Wolves Slump as New Look Rangers Storm On

Wolverhampton slumped to a 3-0 defeat at home to Premiership new boys QPR in a game that almost never happened.

Even before a ball was kicked there was drama at Molineux. A power cut, that affected the whole of Wolverhampton town center, threatened to force match day officials to call of the fixture just hours before kick-off.

But once lights came on and the panic was over everyone at Wolves was able to stop worrying about health and safety problems, and start worrying about a visiting QPR side who should have taken a win from Newcastle United just 6 days ago.

It was Wolves themselves, rather then the Molineux, that needed a jump-start as the visitors took the game to them from the outset.

Just seven minutes passed before Rangers had broken the deadlock and punished Wolves for their poor start.

Midfielder Alejandro Faurlin found Shawn Wright-Phillips at the back post, the little Englishman bouncing a volleyed cross into the path of Joey Barton who clipped his shot past a stretched out Wayne Hennessy and into the bottom corner.

Two minutes later their lead was doubled. Bartons ball in from the bye-line was never really cleared from danger and when the ball dropped kindly to Faurlin 20 yards from goal, the midfielder needed no excuse to lash an effort towards goal and straight into the back of the Wolves net.

Karl Henry came close to an immediate reply when his effort from the edge of the box struck the QPR post, but the ball bounced clear and Wolves went into a slump that they would never recover from.

Barton, Wright-Phillips and Faurlin all saw efforts get blocked or sail wide as Wolves hung on to stay in the contest, while Ireland Internationals Stephen Ward and Kevin Doyle received very little service going forward from their supporting cast.

Ward moved back into the back four after the break as Sam Vokes came off the bench to partner Doyle up front. Although the move re-enforced Wolves’ defenses it did little to create more opportunities going forwards as the home side continued to let QPR dominate much of the play.

Similarly Stephen Hunt’s introduction 15 minutes from time did little to inspire the Wolves midfield as it struggled to both find possession, and use the ball effectively when it did eventually came to them.

QPR go their third minutes before the final whistle.

 Wright-Phillips had previously come close to wrapping up the match, striking the foot of Hennessey’s post 12 minutes from the end, but it was substitute D J Cambell who grabbed QPR’s final goal, tucking away Armand Traore’s cross after the former Gunner broke, untracked, from inside his own half before squaring the ball to the waiting striker.  

Wolves were poor and the hand full of fans left inside the Molineux greeted the final whistle with jeers rather then cheers. A disappointing result that was matched by an even more disappointing performance