Wolves under-23s made it six straight Premier League 2 wins in a row as they came out on top of a remarkable game on the road at Southampton.
Dexter Lembikisa scored for both teams, first to put Wolves ahead early on and then an own goal for the Saints after the break, but Taylor Perry, Lee Harkin and Luke Cundle found the target to secure all three points and lift Wolves up to second in the Division 2 table.
As they did last time out against Aston Villa, Wolves made the perfect start as the under-23s opened the scoring within the first two minutes of the game. Following neat work on the half-way line by Harkin, he set Chem Campbell into space, who in turn fired a great cross-field pass to Lembikisa in acres of space.
Having exploited the Southampton defence, Lembikisa drove into the penalty area, and with just the hosts goalkeeper to beat, the right wing-back smashed a low shot between the legs of Eddie Beach to put Wolves ahead and score his first goal at under-23 level.
The men in the gold shirts were the ones most likely to notch the second of the afternoon as the intricate passing and movement of James Collins’ side was causing all sorts of issues for Southampton, and it took a last-ditch tackle to deny Campbell the chance to add to his tally of goals when he was almost picked out inside the penalty area.
There was real concern for Southampton forward Diamon Edwards within the opening 15 minutes of the match which led to a lengthy stoppage while he received treatment. Edwards, who appeared to go down with no contact being made to him, was eventually stretchered off the pitch.
Wolves were the side having all the chances throughout the first-half, but were struggling to find the target, with Cundle, Ollie Tipton and Harvey Griffiths all coming close with efforts that were unable to test Beach in the Saints goal.
Not being clinical in front of goal appeared to have cost Wolves when Southampton equalised on the hour mark. Striker Luke Pearce was slipped in between Christian Marques and Kam Kandola before aiming a low drive inside the far post with Jamie Pardington beaten.
The side which looked so dominant in the first-half were anything but after the break as Southampton got the wind in their sails and could see the three points were there for the taking with Wolves struggling to assert themselves on the game.
Having found themselves behind early on, the hosts took the lead with 20 minutes of the match remaining when Lembikisa, who did so well to score at the right end within the opening two minutes, put the ball into his own net as he misplaced his header when attempting to clear a cross.
But Wolves weren’t behind for long, as a neat team move by Wolves saw Perry was played in on goal by Campbell inside the box and slipped a low shot in between Beach’s legs and into the back of the net.
Collins’ side were incensed moments later as Hugo Bueno was tripped clearly inside the penalty area by Lewis Payne, but the referee awarded only a free-kick just outside the box, but it didn’t matter as Wolves found the courage and energy to snatch a third to put themselves back in front.
Following his brace against West Bromwich Albion, Harkin made it three in three games for the under-23s when he was picked out in the Saints box and having turned his marker, fired a powerful effort into the bottom corner.
The topsy-turvy game was complete in the dying moments when Cundle made it four for Wolves. The midfielder linked up brilliantly with Perry and Campbell down the left as the trio combined with quick one-touch passing to make it into the Southampton box, and with the defence at sixes and sevens, Cundle found the back of the net.
COMING UP
James Collins’ side are back in action next Friday evening when they take another trip on the road, this time to the East Midlands and a clash with Nottingham Forest at Meadow Lane – the home of their rivals Notts County.
NEXT FIVE
01/04 Nottingham Forest (A)
10/04 Peterborough United (A) PLC
15/04 Middlesbrough (A)
18/04 Newcastle United (H)
25/04 Stoke City (H)
TEAMS
Southampton: Beach, Lancashire, Tizzard (Smith 46), Lawrence, Small, Payne, Doyle, Turner, Pearce, Edwards (Burnett 18), Mitchell.
Unused subs: Hall, Otseh-Taiwo, Smales-Braithwaite.
Wolves: Pardington, Lembikisa (Keto-Diywaa 90), Tipton, Marques, Kandola, Bueno, Griffiths (Hodge 72), Perry, Cundle, Campbell, Harkin (Roberts 88).
Unused subs: O’Shaughnessy, Hodnett.
