Wolverhampton Wanderers have boosted their hopes of Premier League survival courtesy of a 2-0 win over a spirited Crystal Palace side at Molineux on Tuesday night.
An own goal from Joachim Andersen less than three minutes into the contest put the hosts in front, before Ruben Neves converted from the penalty spot in second-half stoppage time to seal maximum points for Julen Lopetegui's men.
Wolves, who lost 2-1 away at Leicester City just three days ago, had to withstand intense attacking pressure from the Eagles in the second half, but they defended resiliently to hold on for their third successive home win.
Lopetegui's side have climbed up to 13th in the Premier League table, sitting level on points with 12th-placed Palace and crucially nine points clear of the relegation zone.
Palace, meanwhile, have suffered their first defeat since the appointment of Roy Hodgson after accumulating 10 points from their previous four matches.
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With the first attack of the game, Wolves scored their earliest goal of the season, netting after just two minutes and 22 seconds, when an in-swinging Neves corner deflected off the knee of Andersen from inside the six-yard box before smacking the underside of the crossbar and crossing the line.
Palace responded well and pressed Wolves high to prevent the hosts from playing out from the back, although they had to wait until the half-hour mark to register their first real attempt on goal, with Eberechi Eze cutting inside from the left into a central area before seeing a long-range effort comfortably collected by Jose Sa.
Wolves enjoyed spells of possession in the middle of the pitch, with deep-lying dangerman Neves pinging balls over the top for the likes of Diego Costa and Matheus Cunha to run onto, but they found it difficult to create clear-cut chances to test Palace's Sam Johnstone between the sticks.
The visitors slowly grew into the game as the first half came to a close and they almost restored parity six minutes before the break, only for the strong left hand of Sa to keep out a snapshot from Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga inside the penalty area.
The last chance of the first 45 fell to Wolves centre-back Max Kilman who made a darting run towards the front post to meet a corner from Neves, but he was unable to direct his header on target.
Palace came out after the interval on the front foot, with Michael Olise the man who looked the most likely to create something down the right flank for the visitors.
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Craig Dawson should have done better with a towering header on the 63-minute mark, but the Wolves centre-back could only direct the ball over the crossbar following another Neves corner.
Frustrations grew on both sides and the contest became scrappy heading into the final 15 minutes, but Palace were able to enjoy a sustained period of pressure in the final third, with a speculative effort from Eze brilliantly tipped over the bar by Sa before Marc Guehi had a header from close range kept out from the resulting corner.
The Eagles continued to push forward in search of the equaliser in added time, but as the ball went up the other end, goalkeeper Johnstone brought down substitute Pedro Neto with a high lunging challenge inside the area, and the referee was left with no choice but to point to the spot.
Johnstone was somewhat fortunate to only receive a yellow card for the tackle, but nevertheless, Neves stepped up and placed a composed finish into the bottom-right corner, increasing his goal tally for the season to six and securing maximum points for the hosts.
Palace have picked up the most Premier League points from losing positions (20) so far this season, but they ultimately lacked a cutting edge in the final third against Wolves and came away from Molineux empty handed.
Wolves will now turn their attention to Saturday's trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, while Palace will play host to West Ham United in the lunchtime kickoff.
Oliver Thomas
