Gary O’Neil hailed a “massive win” after Hwang Hee-chan scored a first-half winner to edge Wolves past relegation-threatened Burnley at Molineux.
The Clarets had come into the game on the back of Saturday’s morale-boosting 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United, but were unable to back up that impressive showing and were left to rue a costly defensive error.
On a chilly evening in the Midlands, the contest failed to spark into life until the 38th minute when stand-in goalkeeper Daniel Bentley made a fine double save to deny Jay Rodriguez then Josh Brownhill’s follow-up at full stretch.
Having been in a position to lead, the visitors then conceded at the other end shortly after as Sander Berge’s heavy touch was picked off by Matheus Cunha, who fed Hwang to slot a composed finish.
O’Neil said: “I think it was a massive win for us because I have watched a lot of Burnley. They are very well organised and every team I have watched struggled to progress up the pitch with the ball.
“They are a good side and [it’s] disrespectful to just say ‘job done’. They won the Championship by a long way, spent around £90m-odd and will be competitive at this level. No Premier League game is easy and it is a big win.”
The Clarets sought for the equaliser in the second half but were unable to trouble Bentley, with Vitinho’s effort from outside the area which sailed over the closest they came to claiming a point.
Wolves held on to secure their first win in three games and move up to 12th in the table, while Burnley remain in trouble in the bottom three.
