Clarke Carlisle's own goal and a Tyrone Mears mistake saw Wolves claim a deserved win over Burnley.
Chances go begging for home side as Wanderers hang on
Clarke Carlisle's own goal and a Tyrone Mears mistake saw Wolves claim a deserved win over Burnley.
Both sides had a nervy start and the home side were soon trailing when Mears' attempted header back to Brian Jensen fell kindly into the path of Matt Jarvis who rounded the keeper and tapped home.
Chances were few and far between as David Nugent saw his scissor-kick crash off the crossbar.
The Clarets were further behind just two minutes after the interval when a speculative effort from Adlene Guedioura hit the heels of Carlisle and deflected past Jensen.
Substitute Steven Thompson pulled one back for the home side in the 73rd minute and Burnley had plenty of chances to come back into the tie, however Wolves held on for the precious three points.
Burnley had started well with early efforts from Chris Eagles and Graham Alexander but it was the travelling side who had the first real chance of the game courtesy of a David Jones header.
The midfielder rose above Danny Fox but failed to get power on his effort which was safely gathered by Jensen.
Both sides were nervy in possession at times in the relegation scrap and a hot-headed Jensen was lucky to stay on the pitch when his unorthodox challenge on Kevin Doyle down the right flank saw him yellow carded in the 12th minute.
Handful
Eagles continued to prove a handful on the left for Burnley and he showed a great turn of pace to race past Ronald Zubar in the 17th minute before firing a cross which was cleared under pressure by Karl Henry.
Wolves snatched the lead in the 26th minute when Mears' dismal back-header allowed Jarvis to nip in and round Jensen before dribbling the ball into the empty net.
Burnley came close in the 44th minute when Mears tried to atone for his earlier mistake as he knocked the ball down in the box for David Nugent, who swivelled and shot which bounced up and cannoned off the bar.
The home side's hopes of making a swift comeback were dashed within two minutes of the restart when Guedioura's poor shot from the right deflected into the heel of Carlisle.
Home frustrations mounted when referee Steve Bennett denied strong handball appeals against Christophe Berra when he blocked Martin Paterson's cross in the box.
Then it was Laws' turn to be a victim of the boos from the home crowd as his decision to replace Eagles with Thompson was an unpopular choice according to the Turf Moor faithful.
Wolves came close to scoring a third in the 59th minute when the hard working Doyle dragged a shot across goal from a tight angle which whistled past the far post.
Stability
The away side were intent on sitting on their lead as Mick McCarthy brought on Michael Mancienne to sit in front of the back four and provide stability in the final stages of the relegation clash.
Substitute Robbie Blake breathed new life into the home side and he came close in the 65th minute when he found space on the left but struck the post from a tight angle.
Burnley's lifeline arrived in the 73rd minute when Alexander ended a spell of pressure by lofting the ball back into the Wolves box for substitute Thompson to head home.
Blake looked dangerous and forced a point-blank save from Hahnemann, however despite their best efforts the Clarets could not convert their pressure as Wolves clung on for the much-deserved win.
| Burnley |
Team Statistics |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 1 |
Goals |
2 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 11 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 11 |
Corners |
6 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
22 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
6 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 67 |
Passing Success |
61.5 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
16 |
| 60 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 53.1 |
Possession |
46.9 |
| 60.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
39.9 |
|
Barclays Premier League Relegation - Wolves 7/4
