Wolves secured a vital three points in their bid for Premier League survival as they did the double overTottenham.
Jones strike lifts Wanderers out of relegation zone
Wolves secured a vital three points in their bid for Premier League survival as they did the double over Tottenham.
The Wanderers fully deserved Tuesday's victory over UEFA Champions League chasing Spurs and they move out of the bottom three into 15th place.
Dave Jones provided the winner in the 27th minute as he latched onto a low cross from the excellent Matt Jarvis, who should have been awarded a penalty in the first half when the winger was clipped by Michael Dawson.
But plaudits will go to Kevin Doyle once again after the Republic of Ireland striker ran himself into the ground for the Wolves cause.
Spurs, who were shocked by Wolves at White Hart Lane earlier in the season and failed to seriously test Marcus Hahnemann's goal all evening, are without a win in five but remain sixth and a point off the top-four.
Pace problems
Jermain Defoe's pace looked like causing Wolves problems early on and on more than one occasion defenders had to resort to niggling fouls to halt his progress.
Spurs captain Dawson had the first half-chance in the 13th minute from Gareth Bale's corner but failed to connect properly with his header from seven yards.
Kevin Doyle went down claiming a penalty five minutes later but the challenge from Sebastien Bassong was more shoulder-to-shoulder and initial contact was outside the area.
Spurs went straight down the other end and Kranjcar should have scored after Defoe had back-heeled Eidur Gudjohnsen's pass into his path but he shot too close to Hahnemann and the goalkeeper deflected the ball for a corner with his legs.
Wolves had their best chance moments later when Doyle broke through on the right but his touch gave him too narrow an angle and as Dawson got across to challenge he fired a shot across the six-yard area which Bassong turned behind.
Simple finish
However, the hosts took the lead with the simplest of goals which came out of nowhere in the 27th minute.
Jones played the ball out to Jarvis on the left and continued his run to side-foot home the cross first time from 15 yards.
Wolves could have had a penalty two minutes later when Dawson clipped Jarvis as he ran into the area but referee Mark Clattenburg waved play on.
Jarvis almost added the second when he cut in on to his right foot and drilled in a shot which goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes turned around the near post.
Tottenham had lost the midfield battle in the first half and Redknapp responded by sending on Wilson Palacios for Jermaine Jenas immediately after the interval.
Bright start
The visitors looked brighter and Kranjcar had a shot deflected just past the near post but Wolves still looked capable of getting a second and Doyle's lob from Stephen Ward's pass over the top beat Gomes but dropped wide of the target.
On the hour Wolves boss Mick McCarthy replaced left-back Ward with George Elokobi, while Peter Crouch came on for Gudjohnsen.
Elokobi was the first man to be booked, eight minutes after coming on when he body-checked David Bentley.
In a final throw of the dice Redknapp introduced Luka Modric for Kranjcar in an attempt to inject more creativity, while McCarthy strengthened central midfield with Michael Mancienne taking over from Guedioura.
Palacios was booked for going through the back of Jarvis as Tottenham's frustration began to grow.
The visitors stepped up the pressure in the final 10 minutes but Wolves soaked it all up to register back-to-back home clean sheets in the league for the first time in the campaign.
| Wolverhampton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 5 |
Corners |
6 |
| 17 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 64.2 |
Passing Success |
75.5 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
18 |
| 68.8 |
Tackles Success |
77.8 |
| 41.9 |
Possession |
58.1 |
| 52 |
Territorial Advantage |
48 |
|
