Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
MolineuxAttendance19,592.
Friday 18 December 2015 11:55, UK
Sam Byram scored twice as Leeds came from a goal down to beat Wolves 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at Molineux on Thursday evening.
Benik Afobe put Wolves ahead in the 10th minute with a low finish past Marco Silvestri, but Leeds hit back with two goals either side of half-time, the first through Byram just before the break and the second via a driven Stuart Dallas finish on 51 minutes.
A first-half decision to bring on Souleymane Doukara for an ill Tom Adeyemi turned the game for the away team, and Byram netted his second with a looping header from Charlie Taylor's deep cross on the hour mark.
Substitute Nathan Byrne pulled one back for the home side with nine minutes to play to set up a frantic finish, but Leeds held on to secure the three points.
The win puts Steve Evans' side into 14th place in the Sky Bet Championship and moves them above Wolves, who drop to 17th as their poor home form continues. Kenny Jackett's side have now failed to win in front of their own fans in six games - their last success at Molineux coming against Huddersfield Town back on October 3.
Leeds were inches away from taking a seventh-minute lead following a spectacular effort by Dallas who rattled Carl Ikeme's right-hand post from 25 yards after a knockdown by Chris Wood.
Wolves should have capitalised on that let-off seconds later when a jinking run by Jordan Graham teed up Afobe only for the former Arsenal trainee to drag his shot across the face of goal.
Fortunately for Wolves that proved to be a sighter for Afobe. He was more clinical in the 10th minute to break the deadlock when he raced on to a nod down by James Henry, and this time made no mistake from 10 yards as he rolled a low shot past Silvestri.
Afobe was proving to be a constant threat to the Leeds backline and only a well-timed challenge from United skipper Liam Cooper prevented him from latching on to a Graham cross.
After two quick corners in succession, Afobe was then picked out by captain Danny Batth in the 27th minute only to see his shot on the turn fly just wide of the post.
Wolves' failure to convert all that pressure came back to haunt them on the stroke of half-time when Leeds grabbed a unlikely lifeline - and gave a sign of what was to come.
Byram exchanged passes with Wood on the edge of the area and when he collected the return he stabbed the ball past Ikeme from 12 yards.
Wolves still looked to be reeling from that blow at the beginning of the second half as just seconds after the restart Doukara fed Wood and it needed a strong save from Ikeme to prevent the New Zealand international giving Leeds the lead.
But that only proved to be a brief escape as the impressive Doukara set-up Dallas who surged into the area before beating Ikeme at his near post.
Shell-shocked Wolves would then have slipped further behind in the 55th minute only for Ikeme to pull off a stunning point blank save from Wood's header - and then repeat the feat three minutes later when the former Leicester City marksman was denied from seven yards.
But their luck ran out on the hour when Taylor's left-wing cross flew to the far post where Byram made no mistake with a well-placed header.
Leeds looked set to cruise to victory with a two-goal cushion, but Wolves rallied and Byrne gave them hopes of a comeback when he converted Graham's looping cross from the edge of the six-yard box.
