Wolves’ promotion hopes took another hit as they fell to their first Molineux defeat of the season at the hands of newly-promoted Bolton.
The hosts were huge favourites going into the game but did not perform as such, as they struggled to convert any possession into clear chances and gave the visitors openings.
Bolton eventually scored by capitalising on a mistake from a corner, with Atsuki Ito getting the decisive touch.
Wolves seemed to be back on track early in the second half when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde netted, but more poor defending allowed Sam Dalby to tap Bolton back into the lead.
Josh Sheehan then added further embarrassment for Wolves with Bolton’s third from distance, condemning them to consecutive defeats.
Analysis
Cesar Peixoto made four changes following the defeat to Middlesbrough last time out.
Jordan James came in for his first league start for Wolves, while Bellegarde made his first start of the season.
They were joined by Ladislav Krejci and Fer Lopez, as Rodrigo Gomes missed out through injury and Toti Gomes, Marshall Munetsi and Tommy Doyle dropped to the bench.
Yerson Mosquera, Boubacar Traore, Bertrand Traore and Raul Jimenez all remain sidelined.
Wolves made an uninspiring start to the game and it should have been the visitors that opened the scoring when Samuel Iling-Junior ran off James and was left by Hugo Bueno before being played through on goal.
With just Jose Sa to beat, the goalkeeper made a smart save.
Wolves were going through the motions in the opening 20 minutes and Sheehan almost scored for the visitors when the ball sat up nicely for him on the edge of the box and his shot needed a save after taking a deflection.
But moments later Wolves came close when a great ball from Krejci picked out Mateus Mane, who shaped onto his right foot and curled towards the far post, but watched his shot flash narrowly wide.
Follow Inside Wolves on Facebook today and keep up to date with the latest analysis, insights and video reels from Keen & Judah - facebook.com/insidewolves
Eventually, Wolves paid for their sluggish start to the game as Ito capitalised on a mistake to put Bolton ahead.
Sa dropped the ball from a corner before Krejci’s poor headed clearance fell to Ito, who made no mistake with his finish inside the box.
Wolves nearly responded instantly when Mane’s cross was pushed away by goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu before it could reach Adam Armstrong.
But Bolton remained dangerous on the counter as Wolves’ defence looked shaky throughout.
Wolves were pushing for an equaliser as the game approached half-time and came close when Bueno’s cross found Lopez, but his close range header was straight at the goalkeeper.
The hosts were unable to level proceedings before the break and entered half-time to some boos from the Molineux crowd.
Wolves needed a quick start to the second half and they did just that, netting an equaliser inside five minutes.
A lovely ball over the top from Krejci was attacked by Bellegarde, who took a decent first touch before firing into the far corner for his first goal of the season.
Wolves controlled the game after scoring and had a huge chance to take the lead when substitute Rafiki Said put the ball on a plate for Armstrong from six yards but he shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Despite Wolves’ control, another moment of poor defending gifted Bolton the lead again.
Gaizka Larrazabal was allowed to get behind Bueno and Said and walk into the box before crossing low for Dalby, who was lurking unmarked behind Krejci and finished from close range.
Wolves huffed and puffed after going 2-1 down, but Lopez had a great chance to hit the target on the volley, but he fired over.
However, the game was sealed when Sheehan dinked a delightful ball into the top corner from distance, as boos rang around Molineux.
Wolves were poor in the closing stages, wrapping up a disjointed performance and fairly awful result at Molineux.
Key Moments
GOAL 28 Ito capitalises on a Wolves error to put Bolton ahead
GOAL 50 Bellegarde equalises for Wolves
GOAL 72 Dalby taps Bolton back into the lead
GOAL 82 Sheehan seals Bolton’s win
Teams
Wolves: Sa, Trippier, Djiga, Krejci, Bueno (Konan, 79), Andre (Neave, 85), James (Munetsi, 79), Bellegarde, Lopez, Mane (Said, 62), Armstrong.
Subs not used: Virginia, Toti, Tchatchoua, Doyle, Chirewa.
Bolton: Bazunu, Larrazabal, Toal, Brunt, Famewo, Erhahon (Simons, 77), Sheehan, Gale (Conway, 77), Ito (Rodrigues, 66), Iling-Junior (Nelson, 62), Bair (Dalby, 66).
Subs not used: Bonham, Davies, Lott, Hardie.
He will be gone before Christmas 🎅
Quarter into the season and the manager is playing 3 players out of position. Get rid of him now and we have enough time to make a difference. Armstrong cannot play as a 9, his runs are always late, should have buried 2-3 chances tonight. Bringing on Munetsi chasing the game was the final straw for me tonight