Goals either side of half time from Bright Enobakhare and Sheyi Ojo ensured that Wolverhampton Wanderers held off a late Barnet comeback to secure a 2-1 victory in the second round of the League Cup this evening.
Wolves flew out of the traps and they found themselves ahead after just three minutes thanks to frontman Enobakhare, who converted from close range after being picked out by Adam le Fondre.
The hosts continued to attack after the opener and Sylvain Deslandes almost made it 2-0 to the favourites, only to see his long-range effort creep past the wrong side of the post.
The growing dominance of Kenny Jackett's side almost paid off further after 20 minutes, with Ojo twice coming close to extending their lead before blazing over the crossbar.
The home side all but sealed their progression early in the second half thanks to Ojo, who came back from two earlier misses to cap off a neat move that began with the creative Le Fondre.
Barnet were continuously thwarted in the final third and it took some speculative shooting from Ben Tomlinson to test the gloves of Emiliano Martinez from range midway through the final 45 minutes.
The away side were, however, presented with a lifeline just under 15 minutes from time, and Bira Dembele obligingly accepted by drilling in a standout effort from distance to beat a stunned Martinez.
Kortney Hause might have made the final minutes more tolerable for Wolves when he shot straight at the keeper, but the hosts eventually held out despite late pressure to seal progression into the next round.
Christopher Dodd
