Wolves extended their Championship lead after a late strike by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake against Charlton.
Wolves extend lead at top of table
Championship leaders Wolves had to rely on a 79th minute winner from Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to defeat rock-bottom Charlton.
Ebanks-Blake made up for a missed penalty just nine minutes earlier when he pounced to head home his 24th league goal of the season.
Chris Iwelumo opened the scoring against his former club in the 36th minute with his first goal since November, poking home Michael Kightly's cross to finish off the only quality piece of action in what was a scrappy first half.
Addicks midfielder Zheng Zhi levelled the match shortly after half-time with a superb strike from distance but the visitors were left empty handed after they conceded a second late on.
The victory extended Wolves' lead at the top of the table and leaves Charlton with a lot to do at the opposite end if they are to avoid relegation to League One.
Restless
The visitors adopted a 4-5-1 formation from and their resolute approach to the encounter was proved effective as they stifled everything Mick McCarthy's outfit had to offer in a stop-start opening.
Both sides barely managed to register half-chances inside the first 30 minutes and the home crowd started to become restless at their side's inability to enjoy a serious spell of possession.
Neither goalkeeper was called into action during the opening minutes, as Zheng fired over from 25 yards and the visiting defence easily cleared a couple of testing crosses that came their way.
Matt Holland was using all his experience to dominate the middle of the park before Iwelumo struck with nine first-half minutes remaining to send the home side into the break one goal up.
But the crucial advantage they had managed to wrestle from their opponents was cancelled out six minutes after the restart.
Stunned
Zheng found himself with a clear shooting opportunity from around 25 yards out and, with no-one closing him down, the Chinese international had time to pick his spot and drill an effort past Wayne Hennessey.
The equaliser stunned the Molineux crowd and the tense atmosphere experienced so often of late returned.
But Wolves enjoyed a period of sustained pressure as the second half wore on and they were handed the perfect chance to regain the lead in the 70th minute as referee Graham Laws awarded a penalty for an apparent handball by Mark Hudson.
An infuriated Addicks bench felt justice was done when goalkeeper Robert Elliot guessed the right way to palm Ebanks-Blake's effort to safety.
But the division's leading goalscorer hit back nine minutes later to head home from close range and secure three crucial points for the home side.
