Wolves tame Black Cats

Wolves ended their season with a 2-1 comeback against nine-man Sunderland at Molineux.

Doyle and Guedioura complete comeback win at Molineux

Wolves ended their season with a 2-1 comeback against nine-man Sunderland at Molineux. Wanderers were forced to come from behind as Kenwyne Jones gave the Black Cats the lead via a heavily deflected shot on eight minutes. But the hosts did not take long to get back on level terms as Matt Jarvis was fouled in the box by Alan Hutton to allow Kevin Doyle to convert from the penalty spot in the 10th minute. Wolves pressed for a winner and they got in style as on-loan midfielder Adlene Guedioura sealed the win with a 20-yard thunderbolt in the second-half as Mick McCarthy's side ended the campaign in 15th place. The Black Cats, who saw Michael Turner and Jack Colback sent off for two bookable offences late on, end their season in 13th. The visitors had burst through the Wolves defence inside the first minute with Steed Malbranque playing in Darren Bent, whose low shot was tipped away one-handed by keeper Marcus Hahnemann. And seconds later McCarthy's men almost repeated the feat at the other end when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake burst clear on the right flank and cut into the box where he was finally dispossessed by Kieran Richardson. Sunderland grabbed the lead in the eighth minute when the recalled Jones fired as low shot from close to the penalty spot which struck Wolves veteran Jody Craddock and looped over Hahnemann. The visitors' lead lasted barely a minute as Wolves went straight up the other end and won a penalty when Hutton tripped Jarvis. Top scorer Doyle stepped up to send the spot-kick low to Craig Gordon's left.

Stunning scissor-kick

Malbranque came close to restoring Sunderland's lead when he met Hutton's cross with a stunning scissor-kick in the 14th minute, but his effort struck the outside of Hahnemann's left-hand post. Wolves came close to a second in the 25th minute when Doyle's clever ball put Jarvis in the clear but the midfielder could only toe-poke his shot into the arms of the advancing Gordon. Then a mix-up between Turner and Gordon in the Sunderland box presented a chance for Doyle, who stuck in a foot but saw his looping effort drop just beyond the keeper's right-hand post. Jarvis flashed a long-range effort wide then Karl Henry was allowed to run himself into trouble as the visiting defence stood off and invited pressure from a home side keen to end their season on a high. Wolves had the first chance of the second half when Henry lofted a hopeful ball into the left side of the Sunderland box which fell for Guedioura, who completely mis-kicked from six yards.

Momentum

But Bent's flimsy free-kick over the bar soon after suggested the players were becoming increasingly concerned with holiday plans as the early momentum of the match was all but lost. Wolves came close on the hour when Jones back-headed a George Elokobi corner onto the roof of his own net, and from the second set-piece Craddock powered a header into Gordon's arms. The quick-thinking Hahnemann raced from his goal to cut out a chance for Bent after he beat the offside trap to reach Malbranque's through ball, but chances for the visitors were proving few and far between. Guedioura had impressed all afternoon with his skill and well deserved his late winner, latching onto the end of Zubar's inch-perfect cross before rifling home his first goal for the club in style. Turner was dismissed seven minutes from time for a rash challenge on Jarvis and substitute Colback followed deep into injury time for a wholly unnecessary foul on Zubar.

Wolverhampton Wanderers	Team Statistics	Sunderland
2	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	1
7	Shots on Target	4
7	Shots off Target	6
4	Blocked Shots	1
4	Corners	1
13	Fouls	20
1	Offsides	4
1	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	2
72.6	Passing Success	66.5
19	Tackles	20
100	Tackles Success	80
54.8	Possession	45.2
52	Territorial Advantage	48