Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 Hull City 1
There have been many tests thrust at this burgeoning Wolverhampton Wanderers team this season.
In the wake of a four-game winless streak which saw them drop out of the play-off places with five games remaining, this was probably one of the biggest.
And yet, like so many others, it was a challenge grasped with energy, determination and gusto and one they passed with flying colours.
The fact that Hull City are fighting at the foot of the Championship made this one of those afternoons to fear a lingering stalemate. Thanks to Wolves holding their nerve, as well as some clinical finishing, that was never the case.
Much of that was due to Jay Bothroyd (right), who chose his first start since mid-December to prove that, on his day, there are few more potent operators at Championship level.
Granted, Michael McIndoe's 19th-minute cross was pure perfection, but the enigmatic centre-forward still had the small matter of directing his looping header into the corner of the net to give Boaz Myhill no chance.
His second goal, within two minutes of the interval, was equally impressive, the merest of flicks directing Andy Keogh's centre neatly into the net.
By that point, Seyi Olofinjana had already put Wolves 2-0 up, heading in via the post from Michael Kightly's cross and Mick McCarthy's men were coasting, with stand-in goalkeeper Jan Budtz enjoying his first start in senior football since last September for the injured Matt Murray.
The Wolves No 1 had been forced into one save to gather Nicky Forster's angled first-half drive and the same Hull striker also shot wide when in a good position on the left.
Other than that, the first hour was all the home side with Keogh denied by Myhill's legs early on before testing the keeper again with a long-range shot.
Wolves being Wolves, it wasn't completely simple and Forster's emphatic 60th-minute finish after outwitting Gary Breen meant it wasn't quite cigar time for McCarthy and his players, but in truth they were never really troubled in posting the win that took them back into the play-off zone.
Bothroyd, back in the spotlight after his winning goal against West Bromwich Albion this month, certainly caught the eye. "I'm pleased with Jay's response to being out of the team," said McCarthy.
"I told him not to come knocking on my door asking to play if the team are not doing particularly well and somebody's having a tough time.
"I've told him to knock on my door because he's doing brilliantly. I started with him because he's been doing really well in training and is fitter than he's ever been.
"Stephen Ward came in and did brilliantly but after hitting the dizzy heights, I felt he'd just hit a bit of a plateau.
"Jay's been chomping at the bit, he's wanted to play, I thought he should play and perhaps he's proved me right.
"He's scored two centre-forward's goals from inside the box, rather than being out on the wing or behind the full-back trying to set things up. If he gets himself in the box, he's as good as anyone."
McCarthy revealed that Murray has a chance of being fit for Saturday's trip to Crystal Palace, with the injury sustained at Sunderland on Saturday proving the equivalent of a dead leg. That rounded off a more than pleasing afternoon for all concerned.
"It's great to back in the top six; it was a bit worrying being out of that for a couple of days," added McCarthy.
"It's all concertina-ed up behind us, so it's all exciting and tense but I've told the players to enjoy the position we've found ourselves in."
Scorers: Bothroyd (19) 1-0; Olofinjana (39) 2-0; Bothroyd (47) 3-0; Forster (60) 3-1.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS (4-4-2): Budtz; Little, Breen, Craddock, McNamara (Collins, 56); Kightly, Olofinjana, Potter, McIndoe (Gleeson, 76); Keogh, Bothroyd (Ward, 76). Substitutes: Hennessey (gk), M Davies.
HULL CITY (4-3-3): Myhill; Ricketts, Delaney, Turner, Dawson; Parlour (Bridges, 76), Ashbee, Peltier (Marney, 45); Vaz Te (Elliott, 45), Windass, Forster. Substitutes: Duke (gk), Coles.
Referee: Phil Joslin (Nottinghamshire).
Bookings: Wolves — Olofinjana, Ward (fouls); Hull — Forster, Parlour, Ashbee (fouls).
Attendance: 20, 772.
