Easter Brings Wolves Rebirth In Fight To Stay Up

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Bristol City

(Ebanks-Blake 76, Doyle 78, Davis (og) 25)
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Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 Middlesbrough

(McManus (og) 17, Sigurdarson 48, Doyle 70, Leadbitter 25, 52)
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Birmingham City 2-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers

(Elliot 55 (pen), 90, Hunt 20, Ebanks-Blake 27, 37 (pen))

Emotion overflows as everyone celebrates Doyle's winner

Wolves dragged themselves out of the bottom 3 with a explosive showing over the Easter period that saw them catapult from the bottom of the Championship form table to 2nd. It all kicked off with a vital clash between the bottom two sides in the League as Bristol City travelled to Molineux. After a number of set-backs - including early injuries to Bakary Sako and Dave Edwards and the most bizzare own-goal that Molineux has ever witnessed - Wolves fought back from 1-0 down to score 2 goals in 2 minutes and claim a precious 3 home points. Even a freak injury to Carl Ikeme - a broken hand thanks to punching the tactics board in the dressing room at half time out of frustration for his part in the own goal - couldn't halt Dean Saunders' side who were deserved winners against a poor Bristol City side who surely now are dead and buried.

Sigurdarson scores his goal-of-the-season contender against Boro

After the International break, Wolves returned to action at Molineux to face out-of-form Middlesbrough. Tony Mowbray's side had gone into freefall since Wolves had last played them, and it showed as Wolves - who were high on confidence - got at Boro from the off. Stephen Hunt caused chaos when he got on the ball and it was his brilliant cross that gave McManus no chance as the defender put the ball past his own keeper. But Wolves were again left seething at abysmal officials as Grant Leadbitter struck an effort from 25 yards out. It crashed down off the bar and bounced on the line, but not over it. The linesman - who was about 7 yards behind the ball - flagged to give the goal despite no appeals or celebrations from Middlesbrough. Television replays later showed conclusively that the ball had not gone over the line at all. Thankfully, for once, this wasn't a decision that cost Wolves the points as they rallied for the rest of the half and during half-time before Bjorn Sigurdarson scored a contender for goal of the season just 3 minutes into the second-half. The ball was laid into the feet of Ebanks-Blake, who held off his marker before back-heeling the ball perfectly into the path of the onrushing Sigurdarson. The Icelandic striker beat 3 Boro defenders before rounding Steele in ice cool fashion and slotting the ball home. But Wolves did their usual of sitting back and within minutes Middlesbrough were level, as the defence backed off and gave Grant Leadbitter the time and space to pick his shot from 25 yards. This time there was no controversy as he pinged his strike perfectly into the bottom corner, giving De Vries no chance. Many watching in the stands thought that Wolves would wilt before giving in and gifting Boro all 3 points, but the confidence in the players from beating Bristol City clearly still lingered and they rallied once more - a Matt Doherty long throw being flicked on by Roger Johnson to allow Kevin Doyle to nod home from close range. That proved to be the last goal in what was a true thriller of a game.

Wolves couldn't believe their luck being 3-0 up at half-time

Incredibly, Wolves' next game came just 48 hours later as, on Easter Monday, Wolves made the relatively short trip to St Andrews to face local rivals Birmingham City. Clearly it seemed the unchanged side would face fatigue - both mentally and physically - and would struggle against a fresher Birmingham side who had dispatched Crystal Palace 4-0 at Selhurst Park on Good Friday. But if there was any fatigue, it didn't show as Wolves survived a difficult first 10 minutes, before going on to blow their rivals away with 3 goals in a 17 minute spell that saw Wolves 3-0 up at half-time. Wolves had clearly been playing on sheer adrenaline in the first-half, however, as after half-time they simply never got to grips with the Blues - who had obviously had a stern team-talk from boss Lee Clark at half-time. City piled on the pressure after half-time with a mixture of De Vries, the woodwork, Roger Johnson and just plain horrific finishing kept them at bay. They did get two goals back to make it a nervy 45 minutes for Wolves fans thanks to two penalties. The first one looked soft - a push by Jamie O'Hara on Wes Thomas (although the Blues striker didn't need much encouragement to go down) and the second in stoppage time was a little more clearer as Jack Robinson's outstretched arm gave Wade Elliot the chance to reduce the deficit, but it was all too little too late.

Of course, as always with Wolves, the positives must come with severe negatives - more often than not coming in the form of injuries. That's exactly what's happened this time as Bakary Sako tore a hamstring in the win over Bristol City, while Dave Edwards broke his foot and Carl Ikeme his hand during the same game. Then, in the Birmingham game, a challenge from Paul

The strong challenge from Robinson that injured Ebanks-Blake

Robinson (the former Albion left-back) left Sylvan Ebanks-Blake with a broken bone in his leg. All 4 players are now out for the rest of the season and, in the case of Sako and Ebanks-Blake, leave Wolvers wondering where the goals are going to come from. Stephen Hunt has impressively stepped forward in place of Sako and has produced some fantastic performances in these last few games - similar to the impact he made at the end of the 2010/11 Premier League season. Likewise up front, Bjorn Sigurdarson is beginning to show the sort of form that Wolves fans were hoping for from him, and even goal-shy Kevin Doyle has 2 goals in his last 3 games and looks sharper and most dangerous now. Wolves have also recruited youngster Nouha Dicko on loan from Wigan - the Frenchman has a decent record at this level on loan with Blackpool, scoring 4 goals in 9 games last season, and then 5 in 22 appearances this season (most of these appearances came late in games off the bench) and he showed in the win over Birmingham that he can potentially be a threat to Championship defences in the coming weeks.

There are still problems for Wolves at the back, with Roger Johnson and Kaspars Gorkss not looking like they can form a strong enough partnership to keep Wolves defensively solid - indeed Johnson dug Gorkss out of quite a few holes at St Andrews in a stellar display against his former club. But, for once, the full-back positions for Wolves look solid with youngsters Matt

Matt Doherty has been a stand-out performer in recent weeks

Doherty and Jack Robinson (who must surely go on to become England's first-choice left-back in a few years) looking like they've played at this level for years. In midfield David Davis' performances have caught the eye as he has shown the form that made him stand out at the end of Wolves' disasterous Premier League campaign last season. Indeed in a situation where experienced heads are needed, it is in fact the younger element of the team who are standing up and being counted and leading Wolves forward. The performances of the aforementioned Doherty, Robinson, Davis and also Bjorn Sigurdarson have been nothing short of remarkable and have given fans hope that the future may well be a little bit brighter. Credit for that, granted, must go to Dean Saunders who has put faith in these younger players and been extremely well rewarded for it.

Sam Ricketts consigns Wolves to defeat on their last visit to Bolton

Whatever the future holds - until the end of the season and beyond - Wolves have given themselves a fantastic chance of staying up this season. This weekend they face a tricky trip to The Reebok to face Bolton Wanderers - a trip that hasn't been so kind to them in recent years. They haven't won away at Bolton in the League since 1994 - a run that has seen them return down the M6 winless 9 times. They also lost against Bolton in the Division One Play-Offs back in 1995, although they did win there in the FA Cup back in 1999, but on the whole it's not a place that holds fond memories for Wolves. With Bolton sitting just behind Wolves in the form table - having picked up 12 points from their last 6 games and winning their last 6 home League games - and sitting just 4 points outside the Play-Offs, this is sure to be another difficult test for Dean Saunders' side.

Prediction: Bolton 2-0 Wolves