Richard Stearman and Stephen Gerrard in action.

Wolves have learned many lessons in the first half of this intriguing Premier League campaign.

Unfortunately, Boxing Day brought another: Don’t give a team in trouble a helping hand.

Just like at Sunderland on September 27 – ironically also the last time boss Mick McCarthy named an unchanged line-up in the league before this game – Wolves were level, and had the hosts and their crowd looking nervous, edgy and devoid of ideas early in the second half.

At the Stadium of Light, it took two goals in three minutes to turn the game away from Wolves after they had retrieved a two-goal deficit.

At Anfield it was the sending off of Stephen Ward that proved the pivotal moment. When you’re at full throttle trying to contain Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres and Co in their own backyard, the last thing you need is to give the opposition something to cling to.

And from the moment Ward brushed Lucas – and it was the merest touch to spark the laughable reaction of a headlong fall Tom Daly would have been proud of – Liverpool sniffed blood.

Already booked for an obvious tug on Yossi Benayoun’s shirt five minutes earlier – perhaps sparked by the referee’s failure to allow a tackle that brought him crashing to the ground in agony to go unpunished in the first half – Ward’s marginal contact saw the Reds move in for the kill.

In the case of goalkeeper Pepe Reina, that meant racing 80 yards to ensure the case of mistaken identity – the yellow card incorrectly brandished to Christophe Berra instead of Ward – was righted. McCarthy was close enough to the Liverpool bench and fourth official Phil Dowd to question whether the latter and the referee had been in conversation via the earpiece – illegal under Premier League rules – to correct the mistake. But if Liverpool’s excessive reaction proved anything – other than bring the right decision, however unpalatable that was for the Wolves fans – it underlined the Reds’ desire to win. And with Wolves at full stretch to contain them anyway, the effect of Ward’s first red card was always going to be enough to tip the balance in Liverpool’s favour.

Within nine minutes, they had taken the lead courtesy of Gerrard’s towering header, and within 17, they had got a second goal through Benayoun and the game was effectively over.

The decision seemed harsh on Wolves – as did Benayoun’s angled finish, which only beat Marcus Hahnemann after looping up off Karl Henry.

But it ultimately sounded their death knell in a game where they played a hugely active part in the first half.

Although Gerrard and Torres forced Hahnemann into saves in the first seven minutes, Wolves forced four excellent openings themselves in a four-minute spell either side of the midpoint of the half to give rise to the hope they could repeat the Steve Mardenborough-inspired smash and grab victory of January 1984. Liverpool fan Sylvan Ebanks-Blake had a shot on the turn smothered by Reina, Nenad Milijas had a fierce free kick tipped over then drove wide in between a free header from Kevin Doyle from just three yards out after Milijas’s corner somehow eluded a congested near post.

Unfortunately, there was always a nagging feeling that if Wolves didn’t make one of those openings count, they would pay for it sooner or later.

So it proved, but the fact a vibrant Wolves were able to play with so much zip, confidence and quality against a team as good as Liverpool can only augur well for tonight’s clash against Manchester City.

Energy

OK, so Rafael Benitez’s side are clearly struggling for form, and it’s difficult to remember a Liverpool team give the ball away so frequently, but credit is due to Wolves for harrying them into those mistakes as well.

That McCarthy’s side defended well enough to prevent Hahnemann having to make another save until Glen Johnson tested him on the stroke of half time was another source of comfort and pride to watching owner-chairman Steve Morgan, whose son Red was Wolves’ mascot.

In the second half Gerrard was denied by Hahnemann at full stretch when he tried to pick his spot, but the fact the game was finely balanced until Ward’s sending off underlined how well Wolves were acquitting themselves.

Just like in the victory at Tottenham, they defended deep and in numbers, allowing no space behind them for Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun to exploit. Strikers Kevin Doyle and Ebanks-Blake played like extra midfielders at times in front of two banks of four as Wolves quickly filled any gaps that appeared. And when they had the ball, Milijas and the tigerish Henry looked to spread play to the hardworking Kevin Foley and Matt Jarvis, who in particular had the pace and energy to provide Johnson with a tough evening.

While McCarthy was determined Wolves remained as competitive as ever against Liverpool, he always had to have one eye on tonight’s clash.Given their efforts and McCarthy’s acknowledgement that the game left his wide men “running on empty”, it’s difficult to see Foley and Jarvis being as involved again against City.

Ward’s dismissal allowed McCarthy the double whammy of shuffling his pack to become more defensively sound (in theory) and giving his strikers an early finish.

Either side of the hour, Doyle and Ebanks-Blake’s legs were spared as they departed Anfield in readiness for the rigours of this evening.

In the case of Milijas, his substitution came just too late as McCarthy revealed afterwards he sensed the sending off would prompt Gerrard into having a growing influence on the game.

He was right as his plan for Michael Mancienne to nullify that was just a few seconds too late in being executed.

If anyone needed reminding of why Gerrard is one of the world’s celebrated midfielders, he provided it with a hanging leap and towering header that any great centre forward would have been proud of.

So, it’s back to Molineux for one more huge effort against Roberto Mancini’s multi-millionaires.

McCarthy will be hoping his side will have enough in the tank to get something from City.