Wolves 3 Saints 0 - The Swain Game

Even now, with only four games to go, the great prize of automatic promotion can still be snatched from their grasp.

Fortunes can change that quickly and dramatically in the Championship.

But after such an emphatic response to arguably the team's moment of greatest pressure this season, it was difficult to walk away from win number 25 still doubting their ability to get the job done.

They came into this game having spent the week chewing on the anguish of their miserable night in Birmingham, where they had been unable to fashion a chance against their neighbours and closest rivals' 10-man resistance.

They came into this game devoid of three men in Michael Kightly, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Chris Iwelumo who, be it with goals or assists, had carried their greatest attacking threat throughout the campaign.

They came into this game knowing what we were all thinking. After so long out in front, were they about to collapse on the home run?

A salute, then, to their bold answer to these creeping anxieties.

It took them just 39 seconds to establish the mood, six minutes to blow away the pressure and only another 12 to effectively win the game.

No, they were not hanging about and Molineux noisily acclaimed the sight of a plucky young team which does not claim to be the finished article, but can be taught very little about facing its demons with an energetic willingness.

In Southampton, they met a side who, should any Wolves fans be interested, offered a replica image in the Championship of West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.

Neat, easy on the eye, capable of clipping the ball about the pitch fluently - but fundamentally flawed in both penalty areas.

Only when the game was long gone from Saints' grasp did keeper Wayne Hennessey have a serious save to make, as Wolves rediscovered the solidity which had been shaken from their defensive bearings at St Andrew's.

But it was the electricity of their surging attacking momentum which lifted the Molineux fans out of their seats, on the day many had arrived wondering where the goals were going to come from without the 'big three.'

In the absence of both Ebanks-Blake and Iwelumo – the first time Wolves have had to start a league game without one of them this season – manager Mick McCarthy left a ring-rusty Marlon Harewood on the bench and instead offered Sam Vokes another opportunity to underline his potential.

From the kick-off, he pressured Jan-Paul Saeijs into conceding a corner Dave Jones arrowed towards the penalty spot, as Vokes emerged biggest from a cluster of four players and keeper Kelvin Davis to head his side in front. From that moment on, there was no looking back for McCarthy's side.

Five minutes later, they were back for another corner, where this time Matt Jarvis came across to help Jones change the angle of delivery with a short exchange of passes.

When the midfielder's cross arced across the face of Saints defence, Jody Craddock produced a wonderfully-timed and directed header that Davis could not reach.

The trouble with scoring so quickly, of course, is that the opposition has time to mount a recovery.

But that scenario was effectively erased before the 20-minute mark, when Jones orchestrated another pacy approach which ended with Marek Saganowski tripping Dave Edwards a fraction inside the area as he chased down a half-blocked Kevin Foley cross.

The penalty call was tough but accurate and a reminder of the luck that deserts the struggling team. The decisive manner in which Jones dispatched it, powerfully driven and swerving high and wide to Davis' left, was a reminder of their misfortune in meeting the leaders in such a highly-charged mood.

That was it. Game over. Crisis averted.

But a team performance of high merit was laced with a string of stand-out performances which should give the framework of McCarthy's side more substance even as he plans for these final matches with such high-profile absentees.

Vokes, for example, could do no more to remind the Wolves public that there could be a real player here in the making.

His aerial timing is natural, his touch far from the worst and if he lacks the pace that is deemed essential to go to the very highest levels these days, then that should still not get in the way of his becoming a highly accomplished centre forward.

Jones now prepares for a return to Derby having logged perhaps his best 90 minutes in a Wolves shirt – and there have been a few good 'uns of late.

But there was a quality and effectiveness in his passing, which made him the perfect complement to Karl Henry's watchful patrols behind and Edwards' relentless running forward and to his side.

Foley, too, was at his best revelling, it seemed, in the opportunity to show the visitors that Wolves, too, have smart players with a deft touch who enjoy pitting their wits as well as their athleticism.

But let's save the best to last – good old Jody. If Wolves reach the promised land they will have themselves a terrible dilemma over Craddock as he plays out the finals weeks of his current contract.

Could he really go again in the top flight after passing his 34th birthday in the summer? That is for others to decide.

What is for certain is the gratitude and affection he is now guaranteed in Wolves circles having made such a triumphant return to the first team, which continued with an outstanding performance capped, of course, by his terrific goal.

It has been feature of Craddock's entire Wolves career, that he has returned better than ever after being written out of the script. He is everything all fans admire in their footballers – dedicated, committed and determined to make the very best of himself.

Happily, that pretty much summed up his team.