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  • Craddock (3), Milijas (63)
  • Elmander (79)
  • Date:2009-12-05
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:Molineux Stadium
  • Attendance:27362
  • Referee:Foy, C

Live Commentary

90mins

Full Time: Wolves 2 - 1 Bolton. Mick McCarthy's side pick up a massive three points today but Bolton may wonder how they have left the game with nothing after a second-half riddled with chances.

90mins

Wolves are just about managing to fend off the surge of white shirts as the game comes to a close.

90mins

There will be three minutes of time added on at the end of this game.

89mins

Hahnemann is cautioned for wasting time over a goal-kick.

89mins

McCann drives a shot wide of the target from 20-yards out and should really be hitting the target from there.

88mins

Hahnemann comes to Wolves' rescue yet again as he denies Klasnic from close range.

86mins

The crowd hold their breath as Taylor lines up a long range free-kick but he strikes his effort straight into the wall.

84mins

Michael Mancienne replaces David Edwards.

84mins

Klasnic gets a shot away on the turn but fails to find the target on this occasion. The Wolves defence need to get tighter to the forward as he is looking very dangerous with his back to goal.

83mins

Maierhofer is in a glorious position inside the box but fails to get the ball under control and the chance goes begging.

82mins

Stefan Maierhofer comes on for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

81mins

The visitors have their tails up now and stride forward yet again. Klasnic unleashes an effort from the edge of the area but Hahnemann denies the forward.

79mins

WOLVES 2 - 1 BOLTON: The home side fail to deal with a Bolton corner and ELMANDER bundles the ball into the back of the net to put his side right back in this game.

77mins

Klasnic just cannot beat Hahnemann as the keeper pulls off another wonderful save to turn his 18-yard strike around the post.

75mins

Milijas picks out Ebanks-Blake inside the box and Jaaskelainen has to be on his toes to tip the ball over the bar.

73mins

Edwards bursts into the Bolton box and gets a shot away but the angle is tight and Jaaskelainen makes a comfortable save.

70mins

Gary Megson makes his first change and it is an attacking one as Jlloyd Samuel makes way for Johan Elmander.

69mins

Bolton carve Wolves apart and Hahnemann has to pull off a top drawer save to deny Klasnic's low drive.

68mins

Bolton need something special if they are to get back into this game, despite playing some good football in this second-half.

66mins

Cohen peels away from his marker and is about to pull the trigger when Ward knocks the ball away with a superbly timed challenge.

63mins

That goal came completely out of the blue and, it must be said, against the run of play.

62mins

WOLVES 2 - 0 BOLTON: MILIJAS lets fly with a screamer from distance and Jaaskelainen does not see it as the ball crashes into the top corner.

60mins

Bolton have got a foothold in this game now and are enjoying some decent spells of pressure on the Wolves defence.

57mins

Bolton drive forward with real purpose but again Klasnic fails to find the target and wastes the opportunity.

55mins

Wolves have players forward but Milijas' cross evades everyone in the box as it bends around the far post.

53mins

Lee's cross flashes across the face of goal but it is Doyle who is first to the loose ball with plenty of white shirts ready to pounce.

51mins

Doyle tears away from Lee and tries to slide a pass through to Ebanks-Blake but Steinsson saves the day with a late interception.

48mins

Steinsson forces a decent save out of Hahnemann with a low shot from inside the box.

46mins

Wolves start exactly as they finished the first-half and Milijas has a shot deflected wide.

45mins

The second-half is underway at Molineux and both sides remain unchanged.

45mins

Half Time: Wolves 1 - 0 Bolton. The referee brings the first-half to a close and Wolves deserve to be ahead after a strong, positive display.

45mins

Lee picks out Klasnic on the edge of the box but the forward blazes his shot over the bat and perhaps should have done better.

43mins

The home side will be delighted with their first-half performance and will know that without a win, they will be left at the foot of the table with Portsmouth beating Burnley in the early kick-off.

41mins

Milijas turns with his back to goal and hits an ambitious 25 yard strike that flies high and wide of the target.

39mins

Taylor lines up a long range free-kick but fails to cause any problems as the ball sails into the arms of a grateful Hahnemann.

36mins

A decent opportunity falls to Steinsson but he directs his looping header wide of Hahnemann's goal.

34mins

Jarvis swings in a corner but Samuel is first to the ball and clears the danger.

31mins

Mick McCarthy's side clearly want a more comfortable lead and if they continue to pressurise the visitors, more goals seem very likely.

29mins

Matt Taylor looks to pull the trigger from inside the box but Stephen Ward gets back to block the shot.

27mins

Wolves look confident in front of their own fans and are playing very positively at the moment.

25mins

Klasnic creates some space for himself on the edge of the box but his low shot is comfortably saved by Hahnemann.

24mins

Milijas drives a shot straight down the throat of Jaaskelainen and the visitors are being put under a lot of pressure here.

21mins

Jarvis moves forward and cuts a shot across the face of goal, forcing a decent save out of Jaaskelainen to beat the ball away.

20mins

Chung-Yong Lee whips a free-kick into the mixer and almost finds Gary Cahill at the far post but the ball is just ahead of the centre half.

