Leeds 1 Wolves 0 - match report
Stale Solbakken got off to a losing start in the Championship as Wolves deservedly went down to Leeds this lunchtime.
Stale Solbakken got off to a losing start in the Championship as Wolves deservedly went down to Leeds this lunchtime.
Luciano Becchio's 17th minute header was all that separated the sides, but a lacklustre performance left the Norwegian with plenty to think about before his first home game against Barnsley on Tuesday.
A summer's work on the training ground failed to improve their Achilles heel of defending woefully exposed by Leeds for the goal, which left Wolves with one win in their last 27 games.
And without transfer-listed Steven Fletcher, there was no cutting edge from the Wolves attack.
Wantaway winger Matt Jarvis looked Wolves' most dangerous player as Solbakken ditched his summer-long tactics of playing a narrow midfield to field wingers.
But after enjoying a fair amount of the ball in the first half when he had the beating of right back Sam Byram, Jarvis was a frustrated bystander for much of the second as his team-mates failed to use him enough.
It was the home side who always looked the more threatening side as Wolves failed to trouble keeper Paddy Kenny throughout.
Solbakken made one change to the side that started against Aldershot in the Capital One Cup last week.
Jarvis came in for David Davis, who dropped to the bench, in a switch that saw Anthony Forde swapped wings from left to right.
As expected, there was no Fletcher, the transfer-listed striker left at home.
Wolves struggled to impose themselves from the start against a livelier Leeds side who settled much quicker.
David Norris fired a foot over before Leeds created three chances from one seventh-minute corner to leave the visitors pleased to be goalless.
Paul Green's header had Carl Ikeme saving on the line before the former Derby midfielder's shot was blocked and a follow-up from Rodolph Austin flew wide.
Leeds' bright start was rewarded with a goal of utter simplicity which
Keeper Paddy Kenny's chip had January Wolves target Ross McCormack scampering down the left and he took a touch before looking up and producing a peach of a cross for Becchio to dive in to head home at the far post.
There was little goalmouth action for the rest of the first half but Leeds continued to look physically stronger, hungrier and more dangerous.
When the chances did come, they fell to the home side as dangerman McCormack saw a drive blocked by a Roger Johnson before the Scot was thwarted by a fine tackle by Richard Stearman in injury-time.
Wolves matched Leeds' tempo in the second half, but they hadn't the ideas or the penetration to trouble Neil Warnock's side.
McCormack volleyed over after Becchio beat Stearman in the air to flick on before Leeds missed a golden chance to double their lead in the 53rd minute.
Luke Varney was left clean through but with only Ikeme to beat, his touch over-ran the ball and allowed the keeper to collect.
In a rare opening for Wolves, substitute and debutant Slawomir Peszko latched onto a superb pass from Karl Henry to chisel out a cross for Kevin Doyle five minutes later.
But the Ireland international was beaten to the ball.
There were three Leeds bookings in four minutes as tempers became frayed.
First Sam Byram went into the referee's notebook for bringing down Jarvis, then Varney was cautioned after an angry Johnson claimed an elbow, before Becchio was booked for one of many clashes with Stearman.
When the action resumed, Becchio's firm shot from 25 yards was held by Ikeme, before Peszko could only head into the sidenetting from Jarvis' deep centre.
And in the 88th minute, Becchio saw a rising drive from long range fly a foot over.