Wolves recorded a huge Premier League win on Saturday, beating Southampton 2-1 at St. Mary’s Stadium.
There was an expectation for Wolves to beat the Saints, who are rock bottom and cut adrift.
But without Matheus Cunha, there was some concern that Wanderers may fall short.
It wasn’t a pretty performance down on the south coast, but Wolves go the job done – and Jorgen Strand Larsen stepped up to the plate with two goals.
The Norwegian has come in for some criticism in recent times.
But he was the difference yesterday, and Wolves are now nine points clear of the drop zone.
And there was humble pie for Ivan Juric, who had previously predicted Wolves would be ‘less safe’ after this game.
Wolves fans could be head chanting ‘We are staying up’, indicating how big a result this was.
MORE WOLVES STORIES
Strand Larsen was the headline-maker with his two goals. But on Match of the Day, Danny Murphy highlighted two other Wolves players for their contributions.
Danny Murphy hails Andre and Joao Gomes partnership after Wolves beat Southampton
Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images
This was a huge result for Wolves.
Vitor Pereira’s side have now opened up a big gap, and it’s starting to feel as though the manager will achieve the one goal he had when he arrived.
Dropping points against a side that has struggled so badly this season would have been disastrous from a psychological standpoint.
But Wolves had just enough, and after the game, Danny Murphy praised Wolves’ midfield pairing Andre and Joao Gomes.
He said: “Andre and Gomes, they’re so important in this system. When you play 3-4-3, the two in the middle have got to do some running and got to be disciplined. Two Brazilian international players who obviously get on.
“I think the responsibility on these two grew when Lemina left under a cloud, because he was the captain and a big presence for them.
“Andre I really like. Very tenacious but really nice and tidy on the ball. But I think Gomes has had a good season. 27 starts, he’s a young lad growing at this level. Gets himself nice in forward positions, tries to be positive with his passing.
“He’s always willing to try and get on the ball and I like that about him (Andre).
“They’re both growing.
“This is the bit of quality that I like, every now and again (Andre spraying a pass forward to Strand Larsen), just that type of ball, really good quality, good technician.”
Andre and Gomes are going from strength to strength
What happened with Lemina has really worked out in the end of Wolves, because this partnership is going from strength to strength.
The pair provide so much energy in that midfield and that’s important because of the system which sees the wing-backs operate very high.
Often they have to get out wide to provide cover.
But Andre and Gomes really are starting to blossom now, and it’s going to be very hard to the likes of Tommy Doyle and Boubacar Traore to get many minutes while they are fit and available.