Middlesbrough 2 Wolves 0: ‘Huge result’ for Boro leaves Wolves bitter

Wolves substitute David Davis had gone close late on with an effort which deflected into goalkeeper Jason Steele’s arms.

The turning point came moments later as referee Robert Madley awarded a spot-kick to the hosts when a cross from Scott McDonald struck Karl Henry’s arm.

Wolves were adamant the contact was purely accidental with Henry keeping his arms by his side, but the penalty was awarded and Emnes sent Carl Ikeme the wrong way in the 89th minute.

McDonald then smashed in a second in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

“It was a bad decision,” claimed Solbakken. “The ball was kicked in very hard and he turned but he couldn’t get out of the way.

“For me the referee has to be 100 per cent sure to give such a big decision and I don’t think he could have been. I think he should have overruled the linesman. It was a very bad one.

“It was a big blow to us because I think we were the better team.

“After the first 20 minutes, we played the better football, we created the better chances and we had the momentum.”

But Boro chief Tony Mowbray insisted the officials had got the decision right. “I’m not going to question the integrity of the officials, they call it honestly every game,” he said. “The boy leant into the ball and that’s why the linesman called it how he did.”

With both Cardiff and Crystal Palace dropping points, the Boro manager admitted: “It was a huge result for us. It wasn’t the most fluid or polished we have played all season but that doesn’t matter now.

“We can’t play well every week but it wasn’t exactly daylight robbery. We worked hard and kept going and I think we got our rewards.”

Middlesbrough: Steele, Friend (Parnaby 80), Woodgate, Hines, Hoyte, Luke Williams (Emnes 62), McEachran, Leadbitter, Smallwood, Miller (Ledesma 62), McDonald. Unused substitutes: Leutwiler, Thomson, Bailey, Jutkiewicz.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ikeme, Foley, Johnson, Berra, Ward, Doumbia (Davis 74), Henry, Sigurdarson, Sako, Ebanks-Blake (Pennant 74), Doyle. Unused substitutes: De Vries, Stearman, Nouble, Batth, Forde.

Referee: R Madley (West Yorkshire).

Man of the match: Jason Steele.