Wolves kick off promotion party with victory over Birmingham

Wolves celebrated their promotion to the Premier League with a routine 2-0 win over struggling Birmingham City at Molineux on Sunday.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side's six-season exile from the top flight was confirmed on Saturday following Fulham's failure to beat Brentford and they celebrated in style by swatting aside their Midlands rivals.

John Ruddy produced a fine double save to thwart Maxime Colin early on before Diogo Jota bagged his 16th league goal of the campaign in the 21st minute, sliding into an empty net from Matt Doherty's incisive low cross.

Any hopes that Garry Monk's side had of clawing their way back into the game were all-but extinguished in the 52nd minute when Harlee Dean received a straight red card for unceremoniously wiping out Helder Costa, denying the Portuguese a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

David Stockdale made smart stops from Romain Saiss and Jota to keep Wolves at bay, but was powerless to do anything about substitute Benik Afobe's clipped finish from Alfred N'Diaye's pass with three minutes remaining. 

Wolves can seal the Championship title next Saturday when they travel to Bolton Wanderers, while Birmingham remain just two points above the relegation zone.

April 15, 2018