Wolves 2 Coventry 1 - 16/10/2008
Wolves 2 Coventry 1 - 16/10/2008
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Carl Ikeme, Kevin Foley, Richard Stearman, Neill Collins, Michael Kightly, David Jones, Karl Henry, Stephen Ward (Jason Shackell 85), Chris Iwelumo, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Carlos Edwards 81), Andy Keogh (David Edwards 81)
Subs not used: Wayne Hennessey, Sam Vokes
Booked: Kevin Foley 81, Michael Kightly 47, Chris Iwelumo 90, Karl Henry 85
Goals: Michael Kightly 42, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake 59
Coventry City: Keiren Westwood, Daniel Fox, Elliott Ward, Scott Dann, Aron Gunnarsson (Guillaume Beuzelin 69), Isaac Osbourne, Michael Doyle, Jay Tabb, Freddy Eastwood, Michael Mifsud (Clinton Morrison 69), Leon Best
Subs not used: Andy Marshall, Robbie Simpson, Marcus Hall
Booked: Daniel Fox 90, Freddy Eastwood 49, Michael Doyle 44, Jay Tabb 84, Leon Best 90
Goals: Michael Mifsud 6
Attendance: 25893
Referee: S Bennett
Teamtalk
Wolves surged back to the top of the Championship after coming from behind to see off Coventry 2-1 in a game full of excitement at Molineux.
Michael Mifsud gave the visitors the lead after just six minutes, firing neatly under Carl Ikeme from close range after a well-worked move on the edge of the area left Wolves' defence for dead.
The Sky Blues looked to be heading into the interval with a deserved lead until Michael Kightly popped up in the 42nd minute to round Keiren Westwood and fire home after evading a visiting defence appealing for offside.
And with Wolves looking a different side after the break, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake took advantage of Westwood's fumble to nick what proved to be the winning goal just before the hour mark.
Much of the pre-match focus centred around opposing strikers Chris Iwelumo after 'that' miss for Scotland and Freddy Eastwood, who was making his first return to Molineux since his high-profile summer move to the Ricoh Arena.
But it was Mifsud who broke the deadlock early on to silence a sell-out home crowd.
Danny Fox played a long ball up from the back before some neat interchange on the edge of the area between Michael Doyle and Eastwood played in Mifsud, who slotted coolly under Ikeme.
Leon Best should have doubled the visitors' advantage six minutes later when put clean through but Ikeme came off his line quickly to smother.
Kightly was at the centre of everything going forward for the home side but the Sky Blues were playing without fear themselves, pressing every player in a gold shirt at every opportunity to win the midfield battle.
Coventry's movement up front was causing Wolves' static back line all sorts of problems and it was Mifsud who found himself clean through after a great ball from Jay Tabb, only for Ikeme to again come to the home side's rescue.
Doyle cleared Ebanks-Blake's header off the line just after the half-hour mark before Kightly levelled matters in the closing stages of the first 45 minutes.
But it was a tale of two halves for Wolves and, under the leadership of captain Karl Henry, they set about dominating proceedings with the kind of free-flowing football that saw them win seven successive league games earlier in the season.
Kightly saw a towering header well-saved by Westwood in the 57th minute, but the Coventry keeper went from hero to villain in the space of 60 seconds.
Kevin Foley started on a surging run down the right and squared a ball back across the area for Kightly, who fired his effort straight at the Sky Blues number one.
However, he could only fumble the strike straight into the path of Ebanks-Blake who bundled home on the line.
The home side started to control the tempo of the game after they went ahead, restricting Coventry to very little in the way of goalscoring opportunities.
Ikeme dived low to his left to save well from substitute Clinton Morrison as the encounter entered the final 15 minutes.
And the Wolves shot stopper then produced two stunning saves to deny firstly Tabb and then Morrison again shortly after.
But Wolves held on for all three points to end a two-match winless streak.
CCFC
Coventry City went down to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux despite taking an early lead and mounting a late rally for a point.
Michael Mifsud handed City a dream start with his fifth minute opener but Michael Kightly equalised four minutes before the break and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake bundled in the winner three minutes before the hour mark.
Mifsud netted his first of the season after a good move by the Sky Blues, Michael Doyle taking the ball in the Wolves area with his back to goal before laying off for Freddy Eastwood who then skipped past one defender and knocked the ball to Mifsud who tapped the ball underneath Wolves 'keeper Carl Ikeme.
