Wolves 1 (Edwards 61)
Queens Park Rangers 2 (Sylla 53, Wszolek 87)
On the last day of the month Queens Park Rangers exacted revenge winning 2-1 at Molineux after Wolves had won by the same score at Loftus Road on the first day of December.
Home supporters left the ground doubtless wondering how their team had contrived to lose a game they had dominated for long periods.
For the third successive game, Paul Lambert named an unchanged side and it was Wolves that kicked-off attacking the North Bank end.
Helder Costa was looking to enhance his goal tally for the season when he let fly from 22-yards in the sixth minute but his effort went over the angle.
Nouha Dicko looked on for his first since his comeback from injury when Costa slipped a short pass into his path but Joel Lynch got a foot in as the striker shot and the ball bounced over the bar for a corner that came to nothing.
Richard Stearman was penalised for obstructing Pawel Wszolek and when Jake Bidwell fired over the free-kick, it was Stearman who climbed highest to head clear.
In the 21st minute Bright Enobakhare took a return pass from Dicko and found himself in the clear. He tried to steer the ball past Alex Smithies in the Rangers goal but the keeper stuck out a leg to deflect it away.
Wolves kept up the pressure and when the ball was played back into the box, Enobakhare charged in but was denied by Jamie Mackie who was injured and needed treatment after clearing.
Wszolek fouled Matt Doherty on the by-line just a yard outside the visitors box but Costa’s free-kick was scrambled clear.
Jack Price went into the book after a foul on Idrissa Sylla before Dicko headed high and wide from Costa’s cross from the left not realising that the better placed Dave Edwards was unmarked behind him.
In the last of the three minutes of added time at the end of the half, Rangers won their first corner. Bidwell’s flag-kick was cleared without too much difficulty but Carl Ikeme and Mackie were involved a brief bout of pushing and shoving with both receiving a word from the referee before play resumed.
Half-Time: Wolves 0 QPR 0
Wolves made a strong start to the new half and Costa tested Smithies with a low shot from just outside the area before Dicko fired a centre through the heart of the Rangers goalmouth with no-one able to get a touch.
Then Edwards headed wide as he sprinted onto Conor Coady’s cross and it seemed like it was only going to be a matter of time before the breakthrough was made.
In fact it was just three minutes but, against the run of play, it was Rangers that opened the scoring as Sylla turned in Wszolek’s low, left wing centre.
There was almost an instant response from Wanderers as Enobakhare collected a cross from Costa. But the youngster found his way to goal blocked by several bodies and his eventual shot bounced away off one of them.
Yeni Ngbakoto saw his shot deflected narrowly over the bar before Wolves deservedly drew level in the 61st minute with Edwards on the mark once again as he steered home a low cross from Costa.
Bidwell was yellow carded for a challenge on Costa whose tame free-kick was easily gathered by Smithies.
Both sides then made changes with Ariel Borysiuk taking over from Sandro for QPR, and Joe Mason replaced Enobakhare for Wolves.
After James Perch had been booked for time wasting, further changes came when Conor Washington replaced Ngbakoto for the visitors, and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson went on for Dicko for the home team.
A driven cross from Ivan Cavaleiro was just too far in front of the incoming Edwards, and then Bodvarsson tried to catch Smithies off his line with a header following a long through ball from Price, but the keeper spotted the danger and made the save.
With only their second on target shot of the game, in the 87th minute, Rangers grabbed a winner as hesitancy in the home defence allowed Wszolek to prod the ball into the empty net.
Wolves: Ikeme, Doherty, Coady, Edwards, Stearman, Batth (capt), Costa, Price, Dicko (Bodvarsson 82), Enobakhare (Mason 71), Cavaleiro.
Unused subs: Burgoyne, Saville, Iorfa, Hause, Ronan.
Booking: Price (32 – foul).
QPR: Smithies, Bidwell, Hall, Lynch (capt), Mackie, Wszolek, Ngbakoto (Washington 78), Perch, Sandro (Borysiuk 67), Sylla, Manning.
Unused subs: Ingram, El Khayati, Shodipo, Hamalainen, Eze.
Bookings: Manning (65 – foul), Bidwell (66 – foul), Perch (77 – time wasting).
Referee: L. Probert.
Attendance: 21,132.
