Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has been forced to admit that his side wasted the chance to move clear of the Premier League relegation zone last weekend after only managing a draw and the reward of one point against local side Birmingham, a team that had suffered a crushing 5-0 defeat at the hands of Kenny Dalglish's resurgent Liverpool side in their previous league fixture.
Birmingham were fairly unlucky to see the influential Craig Gardner sent off for two bookable offences before the half-time break, but then experienced the good fortune of witnessing Wolves' inability to take full advantage of their opponents playing with ten men for more than an hour. McCarthy's men looked simply unable to dominate in the way that their numerical advantage should have allowed, despite the fact that football games can sometimes be made all the more difficult to negotiate when one side is reduced down to ten men. Wolves did manage to narrowly edge the possession stats, with 52% compared to their opponents' 48%, while winning more corners, but, crucially, still only managed a couple of shots on target through the 90 minutes.
In a 1-1 draw away from home, Wolves did manage to score the opener, with Steven Fletcher scoring with a pinpoint spot kick from the penalty spot after a foul from Birmingham's Ben Foster, while Sebastian Larsson pulled his side level just before the half hour mark after earlier seeing a shot kept out by the post from a close range header, capitalising upon a defensive slip from ex-Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne.
McCarthy, who has spoken recently about the lack of "magic" in the Wolves squad at the moment, revealed after the final whistle that it was "a missed opportunity against ten men", while stating that he believes the relegation battle will only be decided on the last day of the season, which is only a couple of weeks away now.
Wolves' failure to finish the game with all three points was compounded by their relegation rivals managing, on the whole, to pick up at least a point in their own fixtures. Blackpool and Wigan both secured a point in their games, with the latter unlucky not to win all three points against Everton after an attacking display of real merit against David Moyes's in-form side, while Blackburn also beat Owen Coyle and his inconsistent Bolton team to move into what many now regard as a position of safety in the league.
Looking at the league table now, Wolves are in 19th position, just a couple of points above West Ham, with beleaguered Hammers boss Avram Grant seemingly still believing that his team can avoid relegation this season by winning seven points from their final three games, but Wolves fans will still rue the fact that their side missed the chance to move up to 17th place with a win. Meanwhile, West Ham co-owner David Gold has been speaking this week about the likelihood of his side facing relegation and has admitted that he may have to wave goodbye to the England regulars in his squad if Championship football becomes their reality next season.
As the season draws to a close, neutral fans will nevertheless be happy that there is still all to play for at the top and bottom of the table, with Manchester United and Chelsea locked in a race for the title and a handful of clubs, including the likes of Ian Holloway's Blackpool now desperate to escape the relegation zone.
Birmingham were fairly unlucky to see the influential Craig Gardner sent off for two bookable offences before the half-time break, but then experienced the good fortune of witnessing Wolves' inability to take full advantage of their opponents playing with ten men for more than an hour. McCarthy's men looked simply unable to dominate in the way that their numerical advantage should have allowed, despite the fact that football games can sometimes be made all the more difficult to negotiate when one side is reduced down to ten men. Wolves did manage to narrowly edge the possession stats, with 52% compared to their opponents' 48%, while winning more corners, but, crucially, still only managed a couple of shots on target through the 90 minutes.
In a 1-1 draw away from home, Wolves did manage to score the opener, with Steven Fletcher scoring with a pinpoint spot kick from the penalty spot after a foul from Birmingham's Ben Foster, while Sebastian Larsson pulled his side level just before the half hour mark after earlier seeing a shot kept out by the post from a close range header, capitalising upon a defensive slip from ex-Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne.
McCarthy, who has spoken recently about the lack of "magic" in the Wolves squad at the moment, revealed after the final whistle that it was "a missed opportunity against ten men", while stating that he believes the relegation battle will only be decided on the last day of the season, which is only a couple of weeks away now.
Wolves' failure to finish the game with all three points was compounded by their relegation rivals managing, on the whole, to pick up at least a point in their own fixtures. Blackpool and Wigan both secured a point in their games, with the latter unlucky not to win all three points against Everton after an attacking display of real merit against David Moyes's in-form side, while Blackburn also beat Owen Coyle and his inconsistent Bolton team to move into what many now regard as a position of safety in the league.
Looking at the league table now, Wolves are in 19th position, just a couple of points above West Ham, with beleaguered Hammers boss Avram Grant seemingly still believing that his team can avoid relegation this season by winning seven points from their final three games, but Wolves fans will still rue the fact that their side missed the chance to move up to 17th place with a win. Meanwhile, West Ham co-owner David Gold has been speaking this week about the likelihood of his side facing relegation and has admitted that he may have to wave goodbye to the England regulars in his squad if Championship football becomes their reality next season.
As the season draws to a close, neutral fans will nevertheless be happy that there is still all to play for at the top and bottom of the table, with Manchester United and Chelsea locked in a race for the title and a handful of clubs, including the likes of Ian Holloway's Blackpool now desperate to escape the relegation zone.
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