Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Barnsley | Championship match report

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.24.1.1/3472?ns=guardian&pageName=Wolverhampton+Wanderers+3-1+Barnsley+%7C+Championship+match+report%3AArticle%3A1790891&ch=Football&c3=Guardian&c4=Championship+%28Football%29%2CWolverhampton+Wanderers+%28Football%29%2CBarnsley+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Stuart+James&c7=12-Aug-21&c8=1790891&c9=Article&c10=Match+report&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&c42=Sport&h2=GU%2FSport%2FFootball%2FChampionship" width="1" height="1" /></div><p>It has been a long time coming and there has been no shortage of pain along the way but after more than eight months of waiting Wolverhampton Wanderers finally won a league game in front of their own supporters. Stale Solbakken will have been frustrated to see Barnsley grab a late goal through Tomasz Cywka but otherwise this was a satisfying evening for the new Wolves manager, as goals from Stephen Ward, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Dave Edwards got their Championship season up and running.</p><p>It was only the second time that Wolves have tasted victory in the league in 26 matches, which provides a measure of just how miserable life had become for them en route to relegation from the Premier League last term. The Championship, on this evidence, should be a good deal more enjoyable.</p><p>Apart from a few anxious moments in the closing stages, after Cywka drilled in Kelvin Etuhu's cut-back, Wolves looked a class above Barnsley and will feel that they should have won more comfortably. Kevin Doyle was particularly unlucky not to get on the score-sheet.</p><p>Having spoken beforehand about the need for Wolves to "play with confidence and not panic", Solbakken was rewarded with a bright opening 45 minutes during which the home team took the lead and generally made life uncomfortable for Barnsley with their high-tempo approach. Tongo Doumbia, a Mali international on loan from Rennes, caught the eye in the centre of midfield with his powerful running while Matt Jarvis and Slawomir Peszko looked lively on the flanks.</p><p>Although Jarvis has expressed a desire to leave the club, the winger could not be faulted for his effort here. Steven Fletcher, Dorus De Vries and Christophe Berra are the others to have handed in transfer requests but Jez Moxey, the Wolves chief executive, made it clear in his programme notes that their departures should not be regarded as a formality. "Unless all the circumstances, and not just the transfer fees, are right for Wolves then it is not unreasonable of us to expect them to honour their contracts in a responsible and professional manner," wrote Moxey.</p><p>The goal that allowed Wolves to play with some freedom against an awkward Barnsley side arrived in the eighth minute and was started and finished by Ward. The left-back read David González's intentions when the Barnsley goalkeeper threw the ball out, breaking forward to intercept before playing a neat one-two with Ebanks-Blake and coolly shooting home.</p><p>Doyle set up the second, picking out Ebanks-Blake, who had the simple task of beating González from eight yards after the Barnsley defence tried and failed to play offside. Wolves were coasting then and a third goal came when Peszko crossed for the substitute Edwards to head in from close range. Cywka pulled a goal back for Barnsley while at the other end Bjorn Sigurdarson came close to making it 4-1 with a header that clipped the bar.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/championship">Championship</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/wolves">Wolverhampton Wanderers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/barnsley">Barnsley</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/stuartjames">Stuart James</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://guardian.co.uk.feedsportal.com/c/34708/f/639039/s/229916b9/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/139263394153/u/49/f/639039/c/34708/s/229916b9/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/139263394153/u/49/f/639039/c/34708/s/229916b9/a2.img" border="0"/></a><img width="1" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/139263394153/u/49/f/639039/c/34708/s/229916b9/a2t.img" border="0"/>
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