FA CUP Birmingham 0 - 0 Wolves

Birmingham and Wolves cancelled each other out in a dreary West Midlands derby in the FA Cup third round.

The only true moment of quality arrived in the dying seconds when a Matt Jarvis drive was tipped on to the post by Birmingham keeper Colin Doyle.

Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake had earlier blazed wastefully over the bar.

Birmingham created little on a poor pitch and must now travel for a replay at Wolves, whose captain Roger Johnson was forced off with an ankle injury.

The outcome is far from ideal for either side, with Birmingham already facing fixture congestion following their Europa League campaign and Wolves embroiled in a Premier League relegation battle.

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Wolves have made it through the FA Cup third round in each of the past nine seasons
But a draw was probably a fair result, given that neither team really did enough to win a turgid game on a surface littered with bumps.

Watched from the stands by their former manager Steve Bruce, Birmingham settled more quickly, with highly rated 17-year-old winger Nathan Redmond catching the eye early on.

His pass released David Murphy down the left to send over a cross that Jordon Mutch, arriving from midfield, clipped wide of the near post.

Johnson, who left Birmingham for Wolves in a £4.5m summer transfer, announced his return to St Andrews with a crunching tackle, and was soon the subject of mocking applause as his header from a corner sailed over the bar.

But the central defender limped off the field shortly after the half-hour mark having twisted his ankle when he landed after an aerial challenge with Adam Rooney.

Wolves improved as the half elapsed and went close through Ebanks-Blake, who latched on to Stephen Ward's pass but could only poke his shot straight at Doyle.

Ebanks-Blake, given a chance to impress with top-scorer Steven Fletcher on the bench, missed a far easier chance after the break.

Michael Kightly's cut-back found him in plenty of space, but he could only spoon his side-footed shot over the bar.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy brought on England winger Jarvis and Fletcher, while Birmingham turned to Chile winger Jean Beausejour.

But none of them could enliven a dire encounter until three minutes into stoppage time, when Jarvis cut inside from the left flank and smashed a shot towards the far corner, with Doyle reacting sharply to save one-handed.

The ball rebounded to Fletcher, but his follow-up header lacked power and Doyle was able to save once again to keep his side in the competition.