Progression

After a less than exciting 0-0 draw at St. Andrews, last night saw a tightly contested FA Cup third round replay between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City, ultimately ending the Championship side coming out on top courtesy of a single, scrappy goal scored by Wade Elliott. In a game of few chances it was Blues who out-shone the home side, playing the more attractive football in front of a seriously depleted crowd of just over 10,000 at the Molineux, and overall it was a deserved win for Blues. Here are a few points to consider from yesterday evenings tie:

The Goal
Both ties proved to be lacking serious goal mouth action so it was probably a given that the first, and only, goal would come from a goal-mouth scramble in which lacklustre defending allowed Elliot to first hit the post and then score from a few yards out from the rebound. On reflection it was probably a deserved goal; and there can be little complaints for the Wolves faithful. It was also an earned goal for Elliot; the former-Burnley man had a comfortable and tidy game in midfield, and staked a case to be included in the starting eleven on Saturday when Blues host Watford in the league.

Adam Rooney
Playing up front on his own, Rooney received little joy last night and there were plenty of calls for him to be replaced by either Marlon King or Nikola Zigic, who had been rested for the tie. But with that in mind, he did well to make himself a handful for the Wolves defence for the whole ninety minutes, and had a brilliant chance in the first half to put Blues ahead however; going one on one with Dorus De Vries, before taking too many touches and getting tangled in the legs of George Elokobi who arrived on the scene just in time.

Case for the defence
Curtis Davies and Steven Caldwell, two essential cogs in Chris Hughton’s well-oiled defensive machine again proved their worth; keeping Kevin Doyle, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and even Steven Fletcher, coming on as a late second half substitute, at bay. Again they coped with everything that was thrown at them and kept a second consecutive, and extremely deserved, clean sheet. The man in the goals behind them, Colin Doyle, after impressing in the draw against Wolves the first time around, regained his place in the side and showed just why Chris Hughton continues to install faith in the long-serving Blues player. Making comfortable saves when needed, Doyle wasn’t called upon all too much last night, but a sign of a good goalkeeper is keeping concentration: and when the rest of his defence stopped and called for offside, he kept his head in the game and pulled off a magnificent double save late on to deny Wolves an equalising goal – and it was just as well, as the offside flag was never risen.

Overall
It was a resilient and ultimately deserved victory for Blues, whose 2,300 fans who made the short journey to the Black Country went home happy. Confidence is on a complete high now, after consecutive away victories, consecutive clean sheets, and seven goals scored in the last two games. With 36 games played and still more to go, it’s going to be an extremely exciting end to the season for Hughton’s team, who have a real chance of getting into the play-offs, and are in with a shout of progressing further in the FA Cup; with Sheffield United of League One waiting in the next round.

Latest Addition

With pre-season beginning to pick up some momentum and players coming back into full training, the transfer window is starting to get a little busier, and Blues have made another addition to the squad in the form of former Wigan Athletic defender Steven Caldwell.

The Scotland international penned a deal earlier today which will see him at St. Andrews for two years, and as a central defender will seemingly fill the vacant space that will sooner rather than later be left by Scott Dann, whom has a number of Premier League clubs keeping tabs on him, with Stoke City heavily interested in bringing him to the club.

Caldwell has Championship experience already to his name, with promotions from the league with first Sunderland and later Burnley under his belt. During his time at Burnley he was made captain, indicating strong commitment and leadership skills which will be a huge asset in Birmingham’s push for promotion this coming season.

He will join team mates in pre-season training, which began on Monday with - despite rumours - all players being in attendance, excluding Jean Beausejour who is away on international duty with Chile in the Copa Amercia.

Players were reported to be in high spirits and although it seems inevitable that at least two or three more players will depart from the club before the season begins, for the time being we have a strong Championship squad that is more than able to compete for promotion. Additions to the squad like Steven Caldwell can only improve our chances of bouncing straight back to the top table of England football.