Wolves 0 Plymouth 1
Mick McCarthy had one word for his team's performance on Saturday: "Hopeless". Mick McCarthy had one word for his team's performance on Saturday: "Hopeless". He saw his team concede a goal after just 39 seconds, and they were unable to claw their way back into the game. However, Wolves still remain at the top of the table. See our photo gallery here and read the full story in today's Shropshire Star
That can be the only crumb of comfort for Wolves fans after another bizarre weekend of Championship football that saw the top three all lose.
Every time Wolves stumble, Reading and Birmingham seem to fall too.
While Wolves were struggling to get back into the game against Plymouth, Reading suffered their second successive defeat against Nottingham Forest.
Steve Coppell's side have taken just five points from six games, during which time their only goal has come from Wolves' own Neill Collins.
Blues have claimed just one point more during the same spell which extended to three wins in 13 following yesterday's 2-1 reverse at Sheffield United.
Wolves fans will feel some relief at those statistics, but the emotion is probably more one of bewilderment at the way their team seem unable to arrest a slide threatening to undo all the good work that sent them racing clear by the turn of the year.
As boss Mick McCarthy and several players acknowledged afterwards, they can't keep relying on their rivals slipping up.
After one win in 11 games, you might have expected Wolves to be struggling to make the play-off zone by now.
But amazingly in this increasingly crazy Championship campaign, they still top the division by three points with 11 games to go.
And perhaps only because of that can the team escape condemnation, because this was another performance woefully lacking the necessary quality required.
It wasn't as bad as the seasonal nadir at Burnley, but it wasn't far off.
Just like Coventry – until Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's 94th minute penalty miss - and the 1-0 surrender at Turf Moor, Wolves failed to force a single worthwhile save from the opposition goalkeeper.
They dominated possession and forced the lion's share of the chances.
But surely that's no more than you would expect from the Championship leaders facing the worst form team in the division who arrived at Molineux with eight points from their last 48 and with one away goal from their previous eight trips.
That was soon doubled, Paul Gallagher's apologetically-defended overhead kick within 39 seconds ultimately proving the difference between the sides to condemn Wolves to their third defeat in four games.
Gallagher's early strike did far more than give Plymouth the initiative though.
Not only did it expose the fragility of Wolves' defending as a line of gold shirts allowed the ball to bounce in their own penalty area before Gallagher struck.
That was all the more galling for the home side when it emerged that boss Mick McCarthy's last words before the team left the dressing room were to watch out for Plymouth's long throw – something they had practised defending against all week.
Crucially, the breakthrough also gave a team fighting for their life fresh belief and confidence and something to cling to, which they did admirably.
It also meant they could sit back and defend in numbers for the rest of the game.
Just like the other two defeats Wolves have suffered recently, they were nervous and ragged in possession and wasteful in front of goal from the occasional chances they created. But there's little doubt, things aren't going for them at the moment.
When they have struggled for a breakthrough before this season, fortune has occasionally come to their rescue, but on Saturday referee Carl Boyeson denied Wolves at least one perfectly good penalty, and possibly another.
By Tim Nash
