Michael Appleton had gone eight games unbeaten since joining Blackpool from Portsmouth but he was to taste defeat for the first time when Wolves visited Bloomfield Road on Friday evening.
The visitors took the lead early on through Sylvan Ebanks-Blake but from then on it was all Blackpool. Somehow, Stale Solbakken's men managed to hold off the relentless orange pressure and leave with Lancashire with three points.
Read how it all unfolded in our minute-by-minute updates below.
Evening all! Let's get straight to the teams...
BLACKPOOL XI: Gilks, Basham, Broadfoot, Baptiste, Crainey, Angel, Osbourne, Gomes, Ince, Delfouneso, Thomas
WOLVES XI: Ikeme, Foley, Johnson, Berra, Ward, Pennant, Henry, Doumbia, Sako, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake
The visitors have made one change as Stoke loanee Jermaine Pennant replaces Bjorn Sigurdarson in Stale Solbakken's starting lineup.
Surprisingly for Blackpool, Chris Basham is able to start despite initially being sidelined because of an ankle problem.
Appleton is also able to call on star frontman Thomas Ince, despite increased speculation this week that he is on the brink of joining boyhood club Liverpool, which he only left last summer.
Looking at our Championship overview, we can see that Blackpool are eighth in the form table while Wolves are 17th. The visitors do however have a better defence than the Tangerines but Appleton's men have the third-meanest attack. Should be a good game then!
As mentioned above, victory for Wolves will pull them clear of the bottom six. Three points will see them rise from 18th to 13th in the table.
Tonight's game is one of two Championship fixtures on this shortest day of the year. At Pride Park, two of the division's form sides, Derby and Hull, meet. I'll be sure to keep you up to date with any goals and incidents there. Fear not.
Back to our feature game and Appleton tells Sky Sports News that Wolves will provide a "tough test". He also remains tight-lipped on the Ince-to-Liverpool situation, confirming that the club have turned down a bid from the Reds.
The last time these two sides met was in the Premier League almost two years ago and on that day Wolves were 4-0 victors. That scoreline seems highly unlikely tonight and you can get 179/1 on it happening again!
Wolves boss Solbakken says that the pitch at Bloomfield Road could be "difficult" as it is expected to cut up.
The players are out going through the pre-match handshakes. Blackpool are in their customary orange tops, white shorts while Wolves are in their changed strip that they describe as "teal" on their Twitter page. It's a kind of blue, basically.
KICKOFF! Wolves get us underway.
Pennant gets in behind Osbourne down the right and dinks over a cross for the front duo of Doyle and Ebanks-Blake that is well headed out.
GOAL! Blackpool 0-1 Wolves (Ebanks-Blake)
What a simple, simple goal for the visitors. They almost took the lead moments before when outnumbering the hosts but it didn't take them long to make their early dominance count. Pennant picks the ball up in the centre of midfield and it's oh so easy to slide a pass through to Ebanks-Blake who lifts his shot over Gilks and into the corner.
Blackpool have their first shot as Gomes is afforded space outside the area to let fly but the former Benfica youngster's shot dribbles harmlessly through to Ikeme.
Gomes appeals to the linesman and referee after seemingly being bundled over by Doumbia but receives blank looks in return.
Aston Villa loanee Delfouneso is playing out on the left for Blackpool and he cuts in from the left to have a shot but the ball just hops up off the turf and the youngster blazes miles over.
Wolves skipper Henry tumbles on the dodgy ground but does well to win himself a free kick as the hosts looked to nick the ball and break.
Superb play from Delfouneso to dink the ball through two defenders before being hauled down. Great set-piece opportunity for Blackpool...
Gomes fizzes it in from the left to the near post and that's really well held by Ikeme under plenty of pressure from the onrushing orange jerseys.
Thomas's famous dad Paul Ince is in the crowd watching his highly-sought-after son.
Wolves left-back Ward is down injured after a knee collision with Angel.
Ince swings over a corner from the left but it won't result in a chance for the Tangerines as referee Coote blows his whistle for an infringement somewhere.
All of a sudden the game goes end-to-end as first Wolves have the ball stolen with men racing forward before Gomes's pass to the unmarked Ince is overhit and the chance is wasted.
Goal in the other Championship match and high-flying Hull lead at Derby thanks to prolific midfielder Robert Koren.
Ward has his head in his hands as he is adjudged to have leaned on Ince in the corner. Quite harsh, to be fair. Blackpool free kick...
Ince whips it over but that's well defended by the Wolves backline.
There's a stoppage in play as the two Wolves centre-halves, Berra and Johnson, suffer a clash of heads with each other.
CHANCE! Blackpool should be level. Ince is found with a delicious raking pass and instead of shooting the winger looks to square for Thomas but it's a tad strong and can't connect with the forward's sprawling legs.
OFF THE POST! Ince skips away from a challenge on the right touchline and then drives at the penalty area. He is forced away from goal but picks out Gomes left-of-centre who hits it early towards the near post and that's exactly what it hits after beating Ikeme's right glove. Blackpool really on top now.
Crainey curls a delightful free kick over from the left and Wolves just about clear it as Broadfoot miscalculates his header at goal.
CHANCE! Another wonderful opportunity for Blackpool. Ince just about beats the offside trap and only has Ikeme to beat. The Wolves stopper stands tall though and beats away the youngster's effort before Thomas heads the rebound over the bar on-the-reach.
Despite being so in-demand, Ince's decision making on the two best chances of the game hasn't been brilliant. He should have taken it on himself with the first one but squared for the unmarked Thomas moments ago.
Pennant goes down on the edge of the are but he ran into Broadfoot there and the officials are correct not to award a free kick/penalty.
