In a tough Carabao Cup match against League Two strugglers Gillingham, goals from substitutes Raul Jimenez and Rayan Ait-Nouri gave Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves team a victory to start his tenure as manager.
Ait-Nouri sealed a 2-0 victory and a quarterfinal spot in extra time before Jimenez, playing in his first club match since August, broke the tie with a 77th-minute penalty at Molineux.
Wolves dominated the game but lacked bite against the Gills, who showed incredible tenacity despite being towards the bottom of the English Football League.
Against Everton on Boxing Day, Lopetegui made an intriguing start to his quest to help Wolves climb out of the Premier League’s basement.
Jose Sa and Ruben Neves, two of Wolves’ five World Cup players, were on his first team.
Jimenez, Hwang Hee-chan, and Matheus Nunes were the other three athletes who competed in Qatar, and they all had supporting roles.
Wolves controlled possession during the first 30 minutes, but the visitors sat back to take the pressure.
Goalkeeper Jake Turner was not put to the test despite blocked shots from Diego Costa, Joe Hodge, and Neves.
When the Gills got a corner on one infrequent excursion forward, their supporters cheered as though they were celebrating a goal while the team itself struggled to leave their own half.
In the later stages of the first half, Wolves picked up the pace and came near when Neves curled a free-kick just wide before Daniel Podence and Hodge were denied in a melee in front of goal.
More frequently, Podence started to worry the Gills and test Turner from a distance. After being brought down in the area, he then demanded a penalty. However, the game continued, and Hodge was superbly set up at the back post to score.
After a deft run and dummy by Podence at a corner, Wolves came even closer when Neves smashed a shot against the post with the final kick of the first half.
The break came just in time for Gillingham after that burst of activity and gave them a chance to reorganize.
The second half continued the first’s theme of Wolves being continuously disappointed in the final third.
Finally, the visitors started to lose energy, and Wolves saw their chance after receiving some superb reinforcement from the bench.
Nelson Semedo was at the feet of Costa when he glanced a shot just wide, and Turner made a great save.
Even as the pressure increased, Wolves didn’t score until Cheye Alexander was penalized for fouling Hwang in a crowded penalty area. Jimenez calmly moved forward to score the ensuing penalty kick.
Ait-Nouri wrapped up victory when he prodded home a second in time added on.