Wolves 1 Newcastle 2 - match report

Wolves staged a grandstand finish before slipping to their fourth successive Premier League defeat against Newcastle at Molineux.

Steven Fletcher's 88th minute goal gave Mick McCarthy's men hope along with five minutes of added time, after first-half goals from Demba Ba and Jonas Gutierrez left the hosts trailing by two goals for the fourth game in a row.

And Wolves should have got something out of the game, with Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul in inspired form and referee Mark Halsey failing to spot a foul by Steven Taylor on Jamie O'Hara inside the area in the first-half, awarding a free kick instead.

Twice in the first-half, Krul denied Kevin Doyle before his smart reactions smothered efforts, first from Steven Fletcher then from substitute and Wolves' man of the match Adam Hammill.

Then Doyle thought he had snatched an injury-time equaliser, only to be denied when the linesman flagged Matt Jarvis as having headed back out of play.

McCarthy made one change to the line-up that lost 2-1 at Liverpool last week.

As expected, Fletcher replaced David Edwards, who dropped to the bench as Wolves returned to a 4-4-2 formation.

Richard Stearman was passed fit despite not training until Friday because of a badly bruised toe, leaving Matt Doherty waiting for his first Premier League start.

Wolves made a decent start but, for the fourth game in a row, they went 2-0 down.

Krul made a good save from O'Hara's free kick and Doyle missed two half chances, as Wolves appeared to put their three recent defeats behind them.

But Newcastle always looked dangerous on the break and Gutierrez curled wide, after Yohan Cabaye got away from Karl Henry in midfield before they took the lead.

It was an awful goal for Wolves to concede, Ba stealing in unmarked to head past goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey at the near post from Cabaye's corner.

Wolves went desperately close to equalising in the 20th minute when Doyle's wayward shot hit Steven Taylor, forcing Krul into a diving save before Matt Jarvis' follow-up was blocked by Ryan Taylor.

In an extremely open game where both teams attacked freely, Hennessey was next in action to deny Cheik Tiote from distance.

Then the Wolves' defence seemed at sixes and sevens as Roger Johnson left the ball which hit Gutierrez, Hennessey and then Gutierrez again before bouncing wide.

Wolves tried to hit back with a shot from Doyle that flew past the post, before Newcastle doubled their lead.

Awful defending from the hosts saw Gutierrez wriggle away from Stearman, Stephen Hunt and Henry, whose initial pass left Hunt short, before the Argentina international took on Johnson and drilled a low angled left foot shot into the opposite corner of the net.

Four minutes before the break, Wolves should have been awarded a penalty when Steven Taylor flattened O'Hara, but referee Halsey only gave a free kick when the foul occurred a yard inside the area.

Wolves forced another save from Krul, as O'Hara's flicked-up volley was tipped over.

McCarthy's men showed little to suggest they were going to get back into the game until the arrival of substitutes Hammill and Adlene Guedioura in the 59th minute.

Almost immediately, Hammill's cross caused chaos in the Newcastle box and, although Fletcher couldn't turn to get a shot in, he teed up O'Hara, who fired woefully wide from an excellent position.

With more attacking options on the pitch, Wolves built up a head of steam and, after Jarvis' shot was blocked in a crowded box, Krul pulled off a magnificent point-blank save from Fletcher and another to deny Hammill's follow-up.

Finally, Fletcher beat Krul and broke Newcastle's resolute defence by stooping to head home at the far post from Hammill's cross.

Doyle was then denied an equaliser when Jarvis' header just went out of play, as Wolves poured forward at the death.

But it was too little, too late and Wolves must wait until the Black Country derby at the Hawthorns on October 16 before they can try to pick up points and end their losing run.