One recently-promoted Midlands team are proving stubborn opponents and making the most from set-pieces in their quest to stay in the Premier League.

But it’s not Stoke, a side much maligned for their reliance on restarts. Wolves – and in particular Jody Craddock – ensured Mick McCarthy’s battlers left the Britannia Stadium with a point for the third game in a row.

Craddock’s two headers for his first brace of his career made it eight out of the 11 Premier League goals Wolves have scored this season via corners, free-kicks and the one penalty.

Wigan, Hull, Blackburn, Fulham, Sunderland, Villa and now Stoke have all found to their cost just how dangerous Wolves can be.

Their first goal may have been offside, but Wolves have had enough decisions go against them this season to take it without feeling guilty after missing out on penalties against Wigan, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Villa.

As McCarthy said afterwards, to be effective at set plays, teams must have someone willing to throw themselves at the ball. As he found to his cost at Everton, Craddock –still bearing an ugly, jagged scar across his forehead – is that man.

You also need dangerous delivery and half-time substitute Nenad Milijas enhanced his claims of a return to the starting line-up by conjuring up a peach of a free-kick within a minute of the restart, followed by an exquisite corner on 64 in providing the ammunition for Craddock to fire the bullets.

The classy Serb’s third successive assist and fourth of the season –he has only been on the pitch for six Wolves goals – helped rescue a match that seemed well beyond them at half-time. On this performance, the former Red Star Belgrade playmaker looks as if he has got to grips with the Premier League.

McCarthy withdrew him from the firing line after a couple of quieter performances, but he made a noise at the Britannia Stadium as Wolves’ first goal saw the game open up, giving him space to perform that wasn’t there in the first 45 minutes.

Playing wide left, Milijas is coming to the boil just as the team seems set for its toughest examinations yet, with the first two games against the ‘big four’ looming in Saturday’s tea-time visit of Arsenal, followed by leaders Chelsea away.

So fair play to a bullish McCarthy for saying it’s set up for Wolves to turn one of the big boys over.

With the team growing in confidence by the week, the manager is fully entitled to talk up his hopes for his side. He isn’t short of belief in his players, even if he reckons the rest of us aren’t as forthcoming.

For 45 minutes, Wolves snapped and snarled at Tony Pulis’ side like they did against Villa to fully merit their draw as the opposition ended the game hanging on for a point for the second successive match.

It was just a pity it took 45 minutes for the team to start playing. To say they looked dead and buried at the break was an understatement as they produced one of their worst halves of the season.

Stoke actually play far more football than they’re given credit for – it was difficult to recall any occasion when they “launched it” – and in Matthew Etherington and Ricardo Fuller, they have a couple of excellent footballers.

But it was their renowned qualities for being competitive that left Wolves on the ropes at half time. The visitors seemed to allow themselves to be bullied as they were beaten to the punch time and again in a scrappy, forgettable first half.

Karl Henry, booed by all sides of the Britannia Stadium on his return to Stoke, and Segundo Castillo got short change out of Dean Whitehead and Glenn Whelan, while Michael Kightly and Dave Edwards played far too narrow to trouble the full-backs, almost getting in each other’s way at times.

Thankfully, centre-backs Craddock and Christophe Berra proved equal to the task as they headed away ball after ball.

Ironically, Wolves could and maybe should have taken the lead after 14 minutes, when Berra just failed to connect with Castillo’s chip into the box with just Sorensen to beat.

Three minutes later, Stoke were in front when George Elokobi turned home Etherington’s cross under heavy pressure from James Beattie.

A minute before the break, Wolves’ fate appeared to be sealed when Etherington punished awful marking to volley sweetly into the roof of the net from 17 yards after Berra headed clear a missile throw from Rory Delap.

If the first goal was a nightmare for Elokobi, it was also one to forget for both full-backs, with Ronald Zubar – probably the quickest player on Wolves’ books – allowing Etherington to run unchallenged while chugging alongside him before the winger switched play to the far post.

Poor Elokobi. Just when we thought he was getting to grips with the Premier League, along came a performance that has already sparked a debate among fans as to who is going to play left-back against Arsenal.

It would appear to have handed a dilemma to McCarthy, who withdrew the full-back after 59 minutes to give Richard Stearman a first Wolves outing in the position. Whether he stays there for the visit of Arsene Wenger’s side is unknown, but the versatile former Leicester man did all he could to plant a seed in the manager’s mind.

By the time of Stearman’s arrival, Elokobi had also been beaten in the air by Beattie for Wayne Hennessey’s only save of the game on the half hour mark, and booked for untidily dragging down Etherington.

McCarthy’s dilemma appears to be this: does he take Elokobi out of the firing line and risk his confidence ebbing away? Or does he persist with him and risk more displays that prolong the debate surrounding his inclusion?

The manager is loyal to his players, but he is not too stubborn or proud to axe them for the benefit of the team. If he feels the team is suffering with Elokobi in it, he won’t hesitate to make the big decision.

Elokobi or no Elokobi, Wolves have proved they can live with the Premier League. Now the test is whether they can upset two of the true elite before facing the very real need to beat the rank and file around them.

By Tim Nash