Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1

The bare facts, a first home league win in two months, goals for each of his strikers and three vital Championship points suggest a thoroughly satisfying evening for Mick McCarthy and his resurgent Wolverhampton Wanderers team.

Yet when he reflects the manner of their procurement will cause as much consternation as satisfaction for a manager who is trying to perfect footballing alchemy by finding his resources in the lower leagues and forging them into something resembling Old Gold.

His side should not have needed 91 minutes to see off a limited Sheffield Wednesday outfit they looked capable of dominating in the first quarter.

But a calamitously-gifted equaliser cancelled out Andy Keogh's third goal in two games and a failure to sustain their momentum in the second period meant they were made to wait to land the decisive blow.

It was not until Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, recently signed from Plymouth Argyle, stabbed home Jay Bothroyd's cushioned pull back from Michael Gray's cross, that Wolves finally proved their intrinsic superiority. What a shame they needed a minute of injury time to do it.

Nevertheless McCarthy was bullish that his team, showing three changes to the one that won so emphatically at Watford last Saturday, were able to out-last their opponents.

"I always believed we would win and was never in any doubt we would get back to winning ways at home," said McCarthy.

"Even in the 90th minute I still had that belief. What pleased me was the bodies we had in the box at the end.

"The game should have been done with. Their goal was a good finish but it was gifted to them by a couple of mistakes."

Within the first minute, Keogh and the impish Matt Jarvis had emerged as the game's two most potent creative forces the former hitting the woodwork three times in the first 11 minutes.

Just 30 seconds had passed when Lee Grant's goal frame began shaking.

Ebanks-Blake headed a hopeful centre down to his strike partner and the Irish-man's shot thumped off the crossbar with only the goalkeeper to beat before being ruled offside. It was embarrassing if not crucial.

A minute and a half later Jarvis tricked his way to the by-line and pulled back to find his team-mate completely unmarked eight yards out. This time there was no official intervention and little doubt that the former Scunthorpe forward should have scored.

He made amends soon after. He released Ebanks-Blake just inside the penalty area and the £1.5 million man rolled a first time pass into Keogh's path.

This time he went for placement over power and curled his shot off the right upright and into the net. It was no more than Wolves deserved.

Wednesday were level in the 20th minute with a goal that was also created by the home side.

Glen Whelan's scuffed cross from the inside left channel rolled straight at Darren Ward but instead of clearing the defender allowed it to roll under his foot.

Kevin Foley stood rooted to the spot while Marcus Tudgay swooped in and completed the simple task of beating Wayne Hennessey. Molineux, silent in the seconds before their goalkeeper was beaten, was funereal.

And so it remained for the rest of the first period. The hosts' early fluency had ebbed away and the visitors had exactly what one suspected they came for.

For that reason the second period lacked any of the cohesion of the first, though Brian Laws' visitors should have gone ahead just before the hour.

Wade Small dissected Wanderers' defence with a delicious pass from the left wing that Akpo Sodje took in stride and tiptoed around Hennessey. Instead of rolling home, however, he slumped to the turf and allowed the young Wales international to recover.

That seemed to spark Wolves into life and their best chance of the period came a few minutes later when David Edwards, making his home debut, burst from mid-field into the area but his effort lacked both power and direction.

As the match wore on neither side seemed to possess either the engine or ingenuity to force a decisive goal.

Bothroyd's introduction ten minutes from the end gave McCarthy's side more of a physical edge up front but it was not until stoppage time that he made it pay.

Scorers: Keogh (11) 1-0; Tudgay (20) 1-1; Ebanks-Blake (90+1) 2-1. WOLVERHAMPTON (4-4-2): Hennessey; Foley, Ward, Collins (Edwards, 9), Gray; Elliott (Jones, 72), Henry, Edwards, Jarvis; Keogh (Bothroyd, 80), Ebanks-Blake. Subs: Potter, Stack.

SHEFF WED (4-4-2): Grant; Bullen, Hinds, Beevers, Spurr; Johnson (O'Brien, 45), Whelan, Wallwork, Small; Sodje (Burton, 64), Tudgay. Subs: Wood, Gilbert, Boden.

Referee: Phil Joslin (Nottinghamshire).

Bookings: Wolves Edwards; Wednesday Spurr (both fouls).

Attendance: 22, 746.

Wolves man of match: Matt Jarvis faded like his team but only after a very good first half.