Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Coventry City 1

Last updated : 18 October 2008 By Footymad Previewer
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly made decisive returns from injury as they combined to fire Wolves back to the top of the Championship table after a 2-1 win over Coventry City at Molineux.

Kightly, who had recovered from a hamstring strain that forced him to miss one game, fired Wolves back on to level terms just before half-time to cancel out Michael Mifsud's sixth-minute opener.

Ebanks-Blake, back in action after missing a match with a knee injury, set the seal on the comeback when he started and finished the move that saw him grab his sixth goal of the season in the 59th minute.

Wolves, who had lost their previous two games, initially had to ride their luck to stay in contention after Mifsud's opener.

In-form Coventry had arrived at Molineux on a run of just one defeat in six games and if their finishing had been better they could have been out of sight before Kightly sparked the revival.

But they found the Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme a tough nut to crack and he ended Coventry's hopes of rescuing a point with a stunning double save in the 79th minute from Jay Tabb and Clinton Morrison.

For the third game running, Wolves were undone by an early strike when Mifsud finished off a smart four man move.

Scott Dann fed Aron Gunnarsson and his pass picked out a run by Freddy Eastwood.

Eastwood, making his return to Molineux after leaving in the summer, rolled a pin point pass into the path of Mifsud who drilled a low shot past Ikeme.

Coventry should really hammered home their advantage but were frustrated by Ikeme who kept Wolves in the game.

He denied Leon Best after a mistake by Neill Collins and then frustrated Isaac Osbourne and Jay Tabb with smart saves.

Wolves only really came to life in the final 15 minutes of the opening period and Richard Stearman was unlucky not to grab an equaliser when his close range header was cleared off the line by Danny Fox.

But Wolves pressure finally paid off three minutes before the interval when a teasing cross from Andy Keogh picked out Kightly.

The England Under-21 international looked to have let the ball go too far across the face of goal, but he was able to turn neatly before beating Kieren Westwood from eight yards.

Coventry struggled to keep the lively Kightly in check and it was no surprise that he had a hand in Ebanks-Blake's decisive strike.

Ebanks-Blake fed a right-wing cross into the area for Kightly whose 16 yard drive was spilled up into the air by Westwood.

Westwood did his best to grab the loose ball but Ebanks-Blake was on hand to muscle it home at the near post.