Wolves 1 West Ham 0 - Report

In a first half that saw both teams create good chances, Jorgen Strand Larsen’s 10th goal of the season gave Wolves a deserved lead.

The Hammers rang the changes in the second half and came close to grabbing an equaliser, but Wolves’ defence stood firm.

They have now moved 12 points clear of 18th-placed Ipswich, who travel to Bournemouth tomorrow.

Analysis

Vitor Pereira named an unchanged Wolves starting XI for the third consecutive game.

Rodrigo Gomes and Goncalo Guedes missed out with knocks, while former Wolves captain Max Kilman started for West Ham.

A very slow start to the game saw both sides fail to threaten going forward or create anything meaningful in the opening 10 minutes.

James Ward-Prowse smashed a free-kick over the bar from distance, but it was otherwise quiet at Molineux.

Despite that, the Hammers almost took the lead following some sloppy play from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Toti Gomes, which allowed Jarrod Bowen to pounce. His low cross was just behind Evan Ferguson, who got a touch on it, but Matt Doherty made a crucial block from close range.

At the other end, an Ait-Nouri free-kick was headed on by Toti at the near post, which forced Alphonse Areola into a strong save.

The visitors still posed a threat, however, and as Luis Guilherme broke forward, he set up Bowen who had a weak shot collected by Jose Sa.

But it was Wolves that took the lead in the 21st minute. A lovely midfield-splitting pass from Emmanuel Agbadou was touched on by Marshall Munetsi into the path of Larsen, who saw his edge of the box effort deflect off Kilman and fly beyond Areola.

Wolves should have doubled their lead shortly after following a remarkable Joao Gomes run that eventually fell to Munetsi in the box, but he smashed the underside of the crossbar with his effort.

The hosts almost rued that missed chance when a foul was not given on J.Gomes and the visitors played on while the Brazilian was down injured. It resulted in Bowen missing a free header from close range.

Another scramble in the box saw J.Gomes and Munetsi both go close as Wolves chased a second.

J.Gomes then had another shot blocked as Wolves entered the half-time break leading 1-0.

As the second half got under way, West Ham made a triple change and switched to a back four.

The Hammers dominated possession at the start of the second half, but a Wolves break saw them go close as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde curled wide from distance.

Referee Tony Harrington was starting to lose control of the game leading up to the 65th minute, with a few incidents flaring up between players - and in the dugout - as he let fouls go.

A lovely move saw Doherty overlap and cross low for Larsen, who fired wide.

VAR briefly checked a possible West Ham penalty for Doherty’s high foot on Niclas Fullkrug, but it was not given.

The striker then came close for the Hammers with a header that crashed off the crossbar and substitute Emerson then hit the side netting with his follow-up.

Wolves were defending deep and brought on Santi Bueno in the 82nd minute to shore up the defence for the final stretch of the match.

West Ham’s biggest chance of the match fell to Tomas Soucek just before added time, when he was played through on goal following another Toti error. The midfielder somehow missed from five yards.

Wolves then missed a huge chance of their own as Munetsi was played through but somehow shot wide.

But it did not matter as Wolves hung on during five minutes of added time to secure a crucial victory in their relegation battle.

Key Moments

GOAL 21 Larsen fires Wolves into the lead

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Doherty, Agbadou, Toti, Ait-Nouri (Bueno, 82), Andre (Sarabia, 71), J.Gomes, Munetsi, Bellegarde (Traore, 90), Larsen.

Subs not used: Johnstone, Djiga, Lima, Doyle, Forbs, Hwang.

West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Cresswell (Alvarez, 45), Scarles (Emerson, 72), Ward-Prowse (Soucek, 71), Paqueta, Guilherme (Soler, 45), Bowen, Ferguson (Fullkrug, 45).

Subs not used: Fabianski, Todibo, Coufal, Rodriguez.