Wolves Bare Their Teeth To Silence Critics

Bristol City 1-4 Wolverhampton Wanderers

(Danns 85, Ebanks-Blake 20, Doyle 25, 41, Sigurdarson 44)

Ebanks-Blake puts Wolves 1-0 up at Ashton Gate

Wolves ended their winless run in emphatic style at Ashton Gate this afternoon as Bristol City were simply torn apart by Solbakken's side. The decision to play three strikers paid off handsomely as Wolves fans were treated to an entertaining, attacking style of football not seen from their side in a long time. And yet, after just five minutes I was looking to the heavens and wondering if it was going to be "another one of those days" after Ebanks-Blake had missed an absolute sitter 5 yards out! But actually, that early chance was a sign of things to come and it didn't take Wolves long to sink their teeth into the rocky Robins - who very quickly looked like a side who hadn't kept a clean sheet all season. They were nervous at the back and, after a few early half-chances, Wolves began to take full control. Sigurdarson had the beating of the left-back all day long, giving him a torrid time and linking up fantastically well with Ebanks-Blake - who put in probably one of his best all-round performances in an Old Gold shirt! There were some intricate little triangles of play - reminiscent of the way Swansea play - and meant that Bristol were stretched, twisted and turned. The goal, when it eventually came, was ironically scrappy. A corner not cleared came to Ward who struck a beautiful half-volley into the heart of the 6-yard box, leaving Ebanks-Blake with the simplest of tasks stabbing the ball home. The second goal was much more fluid. It involved some of the triangular-passing down the right flank before Ebanks-Blake set Sigurdarson away, who burst into the box before cutting the ball back for Kevin Doyle to bundle home.

Kevin Doyle celebrates his brilliant goal that made it 3-0

The third goal was one of real beauty. After some Bristol pressure had penned us in, the ball was eventually cleared to Kevin Doyle just inside his own half. In a run similar to that of Ndah's against Preston 10 years ago, he took on 4 players and beat them before cool-ly slotting the ball past Heaton. It was a fantastic individual goal and, quite honestly, deserved to win any game. But there was still more to come. Another break-out from the back - this time through Sako on the left - slowed down but the ball eventually found its way inside with Ebanks-Blake, who's perfectly-weighted pass was just right for Sigurdarson to slide the ball past the despairing Heaton. 4-0 up at half-time and one of the most entertaining, convincing performances seen by the Molineux Men in ages had Wolves fans in dreamland. It could've got better too at the start of the second-half. Doyle had his hattrick cleared off the line early on, before he and Sigurdarson both wasted chances in good positions - both coming down the right-flank. After that early pressure, our recent second-half troubles look like they were about to rear their ugly had again. We began to look a little nervous - perhaps understandable given our recent troubles in the second period - making simple, sloppy mistakes in our passing and starting to sit further and further deeper. It didn't help that the rhythm of the game was hampered by injuries - both Dave Edwards and Bakary Sako spending time down on the deck. But despite our struggles in the second-half, we still created plenty going forward. Sigurdarson, Sako and Ebanks-Blake all having several chances to put the knife in further. But, just as we looked like we might keep our first clean sheet in 10 games, we failed to clear a corner and the ball dropped to Neil Danns - who was a thorn in our side all game - and he rifled in a fantastic strike into the top corner from 25 yards. It was a finish of beautiful technique and was no more than the 30-year-old ex-Palace man deserved for a industrial, professional performance for his side.

An image that will warm Wolves fans' heart tonight

It's safe to say the stats of this game tell you all you need to know really. We had 55% possession, 15 shots (with 10 of them on target) compared to Bristol's 7 shots with 3 on target. We even dominated the corner count, with 7 corners to Bristol's 6. It was a fantastic performance that gave the fans hope that with a new month might just come the turning of a new leaf. You do, of course, have to put it into perspective. This is a Bristol side who had won just once in their last 13 games before today. But you cannot dispute the quality of that Wolves performance. Despite the rumours of dressing room unrest that have filled the Express & Star and social media sites, Wolves appeared to have a real confidence in their own abilities, and the tactics of the manager and it showed. Sako looked much more eager to take players on, and his delivery from both open-play and set-pieces was fantastic. Sigurdarson looks like he relishes playing on the right-hand-side, following up promising cameos there against Brighton and Watford, and was a refreshing change from Pennant who it appears may well (barring injuries) have started his last game for Wolves against Millwall. Ebanks-Blake was incredibly strong on the ball - bringing it down, holding it up and bringing others into play. Defensively we looked a lot more solid too - Foley and Berra overcoming recent poor performances to look assured and confident today. Ward was, at times, unbeatable and stood up well against the pacey Danns. We lost some of our spark when Dave Edwards went off to be replaced by Davis and that's something that will concern Solbakken, but with Doumbia returning in the middle of this coming week, we should see much better options for the manager. The same can be said of Forde who still looks a little timid at this level and is clearly in need of a loan spell. Boukari is returning soon though and can perhaps take some of the 'change-the-game' pressure off the young Irishman.

It's important not to get too carried away - we have a tough game next weekend against local rivals Birmingham City. These clashes are often quite tight and we will need to show another disciplined display at the back, but hopefully we can take the exciting attacking play we saw today into that game and get at the Bluenoses. But regardless of next week, what today has done is lift the mood at Molineux, and ensured that Wolverhampton will have a smile on its face for the next 6 days at least. That is something that cannot be underestimated.

It just goes to show - a week really is a long time in football.

My Wolves MOTM: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Incredibly tough to choose between all of the front three - particularly SEB and Siggy - but on the Number 9's first return to the starting XI in 4 games, he put in one of his best Wolves performances. Hopefully this is a sign of more things to come from him.

Wolves In A Word: Exciting

In Stale We Trust.