FOOTBALL

BIRMINGHAM'S LEE BOWYER SCORES TO SINK SAD WOLVES

Lee Bowyer shows his delight after scoring the Birmingham winner at Molineux

Monday November 30,2009

By Ian Edwards

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BIRMINGHAM'S Lee Bowyer heard all the whispers in the summer that his legs had gone and he could not cut it any longer in the Premier League.

Fortunately Birmingham boss Alex McLeish did not bother to take any notice and the pair are reaping rich rewards.

Bowyer is recapturing the best form from his Leeds days, now that he has mellowed with age and lengthened his fuse without losing too much of his competitive edge.

His fifth goal of the season gave McLeish the perfect second anniversary present at Molineux.

It was also continued proof that his badgering of former owner David Sullivan to take the free transfer from West Ham in the summer, could be one of the shrewdest pieces of transfer business done in the Premier League this season.

No matter how much further his legs carry him, Bowyer will not score a better goal than the beautifully flighted chip that ruined Marcus Hahnemann’s first appearance in the league for Wolves as a replacement for the dropped Wayne Hennessey.

And McLeish could be forgiven for wearing one of the broadest smiles as they stretched an unbeaten run to five games, the best McLeish has achieved at this level. And no wonder he reserved special praise for Bowyer’s influential role.

“Bowyer’s goal was amazing,” said McLeish. “There were a few people who criticised signing him last season. A lot of people were suggesting that his legs had gone. But he is answering that, he is like the Bowyer of old.

“He has matured and he controls himself much better these days. His goals are a bonus. He is getting back to his days when he was at Leeds.”

Birmingham, in 11th place, are heading towards the Champions League half of the table. Wolves are heading straight back to the Championship. They do not have the quality to compete at this level. Their next game is against Bolton at Molineux, and given the fact they have garnered just one home win all season prospects do not look good for survival.

No wonder boss Mick McCarthy, who rarely cuts a happy-go-lucky figure, is frowning even more than usual. He said: “It is a hugely disappointing experience. It was certainly not the way I was intending it. I never expected us to play as poorly as that in the first half.

“Today is worrying. Birmingham deserved their win. They were better than us. We needed a performance and we did not get one.

“Losing 1-0 at home to Birmingham is always hard to take and bound to give me some discomfort.”

Wolves have not won for eight games now and were in such a state of disarray that McCarthy had to withdraw the lacklustre Greg Halford after only 30 minutes and replace him with a half-fit Michael Kightly, such was his desperation.

But even that backfired when Kightly went off with what looked like an ankle injury just after the hour mark.

As an attacking threat, even before Kightly departed, Wolves were awful. Kevin Doyle is still suffering from the effects of the Republic of Ireland’s exit in the World Cup play-offs to France and it took them fully 75 minutes before Michael Jarvis tested Joe Hart in the Birmingham goal.

Hart’s poor punch from a corner gave Jarvis a shooting chance from 15 yards. Hart saw his volley late through a crowd of players, but still managed to push away the shot.

Birmingham should have had the points well wrapped up before then. Cameron Jerome’s powerful surge and pass set up James McFadden with a gilt-edged chance.

But he delayed his shot too long, allowing substitute Stephen Ward to block his effort. Then referee Mark Clattenburg did not award a penalty for Matt Jarvis’ foul on Scott Dann.

Wolves (4-4-2): Hahnemann 7; Mancienne 4 (Ward 46, 6), Craddock 5, Berra 5, Stearman 6; Halford 3 (Kightly 31, 6) (Milijas 66, 5), Henry 5, Edwards 6, Jarvis 5; Ebanks-Blake 4, Doyle 6. Booked: Berra, Ebanks-Blake.

Birmingham (4-4-2): Hart 6; Carr 7, Dann 7, Johnson 7, Ridgewell 6; Larsson 5, Bowyer 7, Ferguson 8, McFadden 5; Benitez 6 (Fahey 87), Jerome 5. Booked: Jerome. Goal: Bowyer 3.

Referee: M Clattenburg (Tyne and Wear).

WOLVES 0 BIRMINGHAM 1