West Brom leading scorer Andy Hunt struck midway through the second half to settle a tense Black Country derby against arch rivals Wolves at Molineux.

Hunt fired home from close range in the 72nd minute after skipper Ian Hamilton had seen a shot superbly saved by Mike Stowell following a cross from the left by Kevin Kilbane.

It gave Albion their first double over Wolves for four years and also brought a first league win for their new manager Denis Smith.

Albion's triumph after successive defeats against Aston Villa and Ipswich was reward for their enterprising second half performance.

Hunt and Hamilton might well have scored in the opening seconds of the new half and Lee Hughes also threatened to break the deadlock.

And it was only after the goal that Wolves really woke up in front of a capacity 28,244 crowd.

They laid siege to the visitors' goal in the dying minutes and Paul Simpson saw a dipping volley held by Alan Miller.

Don Goodman headed against the outside of a post from a corner and Dean Richards and substitute Mixu Paatelainen also went close to salvaging Wolves unbeaten home league record.

But Albion deserve credit for their spirited showing - one which revives their promotion hopes on a day when Mark McGhee believed a Wolves' win would virtually have ruled them out of contention.

Wolves were uninspired and rarely looked like drawing first blood in a game littered by several bookings and marked by the early departure of Albion midfielder Richard Sneekes on a stretcher following a tackle that earned Kevin Muscat a yellow card.

Neither keeper was seriously threatened in the first half although Wolves' skipper Keith Curle deflected a shot by Peter Butler inches over his own bar.

Mike Stowell also reacted well to block from Lee Hughes following a bad mistake by Richards.

Wolves had not been beaten at Molineux in the first division since last May and had not previously trailed in a home league game this season.

Teams:

Wolverhampton: Stowell, Muscat, Froggatt (Atkins 45), Sedgley, Richards, Curle, Goodman, Robinson, Keane (Paatelainen 68), Freedman, Simpson.

Subs Not Used: Ferguson.

Booked: Muscat.

West Brom: Miller, Holmes, Nicholson, Sneekes (Coldicott 15), Murphy, Carbon, Butler, Hamilton, Hughes (Evans 89), Hunt, Kilbane.

Subs Not Used: Dobson.

Booked: Carbon, Hamilton, Hughes.

Goals: Hunt 72.

Att: 28,244

Ref: S W Mathieson (Stockport).