Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 v 1 Crystal Palace

FOLLOWING the disappointment of Saturday's defeat against Luton it was imperative Palace got off a solid start against Wolves.

But after just three minutes Seyi Olofinjana's cross from the right was turned in by Seol Ki-Hyeon to give the home side an early lead and turn up the volume at a packed Moulineux.

The visitors were given an immediate chance to respond when Andy Johnson was brought down 25 yards out from Michael Oakes' goal but Ben Watson's goal-bound shot from the resulting free-kick was gathered by the Wolves number one at the second time of asking.

After 12 minutes Watson went even closer, striking Oakes' bar with a cross-cum-shot which dipped wickedly and nearly deceived the Wolves keeper.

Palace made two changes from the side beaten by Luton last weekend with Darren Ward, making his first competitive start for the Eagles, and Mikele Leigertwood brought in at the expense of Mark Hudson and the injured Michael Hughes.

But the Eagles made light of the absence of last year's captain Hughes and began playing the more accomplished football. But after 20 minutes Wolves showed how dangerous they can be on the break when summer signing Rohan Ricketts unleashed a rising 20-yard drive which Gabor Kiraly did well to hold on to.

After such a frenetic opening it was inevitable the action would settle into a sedate rhythm and so it proved as both sides seemed content to spray the ball across the midfield and goal-scoring chances were few and far between.

But on 27 minutes Palace should have drawn level when Tom Soares was presented with a glorious chance from Jon Macken's clever flick. However, the teenager's poise deserted him and he fired high over Oakes' goal.

The opportunity had been created by some good approach work from Jobi McAnuff, one of the few bright sparks on Saturday. Another was Ben Watson, whose quick thinking on the half hour released Johnson but Oakes was equal to the task.

At the other end Olofinjana fired a shot high and wide of Kiraly's goal but it was one of few scoring opportunities for the home side. On 35 minutes Ward was forced to make a last-ditch tackle when Kenny Miller looked like giving Wolves an undeserved two-goal lead and almost immediately Johnson nearly pulled Palace level with a low drive which drew a smart save from Oakes.

In keeping with much of the action which had gone before, it was end-to-end stuff. Five minutes from the interval the lively Olofinjana again tried his luck from distance but his shot went astray.

It looked to be the end of the action for the first-half until McAnuff capped an impressive opening 45-minutes with a well-taken goal, drilling the ball low across Oakes. It was the least Palace deserved and the sides went into the break on level terms.

The opening moments of the second-half saw the hitherto quiet Miller burst into life and let fly with a dipping 25-yard volley which narrowly cleared Kiraly's bar, much to the relief of the Hungarian stopper and the 1,000-plus travelling support.

Emmerson Boyce did likewise at the other end as the two sides resumed the toe-to-toe battle which had made the opening half such entertaining fare.

A mistake from Fitz Hall allowed Olofinjana to bear down on goal but the centre-back's blushes were spared as the ball flew narrowly wide of the Palace goal.

It was a lucky escape for the Eagles, who nearly made Wolves pay for some slack marking five minutes later when Leigertwood was given the freedom of the box following Watson's corner, but the midfielder badly miscued his header.

As the pressure on the home side grew Glenn Hoddle threw on another attacker in the 65th minute in the form of Leon Clarke at the expense of the goal scorer Seol.

In a rare Palace attack a minute later McAnuff skied his shot following some penalty box pinball.

A sign of Wolves' increasing ascendancy saw Miller strike an upright with the Palace rearguard struggling to cope with the orange onslaught.

On 75 minutes substitute Clarke tested Kiraly at his near post with a well-struck shot and it seemed just a matter of time before the home side re-established their lead.

Hoddle's pursuit of the winner saw him throw on former Palace striker George Ndah while the Eagles remained unchanged.

Ten minutes before the end a Johnson free-kick seemed destined for the top corner to secure a Palace victory but Oakes, at full stretch, palmed the ball away for a corner.

On 83 minutes the net did bulge, but sadly for Eagles' fans it was at the wrong end, as Carl Cort's deflected header gave Wolves the lead.

Iain Dowie threw on Wayne Andrews, Joonas Kolkka and Mark Hudson but it was to no avail as the Eagles slumped to their second successive defeat.

Palace now prop up the Championship and they desperately need a result from Saturday's visit to the much-fancied Canaries of Norwich City.

Palace: Kiraly; Boyce; Hall; Ward; Borrowdale (Hudson 89); Soares (Kolkka 85); Leigertwood (Andrews 85); Watson; McAnuff; Macken; Johnson.

Booked: Soares.

Att: 24,745