JORGEN Strand Larsen provided the Norse power Wolves needed to take another step towards Premier League safety.
The Norwegian striker grabbed his 10th goal of the season after 21 minutes to seal victory.
GettyJorgen Strand Larsen fires his side into the lead[/caption]
PAThe Wolves forward celebrates putting Wolves in front[/caption]
And that spells bad news for the bottom three who are now stranded at the bottom of the table.
Wolves are now a massive 12 points clear of the relegation zone – and look all but safe from the drop.
It means boss Vitor Pereira now has 20 points from his 14 games in charge.
And if his pre-match comments are anything to go by, he will be toasting three points with three beers.
Pereira has been seen around Wolverhampton pubs with fans – but he will not have to buy a drink if he keeps Wolves up.
By the end, Pereira was punching the air and whipping up the home fans.
But West Ham wasted a string of chances to come away from Molineux with at least a point.
Evan Ferguson, Jarrod Bowen, Emerson Palmieri and Tomas Soucek all wasted clear cut openings.
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Evan Ferguson squandered a golden chance
ReutersFerguson is yet to score for the Hammers[/caption]
West Ham started the brighter and James Ward-Prowse went close with a dipping free-kick from 25 yards out.
But they wasted a clear opportunity to take the lead after 13 minutes.
Toti’s attempted clearance was blocked by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the ball fell into the path of Bowen.
He raced into the Wolves box – but instead of taking the shot on himself, he pulled it back for Ferguson, making his first start for Graham Potter on loan from Brighton.
The Ireland international’s first Hammers goal looked certain – but the ball fell behind him and he could only drag it towards goal and into Matt Doherty’s path.
That was the wake-up call Wolves needed and a Rayan Ait-Nouri free-kick was headed on by Toti – but he was denied by a full-stretch save from keeper Alphonse Areola.
But Wolves opened the scoring through Strand Larsen.
Emmanuel Agbadou’s pass set up the chance, and when the ball fell to Strand Larsen, his shot deflected in off ex-Wolves captain Max Kilman.
That was the Norwegian forward’s third goal in two games – and provided a huge platform for Wolves’ hopes of staying up.
Wolves could have made it two – but Marshall Munetsi crashed a shot against the underside of the crossbar.
It was end to end stuff and Wan-Bissaka’s cross found Bowen in space – but he put a free header wide.
The game started to flare up – a theme that ran through the rest of the match.
Ref Tony Harrington flashed three yellow cards in a short space of time – but failed some physical treatment that left Joao Gomes in agony on the touchline.
It all contributed to the Wolves bench losing their cool – and boss Pereira was booked for dissent as the teams left the field.
Potter made three changes at the break with Ferguson, Aaron Cresswell and Luis Guilherme all taken off.
Niclas Fullkrug, Edson Alvarez and Carlos Soler replaced them.
But Hammers were frustrated for long periods and Wolves’ Jean Bellegarde curled a shot just wide from 20 yards out.
Things were boiling up on the bench by this stage and Wolves No2 was booked after an angry exchange with West Ham’s coaching staff.
But Potter’s side almost levelled it after 78 minutes when Fullkrug headed against the bar and Emerson fired the rebound into the side netting.
And West Ham squandered yet another chance to equalise with two minutes left.
Toti was again caught in possession and the ball fell to sub Soucek – but he put his shot wide from close range.
GettyWolves stars were buzzing at the sound of the final whistle[/caption]
GettyVitor Pereira has virtually guided Wolves to safety[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