17mins

Christophe Berra gets a header on target but it is cleared off the line by Ricardo Gardner. The referee had already blown his whistle for an infringement inside the box as Bolton breathe a sigh of relief.

15mins

Ebanks-Blake tries to get some room on Andy O'Brien and lines up a shot but the experienced defender puts a last ditch foot in to prevent the forward.

14mins

Richard Stearman goes into the referee's book after a rash challenge.

12mins

Doyle holds the ball up and plays through Matt Jarvis whose effort is deflected over his own bar by Jlloyd Samuel.

9mins

Kevin Doyle is getting on the end of some meaty challenges from the Bolton defence but is still managing to cause them plenty of problems.

7mins

Nenad Milijas sends another free-kick into the mixer and almost finds a team-mate at the far post.

5mins

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake wastes a great opportunity to double his sides lead as he drags his close range shot wide of the target.

4mins

Wolves are still celebrating the goal as Bolton surge forward but Ivan Klasnic cannot beat Marcus Hahnemann.

3mins

WOLVES 1 - 0 BOLTON: The visitors fail to deal with a free-kick and the ball drops to JODY CRADDOCK who rockets a half-volley past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

2mins

There is a good tempo to this game and Wolves are wasting no time in putting their opponents under pressure.

0mins

Referee Chris Foy gets the game underway.

0mins

Gary Megson is without skipper Kevin Davies for the trip to Molineux after the forward picked up his fifth booking of the season last week. Chung-Yong Lee is given the nod in the only change from the side that drew 1-1 with Fulham.

0mins

Greg Halford is ruled out of today's fixture through injury so Mick McCarthy hands a start to Nenad Milijas. Elsewhere Stephen Ward comes in for Michael Manienne while Michael Kightly is sidelined until February.

Match Preview

It's the battle of the Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday with Wolverhampton tackling Bolton.

Both are in the relegation zone and they will be striving to climb out of their precarious positions by grabbing a much needed win this weekend.

Mick McCarthy's hosts are going through a torrid run of form, picking up just three points from a possible 24, and this slide has now left them four points adrift of West Ham United, who sit one place outside the drop zone.

Bolton are hardly in exceptional form either as they continue to struggle at the wrong end of the table.

They have won just once in the last seven outings in the Premier League and sit just two points above Wolves.

One of the major problems both suffer from is their lack of killer-instinct in front of goal.

The Trotters have notched on just 16 occasions so far this term and McCarthy's outfit, more worryingly, have hit the back of the net a meagre 12 times.

What's more, where their attack fail, so do their respective back-lines, hence the position the both find themselves in.

The visitors will be without influential targetman Kevin Davies, who will sit out through suspension after accumulating five yellow cards.

Mustapha Riga and Danny Shittu (both hamstring) are nearing first-team returns while Joey O'Brien and Sean Davis are both long-term knee victims.

For Wolves, winger Michael Kightly will be out for around eight weeks after ankle surgery with Ronald Zubar struggling to find fitness after picking up an injury in training.


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Match Report

Nenad Milijas' wonder strike earned Wolves a crucial victory as they won the basement battle with fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers at Molineux.

The Serbia international midfielder opened his account for the club following his £2.6million summer move from Red Star Belgrade with an unstoppable 30-yard drive in the 63rd minute.

It clinched a first win in nine games for Wolves who had made a dream start when Jody Craddock gave them the lead after just 122 seconds.

The victory saw them leapfrog over Bolton - whose winless run has now stretched to five games - and move within a point of safety.

Gary Megson's struggling side badly missed suspended striker Kevin Davies as they carried little threat in attack until the closing stages despite the best efforts of Ivan Klasnic.

Bolton did give themselves hope of producing a dramatic finale when substitute Johan Elmander struck 11 minutes from time. But anything other than a win would have been rough on Wolves who dominated affairs as they sparked fresh life into their battle for survival.

Having been caught cold themselves after just 125 seconds against Birmingham City in their previous match, Wolves ensured they were first out of the blocks against Bolton.

After Kevin Doyle had been fouled, Milijas whipped in a free-kick that Christophe Berra headed goalwards before Craddock volleyed the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen from seven yards.

Wolves should really have gone on to make the game safe before half-time but were unable to turn their domination into further goals.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake had a close-range shot deflected wide by Gary Cahill, Kevin Doyle saw his header deflected over the bar and Jaaskelainen then held on to a fierce volley from Milijas.

Bolton did threaten briefly at the start of the second half, when Cahill's 54th-minute flick from Chung-Yong Lee's corner flashed just wide.

But their comeback hopes were effectively dashed when Doyle dispossessed Gavin McCann and the loose ball ran into the path of Milijas who let fly with a drive that whistled past the right hand of Jaaskelainen.

It should have been the signal for Wolves to cruise to victory but Elmander's goal changed all that. He bundled the ball home through a crowded goalmouth after Tamir Cohen had nodded down a Matt Taylor corner.

It sparked a frantic late rally from Bolton with Klasnic being denied an equaliser thanks to a smart save from Marcus Hahnemann.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers

Corners

1110

Fouls

1116

Goal attempts

515

Shots off target

17

Offsides

13

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