Stoke 3 Wolves 0

Sorry Wolves were torn apart by Stoke as they blew the chance of getting out of the drop zone on a desperate night where they also lost Steven Fletcher to injury.

Mick McCarthy's side simply had no answer to the power and skill of Stoke match winners Jermaine Pennant – who was involved in all three goals - and Kenwyne Jones as they went 3-0 down by the 51st minute.

Jones headed Stoke in front in the 16th minute from Pennant's cross and goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey made three fine saves, before Ryan Shawcross tapped home a fortunate and deflected second on the stroke of half-time.

Pennant then scored a deflected third as Wolves were caught on the break.

Wolves remain second bottom but the margin of defeat pushed their goal difference to minus 23, the equal worst in the Premier League.

It was an unfamiliar Wolves side that finished the game.

Fletcher departedn the 69th minute clutching the back of his left knee to leave his replacement Sam Vokes and fellow sub Adlene Guedioura as the strikers.

Michael Mancienne switched to left-back, after Stephen Ward had been moved from defence to attack then taken off.

Boss McCarthy made two changes from the side that drew 1-1 against Fulham on Saturday.

Michael Kightly made his first start since a 2-2 draw at Stoke on 31 October 2009, replacing Guedioura.

The other change saw Mancienne coming in for Nenad Milijas in central midfield, as McCarthy opted for extra insurance in the middle of the park.

Stephen Hunt returned from the bench for the first time since his hernia operation at the expense of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who was out of the squad due to his hamstring injury.

Kightly had the first attempt in the seventh minute but, after a clever dummy on the corner of the box, he finished poorly with his left foot.

After a pretty even start, Stoke took the lead in their first serious attack in the 16th minute.

There seemed very little Wolves could do about the goal, which in effect beat their entire back five.

Jones got between Jody Craddock and Richard Stearman to head powerfully down into the centre of the goal from a chip by Jermaine Pennant, who got a yard on Stephen Ward to chisel out the cross which saw Christophe Berra dragged to the near post.

Four minutes later, only a smart one-handed save from Wayne Hennessey prevented a second Stoke goal after Wolves' left-hand side was penetrated again.

This time Pennant clipped the ball over Ward's head for right-back Andy Wilkinson to produce a fierce, first-time angled shot.

Wolves had just started to settle and hold down some possession as they appeared to gain an advantage, when Matthew Etherington went down injured unopposed on the far side on the half hour.

The winger was eventually stretchered off to be replaced by Dean Whitehead.

But any inroads Wolves attempted to make were comfortably thwarted by Stoke's superior physical strength while, with one up front, it was difficult for the visitors to build attacks.

McCarthy decided to switch things and put Ward up front alongside Fletcher, with Mancienne at left-back.

But it failed to change the course of the game, with only the heroics of Hennessey preventing a scoreline similar to Stoke's 5-0 FA Cup semi-final win over Bolton.

Jones headed over Jon Walters' cross from point-blank range before Hennessey brilliantly smothered Whitehead's shot, after Pennant sliced open Wolves' defence a minute before half-time.

And, after Kightly was booked for bringing down Marc Wilson, Hennessey produced another fine stop from Shawcross' header via Pennant's free kick.

But Hennessey could do nothing to prevent Stoke's second goal which, although deserved, was fortuitous when it came.

Shawcross tapped home the loose ball from three yards out, after the unmarked Glenn Whelan's daisy-cutter from Pennant's corner hit Karl Henry's right leg and rebounded into his path.

Wolves pushed for an immediate response after the restart but, instead, they were caught on the break as Stoke scored a third goal in the 51st minute.

A careless pass by Mancienne was picked up by Stoke and Jones raced goalwards, as Wolves were left three against three.

Jones fed Walters to his right and his cross was met by a shot by Pennant, that deflected off Stearman and into the top corner of the net.

Typical of Wolves, they responded by forcing five corners almost in succession, but never really looked like scoring from any of them.

But Steven Fletcher did hook against goalkeeper Asmir Begovic's gloves, after Jamie O'Hara's flag-kick had been headed back into the danger area by Ward on 55 minutes.

From another, which Matt Jarvis worked short to Henry, Berra headed over from inside the six-yard box.

However, Wolves were a sad second best, as Stoke made a mockery of McCarthy's pre-match instruction to keep clean sheets.