If only Adam Armstrong, the Wolves striker presented with a golden chance in the 87th minute, had shot into the same corner of the net at the Railway End that his teammate Jackson Tchatchoua had located when scoring one of the most memorable own goals at the end of the first half, then César Peixoto’s team would surely now be second in the Championship. Instead Armstrong, one of the Football League’s most proven goalscorers, lifted his shot over an open goal from 10 yards when played in by Fer López at the end of this implausibly open derby. Birmingham ultimately deserved to extend their unbeaten start to the league season.
After their 4-2 defeat at West Ham on Tuesday, Wolves look as vulnerable defensively as they can be devastating going forward. Only Burnley, relegated with them last season, have conceded more than their 10 goals. Tom Wagner, the Birmingham chair, was back in the St Andrew’s directors’ box for the first time since a stroke in February and was treated to a thrilling game.
Spoils were shared but Chris Davies was happy with his side after they twice came from behind. Second half, we put them to the sword.” López scored in the third minute for Wolves and, after Jay Stansfield equalised in controversial circumstances, Ladislav Krejci gave the visitors the lead again. But then came the moment that could haunt Tchatchoua.
The Cameroon right‑back was under no pressure as he went to turn a long diagonal from Phil Neumann back towards his goalkeeper – but instead looped the ball wide and over José Sá into his own goal. That moment set the tempo for the rest of a game. Wolves, despite retaining the majority of their Premier League squad after the transfer deadline, know sheer quality of player alone will not mean promotion.
Peixoto called for video assistant referees to be brought in to the Championship after Stansfield appeared to handle when bringing down Patrick Roberts’s brilliant chip before hammering home Birmingham’s first equaliser. Peixoto said: “I don’t know why they don’t have VAR in the Championship. It’s very important to help the referees to take the best decisions.
I saw a handball and in the screen we saw a handball.” The Portuguese coach also confirmed that in a pre‑season meeting with Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), managers were told that grappling at corners would be penalised. While the home side dominated the second half, Wolves could have put the game to bed before Birmingham got going. López was involved in the buildup before advancing to side‑foot home Rodrigo Gomes’s right‑wing cross to the near post for his third goal of the season.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
