Wolves 2 Bolton 1 - analysis

They got and deserved the victory they so desperately needed against Bolton and after such a challenging week for their morale and confidence, full credit for that.

But the relief and celebration which swamped Molineux at the final whistle soon gave way to the sober reality that by the time Wolves fans next congregate under their own lights, the team will most likely be back where it started.

Two games at Tottenham and Manchester United now approach for Mick McCarthy's squad and, such are the brutal realities of football at this level, it is easier to imagine Arsene Wenger and Mark Hughes exchanging Christmas cards then Wolves shaking hands with any points from those fixtures.

After their experiences against Arsenal and Chelsea, supporters would probably take two defeats now if they came without the artillery barrage of goals which sank them before the Birmingham game and inflicted such heavy damage to their willpower.

But it means that having fought their way through Saturday's testing examination of nerve and conviction they will have to do so all over again when Burnley's visit completes this triplet of 'B' fixtures carrying such enormous significance for Wolves hopes of staying with the game's A listers.

Birmingham we know about. A dreadful, sobering day which McCarthy admitted on Saturday prompted one of his toughest weeks in management.

Against Bolton, Wolves were everything they weren't the previous week and, as if to symbolise the reversal of fortune, scored a goal at precisely the same time as they conceded one against Alex McLeish's outfit.

The fact that Jody Van Nistelrooy was clearly offside when he made it four goals in a row for his team – can any Wolves defender have ever done that before? – inside three minutes was a gift from the gods McCarthy's side eagerly accepted.

And perhaps deserved. McCarthy and his players have taken some tough calls on the chin this season without kicking up the kind of fuss that might have had Jez Moxey drafting a letter to Richard Scudamore demanding Wolves become the Premier League's 21st club.

Having already started this game in a wholly different mood, they used that early bonus for added momentum that continually left Bolton stretched before a moment a long time coming – a match-winning moment from Nenad Milijas – put them out of reach despite Bolton's late revival.

And what a moment it was, Milijas thundering a left footer across Jussi Jaaskelainen and into his top corner from 30 yards . No-one does that to a keeper of Jaaskelainen's quality without a very special strike indeed.

It was Milijas's performance which probably dominated chatter around the gold and black corners of the region's football community this weekend.

One of McCarthy's tasks in the build-up to this game had been to get a little frank with one or two and his recruit from Serbia's international ranks via Red Star Belgrade was chief among them.

In short, it was time for Milijas to stop playing like a tourist and start learning the language and earning his living in the Premier League. Although the Serb had provided some tantalising glimpses of his ability, McCarthy had not been able to trust him to handle the tempo of this football resulting in Milijas watching more games than he started.

Cliffhanger

But backed up in a corner – as Wolves, McCarthy and Milijas were last week – they each came out fighting. The manager demanded Milijas bring his main game to the table and the player responded with easily his most effective performance of the season so far which, apart from his blistering strike from 30 yards in the 63rd minute, included the devilish free-kick delivery from which Craddock pounced.

So Milijas was Man of the Match, right? Well, hang on a minute. There were a series of key performances in this little cliffhanger which finished with Wolves fans on the edge of the seats after Bolton substitute Johan Elmander pulled a goal back with 12 minutes remaining.

McCarthy finally got a serious pay-back from his decision the previous week to rest Wayne Hennessey and turn to the goalkeeping card he had been keeping in his back pocket, Marcus Hahnemann.

Hahnemann made some important saves, especially in the frantic finale, but his presence, outstanding kicking and experience were major props to Wolves defence. How worrying for the English that at a time when the nation's goalkeeping pool is pretty dry, one of their World Cup opponents are swimming in options.

Craddock, always attentive to duty and in the right place at the right time, also deserves a nod but it was Stephen Ward whose performance best captured the essence of this team display.

Ward has fought his way back from surgery just in time to give Wolves a much-needed natural left foot at left back and has been a shot-in-the-arm the team needed from the moment he returned as a substitute against Blues – positive, aggressive and bold in his play. Something else too – while we were not looking, he has turned into a darned good full back.

Ward's goal-saving challenge on Tamir Cohen just after Wolves had gone 2-0 ahead was the tackle of the game and prevented his team fending off an even longer revival from Bolton.

As much as this victory will have tasted sweet for McCarthy, there are still problems to attend to this week especially up front where he will reserve a little concern for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's continuing lack of impact at this level.

The striker looks as if he is running through treacle at the moment and has so far not been able to prise any kind of edge over his markers at this level; maybe the injury which interrupted his early season has removed vital percentages of sharpness which are now counting against him.

If Wolves are going to stay in this division, they are going to need to do something extraordinary at some stage which wins back the points they have let slip in the first phase of the season. White Hart Lane wo-uld be as good a place to start as any.

By Martin Swain.