically pleasing thrashings of Leeds United and Bolton Wanderers at Molineux recently, Wolves had to dig a little deeper to see off Steve Cotterill’s side, who stay in the relegation zone after Bonatini’s goal was awarded on goalline technology. The dismissal of Harlee Dean, for a second yellow card, seven minutes from time helped give Wolves the advantage to see them over the line.
Bonatini’s eighth-minute volley was so narrowly over the line before Michael Morrison cleared that there was a delay before the gadget on Simon Hooper’s wrist bleeped to indicate Wolves had taken the lead.
But Birmingham should take great heart from their second-half showing, in which they edged possession even if their absence of a goal threat remains a concern. They have now scored only three goals from the nine games since Cotterill succeeded Harry Redknapp.
“We’re not full of goals whereas they’ve got a front three who are full of goals,” the Birmingham manager said. “But I’ve seen them tear teams apart this season and they didn’t do that to us. I think they were average tonight, Wolves. If we’d got the first goal, it might have been different.”
Wolves have been scoring goals for fun and are on course to break the points record for the Championship. But they will be relieved to have survived this attritional West Midlands derby, in which their desire to head crosses clear and get a foot in was as important as the flowing football they displayed in the first half.
The orange flares were soon ignited from visiting supporters – old gold were not available – in the Railway End as Wolves extinguished Birmingham’s early bluster with the goal to confirm their superiority. David Stockdale, the Birmingham keeper, had already saved superbly from Ivan Cavaleiro in the same move and, on the rebound, even more impressively, from Diogo Jota before Bonatini’s volley was confirmed a goal.
It has been suggested that Wolves may succumb to a good physical prodding and Marc Roberts was fortunate that he had not already been cautioned for felling Jota when he took the same man out again to receive his yellow card.
The game became more even for the rest of the half even if Wolves, lacking the composure of the suspended Rúben Neves in midfield, were allowed to break down the wings with remarkable ease at times.
Birmingham did not raise the temperature until the second half, when they got forward more promptly having stiffened up the midfield. Wolves might have scored again, Jota and Hélder Costa sprinting through without managing to get a shot away, before the game started to boil over in a series of unseemly clashes.
Alfred N’Diaye, deputising for Neves, moved his head towards Maikel Kieftenbeld’s and then slapped Stephen Gleeson. To Wolves’ relief, the sanction was merely a caution apiece. But Birmingham were pressing at this stage, and belief started to echo around St Andrew’s until Jota and Morrison tangled and Dean was dismissed for his shove on the Portuguese forward.
“It was very weak, for Harlee Dean getting sent off,” Cotterill said. “He’s just moving Jota out the way so I’m not sure he should fall to the floor like that.
“If he’s gone to the floor for that, then what about Kieftenbeld? That was a straight red for me – not another yellow. If Stephen Gleeson had gone to the floor, then you probably get a red card. But he’s stayed on his feet, he’s been honest.”
The Wolves head coach, Nuno Espírito Santo, said: “We deserved the win and we deserved the clean sheet because we defended very well. I’m not against being aggressive as long as it is fair. But the referee refereed the game very well.”