The hosts responded to the opener as Mick McCarthy would have hoped though with a positive display of attacking football.
But for the majority of the half the Sky Blues rearguard prevented Wolves from delivering the final ball, thus keeping the ball away from City 'keeper Keirenn Westwood.
Coventry could have been 2-0 up after ten minutes, Mifsud playing through Leon Best who got to the ball ahead of the oncoming Ikeme but had little time to send the ball anywhere else but at Ikeme's legs.
Wolves almost levelled the score just after the half hour mark, Kevin Foley's dangerous delivery after a short corner finding Richard Stearman whose header was cleared off the line by Michael Doyle.
The home side could not have been begrudged their leveller on 41 minutes though, especially from Kightly who had been the source of most things positive for Wolves.
Keough floated in a cross deep to to the far post which Kightly took in his stride, allowing him to skip across the box past Westwood and fire into a half-empty net.
Wolves also started the second half the more attack minded of the two sides and continued to push for another goal.
David Jones's half-volleyed effort went straight at Westwood after 52 minutes and the City 'keeper also had to make a good save from Kightly's header four minutes later, diving to his right.
But Wolves' pressure soon turned into an ugly goal to give them the lead, Kightly cutting back a ball at the by-line for Chris Iwelumo whose shot was parried by Westwood, allowing Ebanks-Blake to bundle the ball home with his head from close range.
The introduction of Clinton Morrison and Guillaume Beuzelin for the Sky Blues gave the visitors a boost as City mounted a 15-minute period of pressure on the Wolves defence although they could not turn it into a leveler.
Morrison managed a low shot from the edge of the area four minutes after his introduction but Ikeme got down well to save.
And the Wolves 'keeper again frustrated the City attack with three close range saves in quick succession 12 minutes from time.
First he turned away Jay Tabb's flicked effort at the near post and then twice threw himself infront of half volleys from Morrison after the ball from Tabb's initial effort spilled forward.
Elliott Ward was also only a bootlace away from a late equaliser, Danny Fox's free kick delivery to the back post headed back across the six-yard area but Ward just failed to get the slightest of touches which would have sent the ball into the net.
4thegame
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly made decisive returns from injury as they combined to fire Wolves back to the top of the Championship table after a 2-1 win over Coventry City at Molineux.
Kightly, who had recovered from a hamstring strain that forced him to miss one game, fired Wolves back on to level terms just before half-time to cancel out Michael Mifsud's sixth-minute opener.
Ebanks-Blake, back in action after missing a match with a knee injury, set the seal on the comeback when he started and finished the move that saw him grab his sixth goal of the season in the 59th minute.
Wolves, who had lost their previous two games, initially had to ride their luck to stay in contention after Mifsud's opener.
In-form Coventry had arrived at Molineux on a run of just one defeat in six games and if their finishing had been better they could have been out of sight before Kightly sparked the revival.
But they found the Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme a tough nut to crack and he ended Coventry's hopes of rescuing a point with a stunning double save in the 79th minute from Jay Tabb and Clinton Morrison.
For the third game running, Wolves were undone by an early strike when Mifsud finished off a smart four man move.
Scott Dann fed Aron Gunnarsson and his pass picked out a run by Freddy Eastwood.
Eastwood, making his return to Molineux after leaving in the summer, rolled a pin point pass into the path of Mifsud who drilled a low shot past Ikeme.
Coventry should really hammered home their advantage but were frustrated by Ikeme who kept Wolves in the game.
He denied Leon Best after a mistake by Neill Collins and then frustrated Isaac Osbourne and Jay Tabb with smart saves.
Wolves only really came to life in the final 15 minutes of the opening period and Richard Stearman was unlucky not to grab an equaliser when his close range header was cleared off the line by Danny Fox.
But Wolves pressure finally paid off three minutes before the interval when a teasing cross from Andy Keogh picked out Kightly.
The England Under-21 international looked to have let the ball go too far across the face of goal, but he was able to turn neatly before beating Kieren Westwood from eight yards.
Coventry struggled to keep the lively Kightly in check and it was no surprise that he had a hand in Ebanks-Blake's decisive strike.
Ebanks-Blake fed a right-wing cross into the area for Kightly whose 16 yard drive was spilled up into the air by Westwood.
