Peterborough 1 Wolves 0 - match report and pictures

Michael Bostwick scored the only goal from a 25-yard free kick in the 79th minute after Richard Stearman fouled former Wolves winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.

Chances were few and far between with neither keeper making a serious save all match as Wolves were overtaken at the top by Leyton Orient who drew 1-1 against Sheffield United.

Wolves were denied a clear-cut penalty in the sixth minute when Kgosi Ntlhe handled Bakary Sako's cross but referee Rob Madley didn't see it.

The visitors were far better in the first period and had half chances from Leigh Griffiths twice and Sako, who hit the sidenetting.

But they were nowhere near their recent standards and in particular, their front four were below par and lacking in energy.

Only man of the match Kevin McDonald showed anything like the tempo we have come to expect this season as Wolves came nowhere near the heights they scaled in midweek.

Not surprisingly, Jackett named an unchanged team from the side that beat Tranmere 2-0 on Tuesday night.

The only changes were on the bench, where Matt Doherty and Aaron McCarey were replaced by David Davis and Wayne Hennessey.

Doherty was out with a tight hamstring sustained in training yesterday while Hennessey was back in a Wolves squad for the first time since Sunderland away in April 2012 as McCarey departed for a loan spell at York.

Before kick off, there was a presentation to honour former Wolves and Peterborough striker Derek Dougan, who was inducted into Posh's hall of fame.

His sister Coreen and niece Josephine travelled from Belfast to accept the award on behalf of the family.

When the action started, Wolves had the better of what was a really scrappy first half and monopolised all the half chances.

Leigh Griffiths fired high and wide after turning inside after just 67 seconds.

Posh replied with a low shot from Lee Tomlin that bounced wide a minute later before the moment when Wolves should have been awarded a penalty.

Kgosi Ntlhe clearly handled Bakary Sako's right-wing cross, so much so that he appeared to carry the ball before dribbling away and clearing his lines.

But Telford referee Rob Madley, although close by, was on the blind side of it and didn't see it and most of London Road breathed a sigh of relief.

Wolves, driven on by the inspired Kevin McDonald, went on to look the more threatening side without ever getting in behind Posh's rearguard.

Sako disappointed with a driven free kick into the wall in the 14th minute, after which Michael Jacobs placed his shot wide from 20 yards.

Griffiths had the next opening in the 25th minute, but got underneath his header from the edge of the six-yard box and headed over after Jacobs beat former Wolves man Mark Little on the left before crossing.

Captain Sam Ricketts forced the only save of the half however, forcing Bobby Olejnik low down to his left at the near post after cutting inside and letting fly with his left foot with a low drive on 31.

Posh produced their only other attempt of a first period low on quality two minutes later with a wild volley that flew a few feet over after Ntlhe's cross had come off Sako and bounced dangerously in the box without anyone being able to squeeze a shot in.

Wolves returned fire three minutes before the break and Sako easily beat Ntlhe before racing in on goal only to lash his shot into the sidenetting from a ridiculous angle with team-mates screaming for a cross.

Danny Batth had Wolves' final effort of the half on the stroke of half-time when he rose highest to a deep Sako cross only to float a looping header over.

Posh made a half-time switch with Nathaniel Knight-Percival on for Little and they created the first opening when Tomlin earned a free kick off Batth but could only curl the set-piece into the wall on 49.

Wolves made a change of their own in the 57th minute when Bjorn Sigurdarson came on for Kevin Doyle, who had had a quieter game.

Posh made their final two gambles of the dice on hour with the arrival of ex-Wolves winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Nathaniel Knight-Percival for Jermaine Anderson and Tyron Barnett.

But the changes seemed to have little immediate impact as both sides continued to cancel each other out, with chances gradually dying up at both ends.

Out of the blue, Posh grabbed the breakthrough that neither side had threatened for a long time.

A mazy diagonal run in from the left was halted by a lunge by Stearman that brought his former team-mate Mendez-Laing crashing to the ground 11 minutes from time.

Stearman was booked and from the resulting free kick, Bostwick drilled home a tremendous low shot that ripped inside Carl Ikeme's right-hand post.

In a desperate attempt to get back on level terms, Jackett brought on Zeli Ismail and Jake Cassidy for Jacobs and Griffiths with 10 minutes left.

But Wolves continued to find the going tough against a team rejuvenated by their goal.

And in the end, they got what they deserved after a lacklustre second-half display.