Wolves 1 PNE 2
North End recorded another fantastic away win with a brilliant performance on the eve of the second anniversary of Sir Tom Finney’s passing.
Paul Gallagher finished off a brilliant one-two with Joe Garner with a chip to open the scoring in the first half and then Adam Reach fired a bullet into the bottom left hand corner in the early stages of the second half.
Substitute Joe Mason pulled one back for the home side, but they rarely threatened Anders Lindegaard as the Lilywhites went away from Molineux by moving into the top half of the table.
There were two changes to the side that defeated Huddersfield Town the previous week; Paul Huntington and Daniel Johnson returning to the side in place of Jordan Hugill and Callum Robinson.
And from the outset North End set the tempo, as three minutes in Adam Reach broke down the right, crossed for Joe Garner, who controlled in the box, but his shot was blocked and into hands of Carl Ikeme from close range.
On the quarter hour mark some great build up with Reach down the left, saw a clever reverse pass for Paul Gallagher 25 yards out, but he arrowed shot just over the bar.
However, he wasn’t to be denied two minutes later as some brilliant football by the Lilywhites opened the scoring. They worked the ball through the middle of the park, Gallagher playing a one-two with Garner, before lofting the ball over Ikeme and into the net with Adam Reach on the line in case it hadn’t crossed; nothing more than their performance to that point had merited.
The home side’s only first half chance came on 26 minutes when substitute Nathan Byrne fired a free kick from 29 yards out against the right hand post and out for a goal kick; the former Swindon man having come on in the aftermath of the goal for James Henry.
And eight minutes into the second half it was two as North End again broke; the ball moved excellently down the right, crossed by Calum Woods, Carl Ikeme punching it out but Adam Reach reacting and firing home from 15 yards out at a narrow angle into the bottom left hand corner.
The visitors halved the deficit half way through the second half as Conor Coady’s throughball found Joe Mason, who raced through rounded Lindegaard and fired home past Calum Woods on the line.
The closing stages after the goal were rarely played in the North End half, with Anders Lindegaard not tested as the 1,500 away fans saluted their team at the final whistle.
Wolves line-up: Ikeme, Doherty, Batth (c), Henry (Byrne, 18), Saville (Rowe, 85), Coady, van La Parra (Mason, 46), Iorfa, Price, Sigurdarson, Ebanks-Landell. Subs not used: Martinez, McDonald, Deslandes, Le Fondre.
: Lindegaard, Woods, Cunningham, Clarke (c), Huntington, Wright, Browne, Gallagher (Welsh, 68), Johnson, Reach, Garner (Doyle, 86). Subs not used: Kirkland, Vermijl, Kilkenny, Doyle, Hugill, Robinson.PNE line-up
: 21,204 (1,504 away fans)Attendance
: Mr K JohnsonReferee