Westwood did his best to grab the loose ball but Ebanks-Blake was on hand to muscle it home at the near post.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Carl Ikeme, Kevin Foley, Richard Stearman, Neill Collins, Michael Kightly, David Jones, Karl Henry, Stephen Ward (Jason Shackell 85), Chris Iwelumo, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Carlos Edwards 81), Andy Keogh (David Edwards 81)
Subs not used: Wayne Hennessey, Sam Vokes
Booked: Kevin Foley 81, Michael Kightly 47, Chris Iwelumo 90, Karl Henry 85
Goals: Michael Kightly 42, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake 59
Coventry City: Keiren Westwood, Daniel Fox, Elliott Ward, Scott Dann, Aron Gunnarsson (Guillaume Beuzelin 69), Isaac Osbourne, Michael Doyle, Jay Tabb, Freddy Eastwood, Michael Mifsud (Clinton Morrison 69), Leon Best
Subs not used: Andy Marshall, Robbie Simpson, Marcus Hall
Booked: Daniel Fox 90, Freddy Eastwood 49, Michael Doyle 44, Jay Tabb 84, Leon Best 90
Goals: Michael Mifsud 6
Attendance: 25893
Referee: S Bennett
Teamtalk
Wolves surged back to the top of the Championship after coming from behind to see off Coventry 2-1 in a game full of excitement at Molineux.
Michael Mifsud gave the visitors the lead after just six minutes, firing neatly under Carl Ikeme from close range after a well-worked move on the edge of the area left Wolves' defence for dead.
The Sky Blues looked to be heading into the interval with a deserved lead until Michael Kightly popped up in the 42nd minute to round Keiren Westwood and fire home after evading a visiting defence appealing for offside.
And with Wolves looking a different side after the break, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake took advantage of Westwood's fumble to nick what proved to be the winning goal just before the hour mark.
Much of the pre-match focus centred around opposing strikers Chris Iwelumo after 'that' miss for Scotland and Freddy Eastwood, who was making his first return to Molineux since his high-profile summer move to the Ricoh Arena.
But it was Mifsud who broke the deadlock early on to silence a sell-out home crowd.
Danny Fox played a long ball up from the back before some neat interchange on the edge of the area between Michael Doyle and Eastwood played in Mifsud, who slotted coolly under Ikeme.
Leon Best should have doubled the visitors' advantage six minutes later when put clean through but Ikeme came off his line quickly to smother.
Kightly was at the centre of everything going forward for the home side but the Sky Blues were playing without fear themselves, pressing every player in a gold shirt at every opportunity to win the midfield battle.
Coventry's movement up front was causing Wolves' static back line all sorts of problems and it was Mifsud who found himself clean through after a great ball from Jay Tabb, only for Ikeme to again come to the home side's rescue.
Doyle cleared Ebanks-Blake's header off the line just after the half-hour mark before Kightly levelled matters in the closing stages of the first 45 minutes.
But it was a tale of two halves for Wolves and, under the leadership of captain Karl Henry, they set about dominating proceedings with the kind of free-flowing football that saw them win seven successive league games earlier in the season.
Kightly saw a towering header well-saved by Westwood in the 57th minute, but the Coventry keeper went from hero to villain in the space of 60 seconds.
Kevin Foley started on a surging run down the right and squared a ball back across the area for Kightly, who fired his effort straight at the Sky Blues number one.
However, he could only fumble the strike straight into the path of Ebanks-Blake who bundled home on the line.
The home side started to control the tempo of the game after they went ahead, restricting Coventry to very little in the way of goalscoring opportunities.
Ikeme dived low to his left to save well from substitute Clinton Morrison as the encounter entered the final 15 minutes.
And the Wolves shot stopper then produced two stunning saves to deny firstly Tabb and then Morrison again shortly after.
But Wolves held on for all three points to end a two-match winless streak.
CCFC
Coventry City went down to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux despite taking an early lead and mounting a late rally for a point.
Michael Mifsud handed City a dream start with his fifth minute opener but Michael Kightly equalised four minutes before the break and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake bundled in the winner three minutes before the hour mark.
Mifsud netted his first of the season after a good move by the Sky Blues, Michael Doyle taking the ball in the Wolves area with his back to goal before laying off for Freddy Eastwood who then skipped past one defender and knocked the ball to Mifsud who tapped the ball underneath Wolves 'keeper Carl Ikeme.
