Ipswich Town 0 Wolves 1 – Report and pictures

Doherty headed home Barry Douglas' cross to give Wolves an early lead.

They created numerous chances to put the game to bed but Diogo Jota, Helder Costa and Leo Bonatini either missed or found keeper Bartosz Bialkowski in inspired form.

However despite a couple of late scares they saw it through to extend their lead to 12 points.

Analysis

So it turns out a bit of vitamin D was all they needed.

Wolves jetted off to Marbella with their tail between their legs and duly returned refreshed, reformed and looking like their old selves, writes Tim Spiers at Portman Road.

Maybe they should fly to Spain every week. With their passing crisp, their movement dynamic and their creative juices flowing this was much more like the Wolves who've had their fans calling this the best team they've seen for decades.

They were organised at the back and devastating on the break...in all but the finishing touch, which was the only thing lacking here with Jota, Costa and Bonatini all spurning opportunities.

On a number of occasions they carved Ipswich open only for either the killer final pass or the clinical finishing to let them down. Ipswich threatened sporadically at the other end but really this should have ended as a three or four-goal away win. And for a team that's scored 12 goals in 12 games, or just two in five, that does remain a slight concern.

All that ultimately mattered here though, after their worst run of the season, was getting back to winning ways. And Wolves certainly deserved to do so.

Credit to Nuno for switching them back on after what appears to have been a thoroughly productive week away.

With their promotion rivals not playing until midweek they knew that another defeat would have left the door ajar for Derby to close the gap to six points.

Instead they have thrown down the gauntlet yet again. They lead by 12 and who would bet against them finishing the job from here? Crisis over.

Match report

Nuno made two changes from the team that lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest last week. Leo Bonatini dropped to the bench and Romain Saiss wasn't involved in the squad due to a slight hamstring strain, with Helder Costa and Alfred N'Diaye coming into the XI. Rafa Mir also missed out altogether.

Mick McCarthy handed a full debut to former Wolves midfielder Stephen Gleeson, while loanee Dominic Iorfa was ineligible to face his parent club.

Conditions weren't ideal at Portman Road – torrential rain was making an already soft pitch more difficult to play on and after a poor showing in similar circumstances at Swansea you wondered how they'd cope, but Wolves soon adapted and made the better start.

Their passing was crisper and they were sharper in the final third than in recent weeks, with a front three of Costa, Ivan Cavaleiro and Diogo Jota regularly interchanging.

Ipswich tested John Ruddy with a couple of half decent efforts but it was confident Wolves who took an early lead in the 15th minute.

N'Diaye made a bursting run into the box and could have gone down when he was blocked off but persevered and cutely passed to the overlapping Barry Douglas, whose lifted cross was headed down and into the net by Matt Doherty.

After two defeats it was just what Wolves needed and they looked likely to add to their lead. Douglas' 20-yard free kick was well saved low to his left by Bartosz Bialkowski before the keeper made another solid stop to keep out a well-struck Jota shot.

With the revitalised Douglas and Doherty regularly getting in down the flanks only a final ball was lacking.

But Ipswich offered a few warning signs at the other end with the dangerous Bersant Celina curling just wide and then David McGoldrick forcing Ruddy to tip over his 20-yarder.

It wasn't the easiest game on the eye, with the conditions certainly not helping, but Wolves had earned their half time lead.

They should have added to it – twice – in the early stages of the second half.

Nuno's team were sitting deep, soaking up pressure and hitting Ipswich on the break. It worked a treat with everything bar the finishing touch, with Jota first unable to fire past Bialkowski from eight yards after being played in by Costa.

And then Jota inexplicably passed the ball behind Costa when in on goal. He could have curled it in himself but chose the unselfish option and got it horribly wrong.

The front three were working beautifully in tandem but that clinical finish was still lacking. Cavaleiro set up Costa but he couldn't dink over the onrushing keeper from a tight angle on the right.

Martyn Waghorn fired into the side netting as Ipswich again reminded Wolves that the game was far from won.

Nuno called for Bonatini – goalless since December 4 – and he almost made an instant impact when crashing a first-time volley goalwards from Douglas cross, but it was blocked.

Then the impressive Bialkowski superbly saved from the Brazilian striker, pushing away his powerful shot from the right of the box. And Bialkowski saved Ipswich again a minute later, palming substitute Bright Enobakhare's 18-yard volley to safety as the spurned Wolves opportunities piled up.

Wolves should have been out of sight and they had to endure a nervy final few minutes with Grant Ward shanking a volley from close range and then Ruddy spilling a cross in stoppage time, but Nuno's team saw it through and their fans defiantly sang "we shall not be moved" as the full time celebrations ensued,

Key moments

15 – GOAL – Barry Douglas chips a cross towards fellow wing back MATT DOHERTY whose header bounces down and into the roof of the net.

55 – Helder Costa plays in Diogo Jota but he can't beat Bialkowski from close range.

59 – Should be 2-0 but Jota, who's in on goal, unselfishly chooses to pass to Costa and misdirects the ball behind him.

Line ups

Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Bialkowski; Spence, Chambers (c), Carter-Vickers, Knudsen; Gleeson (Hyam, 83), Connolly; Celina, Waghorn, McGoldrick (Sears, 83); Garner (Ward, 83). Subs: Crowe, Webster, Bru, Kenlock.

Wolves (3-4-3): John Ruddy; Bennett, Coady (c), Boly; Doherty, Neves, N'Diaye, Douglas; Costa (Enobakhare, 78), Cavaleiro (Bonatini, 71), Jota. Subs: Norris, Batth, Miranda, Vinagre, Gibbs-White.

Goals: Doherty (15)

Attendance: 15,971 (1,890 Wolves fans)

Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)

League position

1st (65 points from 29 matches)