Wolves moved 12 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone with a 1-0 win over West Ham at Molineux.
Jorgen Strand Larsen’s shot deflected in off former Wolves captain Max Kilman and though West Ham pushed for the equaliser late on, the home side held on for a deserved victory that surely ends any lingering fears of relegation for the Midlands club.
Evan Ferguson, making his first start on loan at West Ham, should have put the away side ahead early in the game but could not sort his feet out in time and failed to get enough on Jarrod Bowen’s centre. Wolves went on to make him pay for his miss.
Strand Larsen’s goal owed a little to fortune but Wolves played some impressive football, Marshall Munetsi striking the bar with an opportunity to double the advantage for Vitor Pereira’s side as they visibly grew in confidence, Joao Gomes to the fore.
Graham Potter made three changes at the break and West Ham improved significantly, substitute Niclas Fullkrug hitting the crossbar with a header. But the best chance to equalise came in the 89th minute when fellow sub Tomas Soucek dragged wide.
West Ham missed the chance to move ahead of Tottenham and Everton in the table and stay 16th, just one place and now only five points ahead of a Wolves side who can now count on a repeat of this fixture next season. Bad news for Ipswich and Leicester.
More to follow…
