Blues looked to be heading towards victory on sSturday lunchtime after substitute Cameron Jerome took advantage of a poor headed clearance by defender Richard Stearman to fire past Wayne Hennessey shortly after the restart.

But Sylvan Ebanks-Blake fired a 74th-minute equaliser after good work down the left by Stephen Ward and Michael Kightly to ensure both sides had to settle for a 1-1 draw in an enthralling encounter at Molineux.

The clash could have gone either way as Blues enjoyed the better of the opening 45 minutes, despite Liam Ridgewell deflecting the ball onto his own post.

But Wolves came to life after Blues' 48th-minute opener and maintained their six-point lead at the top in an encounter that would have done no harm to the Championship's reputation.

McLeish, celebrating his first year in charge at St Andrew's almost to the day, said: "I'm disappointed we didn't get three points.

"The way we played in the first half, especially. Wolves had a lot of the ball in the second half but we had a lot to contend with.

"Sebastian Larsson had to pull out just before kick-off (due to personal circumstances), we lost Nicky Hunt with a hamstring injury and I thought the way the players played after that was absolutely fantastic.

"(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."

He continued: "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."

Opposite number Mick McCarthy felt it was a fair result overall and he was happy to have taken four points from two tough games following Tuesday's 3-1 win at Sheffield United.

"First half it was fairly even with lots of chances, but maybe they just shaded it," he 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 and the most likely winner - I'm not saying we deserved it.

"But overall I thought it was a fair point for both sides. We certainly deserved a point.

"I've got a very pragmatic view to life, as I have to football, and if someone had asked whether I would have taken four points from the last two games then the answer to that is quite clearly 'yes'. "

Fittingly, when asked if either side had learned anything about their nearest challengers for promotion to the Premier League, McCarthy replied:

"I think they'll know we're a good side and I'm aware they're a good side. The status quo remains the same."