SCUNTHORPE 2 WOLVES 4

Mick McCarthy’s Wolverhampton Wanderers continued to labour in their pre-season preparations with an inconclusive victory over Championship side Scunthorpe United.

For long periods the Premiership outfit looked anything but as they were pinned back by opponents who last term finished sixth in League One.

Thankfully they found their touch in front of goal with strikes from George Friend and Andy Keogh and two from Greg Halford, but their performance without the ball will give McCarthy considerable cause for concern.

But even though it was the hosts who had the better of the first half and created several decent chances, it was the visitors who went in ahead.

That fact was down to neat finishes from Friend and Keogh and a solid display from Marcus Hahnemann.

The American, due to be consigned to a season of bench duty in the presence of Wayne Hennessey, produced three important saves as his back four at times melted away.

Worryingly, Ronald Zubar looked unsteady in central defence, while Neill Collins had problems coping with the trickery of United’s Garry Thompson.

For all his good work, though, Hahnemann could do nothing about Kevan Hurst’s equaliser six minutes before the break, after a threaded pass from Paul Hayes found its way to the midfielder who rolled the ball home.

That cancelled out Friend’s 17th minute opener following Keogh’s stroked cross and Sam Vokes’s lay off.

The former Exeter trainee converted from the edge of the area with the aid of a deflection.

The Molineux side regained the lead seconds before the interval as Friend and Keogh combined to release the former Scunthorpe man to stroke past Joe Murphy.

But straight after the restart the Humberside outfit were level again after Richard Stearman was caught out by Gary Hooper.

The substitute squared for Grant McCann to arrow his shot high into Hahnemann’s goal.

That precipitated a switch to a 4-3-3 formation as Karl Henry replaced the effective Friend.

The tactical switch cannot claim to have been the reason for Wolves’ third, welcome though it was.

Midway through the second period Andy Surman swung in a left-wing free- kick and Greg Halford rose unopposed to head in from eight yards. He then curled in a delightful free-kick close to the end.

Scunthorpe (4-4-2): Murphy (Lillis 45); Wright, Byrne, Jones (Caravan 14), Williams (Morris 45); Thompson (Woolford 76), McCann (Boyes 67), Togwell (Wright 45), Hurst (Forte 76); Hayes (O’Connor 45), May (Hooper 45). Subs: Coleman

Wolves (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Collins, Stearman, Zubar (Jarvis 61), Elokobi; Mendez-Laing (Halford 45), Surman (Ward 82), Edwards, Friend (Henry 52); Vokes, Keogh. Subs: Foley, Craddock, Berra, Milijas, Hennessey, Ikeme

Referee: Mr Jon Moss (West Yorkshire)

Attendance: 2,143