English Premier League bound Wolverhampton has limbered up for the season ahead with a 1-0 win over Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium on Friday night.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake scored the only goal of the match in the second minute before both sides produced a tight contest where shots on target were at a premium.
However, Wolves have paid a great price for the win as Scottish striker Chris Iwelumo was forced off early in the first half with a broken metatarsal following a tangle of legs with new Glory signing Jacob Burns.
All the Glory’s new players appeared to acquit themselves well in their new purple shirts, former Blackburn skipper Andy Todd ably marshalling a stingy defence that came apart a little in the game’s last few moments following numerous substitutions.
For Wolves, record signing Kevin Doyle played the second half, but was a largely peripheral figure as fellow striker Andy Keogh proved the most dangerous player on the park with two attempts that came within inches of scoring.
Despite the huge build-up, the Glory found themselves behind within minutes as Ebanks-Blake capitalised on some poor defending from the hosts.
There was barely 90 seconds on the clock when Wolves went forward, Iwelumo flicking on a throw from George Elokobi to the lurking Ebanks-Blake, who took two attempts to slip it over the line in a goalmouth scramble.
Two minutes later Perth’s marquee man Mile Sterjovski had the Glory’s best attempt of the half, crashing a low shot narrowly past the right post from 20 metres.
Despite being behind, the Glory were matching their opponents for possession, although Wolves appeared more threatening going forward as Matthew Jarvis and Kevin Foley regularly worked the ball into the forward third.
But Wolverhampton was forced into an early change 14 minutes in when Iwelumo was forced to leave the field.
Wayne Srhoj forced a save from Wolves stopper Wayne Hennessey, while Karl Henry fired wide down the other end, but it was the visitors that came closest to scoring again in the 32nd minute.
Jarvis fired in the cross and Surman, captured from Southampton just last week, slammed in a cracking shot that produced a brilliant diving save from Tando Velaphi.
Both sides took the opportunity to make significant changes at half-time, Wolves bringing on record signing Doyle for his first appearance since crossing from Reading as one of seven changes.
However Doyle was somewhat upstaged by Keogh, the young Irishman almost doubling the lead in the 65th minute when he cut inside Jamie Coyne on the right before unleashing a shot that came off the underside of the bar and bounced out.
A minute later, Glory National Youth League striker Million Buttshire showed his potential, the 17-year-old almost pulling one back with Perth’s best chance after Wolves’ David Edwards lost possession.
A good ball by Srhoj released the young striker who showed great composure to take the ball around Wolves on-trial defender Bobo Balde.
But, having sensed the danger, Wolverhampton’s experienced goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, came off his line to block the shot as the opportunity went begging.
It was a rare few moments of action however in a somewhat lacklustre second half, before Keogh almost scored late in the match.
The former Leeds man took possession just past the halfway line and seeing Velaphi off his line, attempted to lob the Glory stopper. Velaphi, though, did brilliantly to sprint backwards and tip Keogh’s long-rabge effort around the post.
Another former Reading man in Greg Halford then almost found the back of the net in the last minute, but his on-target header was nodded off the line by a composed Scott Neville, who produced a brilliant second half at right back.
Perth Glory 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Ebanks-Blake 2)
Crowd 11,083 at Members Equity Stadium