The hosts responded to the opener as Mick McCarthy would have hoped though with a positive display of attacking football.
But for the majority of the half the Sky Blues rearguard prevented Wolves from delivering the final ball, thus keeping the ball away from City 'keeper Keirenn Westwood.
Coventry could have been 2-0 up after ten minutes, Mifsud playing through Leon Best who got to the ball ahead of the oncoming Ikeme but had little time to send the ball anywhere else but at Ikeme's legs.
Wolves almost levelled the score just after the half hour mark, Kevin Foley's dangerous delivery after a short corner finding Richard Stearman whose header was cleared off the line by Michael Doyle.
The home side could not have been begrudged their leveller on 41 minutes though, especially from Kightly who had been the source of most things positive for Wolves.
Keough floated in a cross deep to to the far post which Kightly took in his stride, allowing him to skip across the box past Westwood and fire into a half-empty net.
Wolves also started the second half the more attack minded of the two sides and continued to push for another goal.
David Jones's half-volleyed effort went straight at Westwood after 52 minutes and the City 'keeper also had to make a good save from Kightly's header four minutes later, diving to his right.
But Wolves' pressure soon turned into an ugly goal to give them the lead, Kightly cutting back a ball at the by-line for Chris Iwelumo whose shot was parried by Westwood, allowing Ebanks-Blake to bundle the ball home with his head from close range.
The introduction of Clinton Morrison and Guillaume Beuzelin for the Sky Blues gave the visitors a boost as City mounted a 15-minute period of pressure on the Wolves defence although they could not turn it into a leveler.
Morrison managed a low shot from the edge of the area four minutes after his introduction but Ikeme got down well to save.
And the Wolves 'keeper again frustrated the City attack with three close range saves in quick succession 12 minutes from time.
First he turned away Jay Tabb's flicked effort at the near post and then twice threw himself infront of half volleys from Morrison after the ball from Tabb's initial effort spilled forward.
Elliott Ward was also only a bootlace away from a late equaliser, Danny Fox's free kick delivery to the back post headed back across the six-yard area but Ward just failed to get the slightest of touches which would have sent the ball into the net.
4thegame
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly made decisive returns from injury as they combined to fire Wolves back to the top of the Championship table after a 2-1 win over Coventry City at Molineux.
Kightly, who had recovered from a hamstring strain that forced him to miss one game, fired Wolves back on to level terms just before half-time to cancel out Michael Mifsud's sixth-minute opener.
Ebanks-Blake, back in action after missing a match with a knee injury, set the seal on the comeback when he started and finished the move that saw him grab his sixth goal of the season in the 59th minute.
Wolves, who had lost their previous two games, initially had to ride their luck to stay in contention after Mifsud's opener.
In-form Coventry had arrived at Molineux on a run of just one defeat in six games and if their finishing had been better they could have been out of sight before Kightly sparked the revival.
But they found the Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme a tough nut to crack and he ended Coventry's hopes of rescuing a point with a stunning double save in the 79th minute from Jay Tabb and Clinton Morrison.
For the third game running, Wolves were undone by an early strike when Mifsud finished off a smart four man move.
Scott Dann fed Aron Gunnarsson and his pass picked out a run by Freddy Eastwood.
Eastwood, making his return to Molineux after leaving in the summer, rolled a pin point pass into the path of Mifsud who drilled a low shot past Ikeme.
Coventry should really hammered home their advantage but were frustrated by Ikeme who kept Wolves in the game.
He denied Leon Best after a mistake by Neill Collins and then frustrated Isaac Osbourne and Jay Tabb with smart saves.
Wolves only really came to life in the final 15 minutes of the opening period and Richard Stearman was unlucky not to grab an equaliser when his close range header was cleared off the line by Danny Fox.
But Wolves pressure finally paid off three minutes before the interval when a teasing cross from Andy Keogh picked out Kightly.
The England Under-21 international looked to have let the ball go too far across the face of goal, but he was able to turn neatly before beating Kieren Westwood from eight yards.
Coventry struggled to keep the lively Kightly in check and it was no surprise that he had a hand in Ebanks-Blake's decisive strike.
Ebanks-Blake fed a right-wing cross into the area for Kightly whose 16 yard drive was spilled up into the air by Westwood.
Westwood did his best to grab the loose ball but Ebanks-Blake was on hand to muscle it home at the near post.
posted by SkyBlueSnowy at 11:32 pm
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