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Wolverhampton manager Mick McCarthy was happy to settle for a 1-1 draw against Birmingham as his side maintained their six-point lead at the top of the English Championship on Saturday.
Wolves had fallen behind against their local rivals when Cameron Jerome, on as a half-time substitute, drove home a fine strike in the 48th minute.
But Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, a former Manchester United youth academy graduate, sent Molineux wild when he side-footed in a close-range equaliser from Stephen Ward’s pass in the 74th minute.
“First half was fairly even with lots of chances, but maybe they just shaded it,” McCarthy said.
“Second half, it was a poor goal for us to concede and they had the better of it I thought for 10 minutes or so.
“Once we recovered from that, we started playing and I think we ended up the stronger side.”
Blues boss Alex McLeish was frustrated that his team couldn’t turn their impressive performance into a priceless win.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t get three points,” he said. “We showed great spirit and determination. We get in front and could have been more in front by that time, and that always left Wolves with a lifeline.
“But I’ve got mixed feelings. It’s great to come here and not lose, that’s the best we’ve played away from home all season, especially in the first half.”
Burnley moved into fourth place and warmed up for their League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal by thrashing Derby 3-0.
Owen Coyle’s side host the Gunners on Tuesday and they sent out a warning to Arsene Wenger’s youngsters thanks to Kevin McDonald’s opener and a Martin Paterson double.
Sheffield United, who drop to fifth, salvaged a last-gasp 1-1 draw at Ipswich as James Beattie converted a stoppage-time penalty to cancel out Tommy Miller’s 41st minute spot-kick.
Nottingham Forest climbed off the bottom of the table with a 1-0 win over Barnsley.
Joe Garner temporarily eased the pressure on Forest boss Colin Calderwood with his 36th minute strike.
Doncaster fell into last place despite snatching a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Watford.
New Watford manager Brendan Rogers, previously Chelsea’s reserve coach, was in charge for the first time and saw Tommy Smith open the scoring in the 31st minute.
But Steve Brooker, on loan from Bristol City, struck in the 70th minute to help Doncaster avoid a 12th defeat of the season.
Elsewhere Blackpool beat Plymouth 2-1, Sheffield Wednesday defeated Norwich 3-2, Crystal Palace drew 0-0 against QPR and Charlton shared a goalless draw with Southampton.
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