Wolves came from two goals down to snatch a dramatic last-minute winner and
heap more misery on sorry Barnsley.
Centre-half Dean Richards was Wolves villain-turned-hero as he cancelled out
his first-half own-goal with a superb 90th-minute volley to keep his side in the
play-off hunt.
For Barnsley this latest heartbreaking defeat stretches their miserable run to
12 League games without a victory stretching back to Christmas.
It all looked so rosy for the Yorkshiremen as they took a stranglehold on the
game through Richards' 31st minute own-goal and an accurate Scott Jones
free-kick two minutes later.
Richards could do little about the opener after Craig Hignett's cheeky volley
from a narrow angle crashed back off the post and bounced over the line via the
in-rushing defender.
And the home fans were in dream land two minutes later as Scott Jones doubled
the advantage with a well-struck free-kick after Adie Moses penetrating run was
halted illegally by Wolves midfielder Steve Corica.
That at last brought the visitors out of their defensive shell, and only a
last-ditch tackle by Chris Morgan denied Havard Flo the easiest of finishes.
Wolves kept pressing and dragged themselves back into the game four minutes
from the break. Kevin Muscat's wicked cross was inch perfect, and centre-half
Neil Emblem rose to power a header past Barnsley's badly-exposed 'keeper, Tony
Bullock.
Fired up by that effort, Wolves threw everything at the home side, and Emblem
had a strike disallowed for offside after Corica's powerful volley was parried
by Bullock.
Play switched to the other end, and Bruce Dyer could have put the result
beyond doubt after beating the visitors offside trap only to see his low shot
bounce to safety off the foot of the post.
Wolves then threw on David Connolly in the 73rd minute for the
strangely-ineffective Robbie Keane, and within five minutes the substitute
scored the leveller with his first touch.
Richards' long free-kick evaded everybody, and Connolly was the first to react
to fire a shot under the advancing Bullock.
Sensing victory, Wolves continued to press, and Steve Sedgley almost completed
the comeback by rounding Bullock and firing narrowly wide.
But the hordes of visiting fans were in raptures with seconds left. A cross
from Michael Gilkes fell to the unmarked Richards on the right-hand side of the
box, and the former England Under-21 international gleefully fired home the
winner.
Teams
Barnsley: Bullock, Eaden, De Zeeuw, Moses, Tinkler, Morgan,
Van Der Laan, Hignett, Sheron (Turner 76), Dyer, Jones.
Subs Not Used: Appleby, Marcelle.
Booked: De Zeeuw, Dyer.
Goals: Richards 31 og, Jones 33.
Wolverhampton: Stowell, Muscat, Gilkes, Sedgley, Richards, Curle,
Corica (Niestroj 90), Emblen, Flo, Keane (Connolly 73), Osborn.
Subs Not Used: Simpson.
Booked: Curle.
Goals: Emblen 41, Connolly 78, Richards 90.
Att: 16,587
Ref: M Dean (Eastham).
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook