Sunderland 1 Wolves 3

SEVERAL Wolves players threw their shirts into the away end at the final whistle as they allowed themselves a premature celebration.

The fans who received them would be pretty pessimistic not to put theirs on Wolves to survive now.

Ironic then that Messrs O'Hara, Hunt and Elokobi happily disposed of their gold jerseys into the jubilant away throng, because the very last thing they will do now is chuck in the towel.

As manager Mick McCarthy predicted, it's boiled down to one game - one last 90-minute blast to earn their cherished place in the Premier League for another year.

And, on the basis of the last two matches at least, they look like achieving their goal.

A second successive 3-1 victory - and first at Sunderland since 1993 - to give Wolves back-to-back wins for the first time this season lifted them to the giddy heights of 16th by the time the FA Cup final kicked off on Saturday afternoon.

Bizarrely, this was also McCarthy's first Premier League victory at the Stadium of Light — at the 21st attempt over eight years, 19 of them as Sunderland manager. But it may yet prove to be his most important result at his former home ground.

This wasn't a vintage Wolves performance — but it was certainly a clinical and extremely effective one.

McCarthy's battlers attempted to rattle Sunderland from the start as they did against Albion. But despite the hosts being without 12 players, it was the severely depleted Black Cats who were slicker than Wolves in a one-sided first half. Led by the classy promptings of Bolo Zenden in an otherwise fairly youthful line-up, they left McCarthy's side a firm second best by half-time although the teams went in level after Jody Craddock's poacher-like volley on his first appearance as a Wolves player at his old ground was cancelled out by Stephane Sessegnon.

However, for the second week in a row, the game turned Wolves' way after a masterstroke by McCarthy. Six days after he shocked us all by dropping Matt Jarvis for Stephen Hunt, he made another inspired change. This time it was the half-time introduction of Jarvis for Adlene Guedioura, who had struggled to get into the game on the right wing.

In the euphoria of victory, it's easy to overlook how the win actually came about.

But over the last two games, and under the severest pressure to keep his side in the Premier League, McCarthy has shown a clear head to come up trumps just when his team needed it most.

He won't admit it, but his decision to drop Jarvis was as brave and courageous as it was controversial and, although the wing switch at the Stadium of Light was less high profile than the one at Molineux six days earlier, it had a similar impact.

Critics could argue McCarthy got lucky. Yet that is to ignore not just his quality of knowing his players inside out, but his clear interpretation of how a match will pan out.

Sunderland's right-footed left-back Phil Bardsley had a field day during the first half and McCarthy's switch meant the former Manchester United man was pinned back with plenty to think about.

By the time he rifled inches wide of a static and relieved Wayne Hennessey in the 19th minute, Zenden had already rattled Wolves' right-hand post and Sessegnon had had a shot palmed away.

And yet Wolves, showing surgeon-like precision, broke to score with their first attack four minutes later. Captain Karl Henry won two tackles on the left-hand corner of the penalty area before feeding Hunt for the cross despatched from the opposite corner of the six-yard box by Craddock.

Jamie O'Hara, who had arguably his most effective game for Wolves, rattled the bar from 25 yards before Sessegnon punished poor defending to equalise 11 minutes before the break after the defence allowed Zenden's corner to bounce in the six-yard box.

The second half was a different story however as Wolves, infused by Jarvis' threat and gripped by greater urgency, took the upper hand.

Thankfully for Wolves, they also now have a vital cutting edge and there are few strikers in better goalscoring form than Steven Fletcher. The £7m record signing was perfectly placed to climb above John Mensah at the far post to nod home his fifth in as many games and sixth in eight from Jarvis' teasing centre.

In doing so, he created history to become the first Wolves player since John Richards in 1980-81 to notch double figures in the top flight. Soon after, Wolves perhaps received some of the luck they may be due when Hunt's contact on Sessegnon caused the makeshift striker to tumble in the box, but referee Mike Jones never flinched as the home fans howled for a penalty.

Instead it was Wolves who forced the pace as George Elokobi glanced home to make it 3-1 from O'Hara's free kick.

So to Sunday. It won't be one for faint hearts, but Wolves look like doing it. Put your shirt on it.

Match analysis by Tim Nash