Port Vale 1 Wolves 3 - match report
Three second-half goals powered Wolves to their fourth straight win in League One as they punished Port Vale in ruthless style - with Bakary Sako left out of the squad.
Leigh Griffiths (56) put Wolves in front before substitute Bjorn Sigurdarson (75) scored one and made the other for Kevin McDonald (83).
Tom Pope reduced the arrears in the second minute of time added on to give the scoreline a realistic look after Vale hit the post through Doug Loft and Carl Ikeme superbly denied Carl Dickinson, both at 1-0.
Wolves head coach Kenny Jackett made three changes to the line-up that beat Crawley 2-1 eight days ago.
And the big news was the omission of Sako, who Jackett said wasn't in the right frame of mind to play with interest in him from Nottingham Forest.
Wolves have not accepted a bid for the former St Etienne winger, nor are they close to, while they will welcome him back into the team if he isn't sold by Monday's 11pm deadline.
Sako's place was taken by debutant Scott Golbourne, who was signed yesterday from Barnsley for £700,000.
But it proved a shortlived affair as he went off with a back injury just before half-time to be replaced by Lee Evans.
McDonald had replaced Evans in the starting line-up for his full Wolves debut, while Griffiths returned up front in place of Sigurdarson, who dropped to the bench.
Vale fielded former Wolves player Daniel Jones at left midfield, but the Wordsley-born ex-Molineux man limped off injured after 30 minutes, while former Albion striker Lee Hughes was up front for Vale and attracted plenty of abuse from the visiting supporters.
For the third successive away game, Wolves were backed by a sell-out following as 4,461 fans making the short journey up the M6.
They witnessed former Sheffield United playmaker McDonald have the first effort of the game, his curling cross-shot punched away by Vale keeper Chris Neal after three minutes.
In a positive start from Wolves, Matt Doherty sent a looping header a few inches over the bar from Griffiths on seven minutes.
Doherty had plenty of work to do defensively however, with lively Vale winger Jennison Myrie-Williams proving a real handful.
Myrie-Williams produced a fine run that led to Vale's first chance which saw the powerful winger flash an angled shot that had Carl Ikeme at full stretch to his left to parry away in the 11th minute.
Two minutes later Griffiths sent a poor effort wide on his weaker right foot after Kevin Doyle put him in the clear in the inside right channel.
McDonald advanced to take up a good position centrally but as the Vale defence backed off in front of him, he hit his shot straight at Neal on 16 minutes.
Griffiths saw an effort charged down by Carl Dickinson but Vale immediately launched an attack which saw Pope head over from Chris Lines's free kick won by Hughes in the 23rd minute.
Zeli Ismail was having a busy game for Wolves and after their first three corners himself, the youngster twice cut inside from the right to try his luck, first firing well over then forcing a diving save from Neal on 32.
Wolves were forced into a change when Evans came on for Golbourne, who was led off by Wolves head of medical Phil Hayward after trying to play on following an earlier knock.
Griffiths forced Neal into a diving stop in the first of two minutes added on at the end of the first half with a long-range effort that bounced up in front of the Vale keeper.
The Scotland international started the second half the way he finished the first – with a shot.
This time it was a sliding effort that flew wide from Ricketts's centre within seconds of the restart.
But if his radar had been slightly out so far, it was razor sharp with his next opening.
Evans launched a superb crossfield ball into the inside right channel and Griffiths latched onto it.
It looked as if he had nudged the ball too far ahead but Carl Dickinson seemed to slip and miss the chance to clear it and Griffiths punished him in ruthless style by lashing home from around 15 yards out.
Rather than quieten the home side, the goal sparked Vale into their best spell of the game.
Doug Loft headed against the post from Adam Yates's cross on 61 and Dickinson saw a thumping rising shot superbly clawed out of the air by Ikeme on 65, in between another chance for Griffiths which was clawed away by Neal a minute earlier, from a similar position to his goal.
Sigurdarson replaced the tireless Ismail on 66, playing up front and forcing Doyle to the wing.
But the Icelandic forward quickly made his presence felt by scoring one goal and making another.
He was perfectly placed to steer home home Griffiths's right-wing cross on the volley from close range.
After a poor header from Vale substitute Ben Williamson straight at Ikeme, Sigurdarson turned provider for Wolves' third goal.
He powered forward with a surging run from the right to bear down on Neal before unselfishly squaring the ball to McDonald to sweep the ball home into the unguarded net.
Vale reduced the arrears at the death when Pope nodded home Chris Lines's right-wing cross, with Ikeme getting a good hand to the ball without being able to prevent it crossing the line.
But there was no denying Wolves another deserved away victory to send their 4,461 fans in the 12,601 crowd home happy.
