Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to winning ways at the top of the Championship table this evening after a standout effort from Ruben Neves earned the league leaders a slender 1-0 victory over 10-man Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
The victory means that Wolves have now won four league away games in a row without conceding a goal for the first time in the club's history.
Working from the stands following a one-game ban, Owls boss Carlos Carvalhal made some strategic changes in the middle and they appeared to stifle Wolves for much of the first half.
The home side defended some Neves-led moves well in the opening 30 minutes and were able to offer some problems themselves from out wide, as Jordan Rhodes knocked down a cross for the run of Adam Reach, who fired wide of John Ruddy's goal.
The Owls continued to cause issues with balls into the box, this time as Joost van Aken leapt highest in the area to flick a header towards the far post that left Ruddy scrambling to make a smart save down low.
Wolves saw a lot of the ball in the first half and were unable to do much with it, although the club's £15m spend on Neves proved vital 34 minutes into the contest. Wednesday were unable to clear effectively from a free kick, leaving the midfielder with the chance to produce a deft finish along the ground from all of 25 yards out.
Wednesday responded with some positive intent in the second period, and they might have found an equaliser had Gary Hooper made better use of Reach's ball towards the back-post.
Wolves were able to show flickers of brilliance despite not being at their usual best, Romain Saiss heading wide of the target from a free kick with just young Wednesday stopper Joe Wildsmith to beat.
The visitors were unable to keep the ball effectively in the second half, but they again came close to sealing the three points when Matt Doherty squared for Leo Bonatini, who slipped at the vital moment.
The Owls had not given up the fight just yet and it took some standout defending from Willy Boly to stop Lucas Joao's testing cross from finding its way into Ruddy's net.
Any real hope of Wednesday salvaging a point came to an end in the 85th minute, however, when Morgan Fox picked up his second yellow of the game, leaving Wolves to close out another impressive victory on the road and move seven points clear at the top of the table.
Christopher Dodd