SHOT! Doyle threads to (an offside) Ebanks-Blake but the goalscorer's effort was always rising. Gilks tips it over just to be safe.
Three minutes added on at the end of the first half.
Blackpool have a free kick right on the edge of the area as Berra blocks off Thomas. Good decision from Coote not to award a penalty there. This will be the final chance of the half and what a chance. Just left of centre, 18 yards out.
Ince's effort goes straight into the wall and Wolves break through Pennant and Doyle but Crainey gets back well to clear.
HALF-TIME: Blackpool 0-1 Wolves
A blistering start from Wolves then, who lead thanks to Ebanks-Blake, but that was followed by Blackpool dominance. The hosts should definitely be level because of the chances for Ince and Thomas while Gomes also rattled the post.
In tonight's other Championship match, Derby equalised against Hull just before the break through Michael Jacobs so they're level at Pride Park.
As mentioned earlier, if Wolves can (somehow) hang on here then they'll rise to the top of the bottom half and a good deal clear of the relegation zone.
Blackpool have fallen behind in 14 of 23 matches this season but only lost six of those. Appleton's men have certainly looked capable of a comeback.
My prediction for the final score? 2-2. This game has not been a tentative one and I expect goals in the second 45, which is coming up very shortly.
Blackpool have made a change at half-time and it's Gary Taylor-Fletcher on for Wes Thomas.
GTF goes out to the left to allow Delfouneso to take up the lead striker's role.
CHANCE! Gomes slips a reverse pass through to Ince and that's a fine last-gasp challenge from Berra to deflect away the youngster's shot on goal.
It didn't take Hull long to regain their lead over Derby in the second half as Abdoulaye Faye scores in the 50th minute.
SAVES! Ikeme keeps Wolves in it! First Crainey's cross is flicked towards the bottom corner and the Wolves stopper keeps it out. He then palms away Ince's curled effort for a corner before completing a trio of fine stops by beating away Ince's volley from the loose ball. Wonderful goalkeeping.
OFF THE POST! I'm not sure if Gomes was going for this but his corner is whipped very low and it bounces back off the face of the near post.
"HOOF!" boom the crowd as Sako lashes away the Blackpool danger. The hosts are still well on top here.
WELL HELD! Pennant is caught in possession just outside his own area and Taylor-Fletcher has a pop from 20 yards that Ikeme keeps in his grasp.
Solbakken must surely be thinking about making a defensive substitution soon. He has two strikers on the pitch and Blackpool are outnumbering them going forward.
YELLOW! First booking of the game for Pennant because of a rash tackle on Crainey. Free kick to Blackpool left of the area.
Nothing wrong with the left-back's delivery but it evades everyone and goes behind for a goal kick as we enter the final third of the match. Can Wolves hold out for 30 more minutes? I can't see it personally.
The stats show that Blackpool have had 14 attempts on goal to Wolves' two. Only one comparison matters though, and that's the scoreline that remains at 0-1.
SUB: Wolves make their first changes as David Davies replaces Doumbia.
PENALTY! Wolves have the chance to double their lead.
GOAL! Blackpool 0-2 Wolves (Ebanks-Blake, pen)
How on earth are Wolves winning this 2-0? They're handed a golden chance to double the lead as Sako does a double stepover to beat Basham who then needlessly tugs the winger's shirt. It's another top, bold decision from Coote and Ebanks-Blake simply thwacks the penalty down the middle.
SUB: Veteran frontman Kevin Phillips comes on for Angel as Blackpool go in search of that goal.
BOOKING! In the aftermath of the penalty award, Blackpool's Osbourne was cautioned for dissent.
With just 10 minutes left in Lancashire, is there any way back for Blackpool? Could they snatch a draw? They seem to have lost their fizz since that second goal and Wolves are almost coasting home.
SUBS: Another change for the visitors as Pennant comes off for Anthony Forde. Blackpool also make a sub as Delfouneso is withdrawn for Nouha Dicko.
Dicko tries to make an immediate impact but his shot-on-the-turn was never troubling Ikeme.
Droves of the Blackpool supporters are on their way out of Bloomfield Road now as the Tangerines have shown no fight to get back int this.
WHAT A MISS! Ebanks-Blake should have a hat-trick! The Wolves striker is set free and he rounds Gilks but the ball bobbles up as he looks to poke into the empty net, instead slicing horribly high to give the home fans that have stayed behind something to cheer.
GOAL! Blackpool 1-2 Wolves (Baptiste)
Well-worked goal from the Seasiders as Taylor-Fletcher slides into Dicko and Ikeme once again does brilliantly to keep it out. This time, however, the ball pops up for skipper Baptiste to head home from inside the six-yard box. Game on?
Just before the goal came, Wolves made their final change with the impressive Sako going off for Richard Stearman.
Four minutes added on.
The Blackpool players are furious with Dicko after the sub got inside his man but decided to shoot from a tight angle instead of getting his head up.
Herculean harrying from two-goal man Ebanks-Blake ensures Broadfoot doesn't have the chance to pump the ball forward.
FULL-TIME: Blackpool 1-2 Wolves
It's what could be described as a hard-fought win for Wolves but in all honesty Blackpool should have at least a point, probably all three. However, because of their inferior finishing and the exploits of Ikeme in goal it's Wolves who go home the happy side.
It was also 2-1 to the away side in tonight's other match as Hull saw off Derby at Pride Park. Click here to read our report on that result.
If, for some reason, you've only just joined us and what a concise report of Wolves's smash-and-grab win, click here for my colleague Jack Prescott's summary.
Thanks for joining Sports Mole this evening. Look out for my match analysis which will be up on site in around half an hour's time. Be sure, also, to join us for another bumper Saturday of football tomorrow. Good night!
Written by
Pascal Lemesre
Pascal Lemesre
