Fer Lopez and Sean Neave celebrate for Wolves against BurnleyImage source, Shutterstock
Image caption,

Fer Lopez (left) has scored six goals for Wolves so far this season

ByJay Freeman
BBC Sport England

Burnley's lengthy wait for a home league win will hit the year-long mark after injury-hit Wolves came from behind to pile more misery on the Clarets.

The hosts started brightly and took the lead early as Jamie Vardy finished low past Jose Sa to score his first Burnley goal.

But despite being on the back foot for much of the first half, Wolves pounced on a Kyle Walker error to level through Fer Lopez shortly before the break.

Wolves continued their momentum after the interval and sealed the points courtesy of Tawanda Chirewa's cool finish, again following a Burnley defensive error.

Victory for Wolves comes at the tail end of a miserable week in which they were beaten by Middlesbrough and Bolton and lost strikers Raul Jimenez and Adam Armstrong to injury.

Meanwhile, Burnley's winless home league run stretches to 21 games and increases the pressure on boss Nicky Hayen.

Sa was called into action early on when a lapse at the back saw Vardy receive the ball inside the box, but the Portuguese stopper made a fine save to deny him.

It did not take long for Vardy to hit the target, however, as he latched on to a ball from Jacob Bruun Larsen on the edge of the box and struck low into the bottom corner with an exceptional finish.

Wolves grew into the game after a poor opening and they were gifted their equaliser courtesy of Walker cheaply giving the ball away.

The visitors swamped Burnley's back line and Walker was easily dispossessed, allowing on-loan teenager Sean Neave to quickly feed the ball across to Lopez who slotted a low drive in off the post to make it 1-1.

Wolves had a bright start to the second half and almost led when Rafiki Said forced a fine save from Burnley keeper Gregoire Coudert, yet it was from another error that they scored again.

Chirewa scored just moments after coming on to the field as the Wolves substitute prospered when Igor Julio carelessly gave the ball away in midfield, the Zimbabwe international calmly slotting home a goal that proved decisive as Burnley struggled to mount a response.

Burnley face a whole year without home league win

Burnley manager Nicky Hayen after their Championship defeat by WolvesImage source, Press Association
Image caption,

Nicky Hayen (centre) has won just two of his 13 games in charge of Burnley - their only victories this season coming against Notts County on penalties in the Carabao Cup first round and last week's win at fellow Championship strugglers Watford

Despite a promising start to proceedings, including Vardy scoring his first goal for the club, Burnley faltered shortly after the 30-minute mark.

Walker's error proved to be the catalyst Wolves needed after the Clarets did well to frustrate them early on.

Wolves levelled against Bolton in midweek but when they conceded a second against the run of play that night, they never looked like forcing a comeback.

Yet on this occasion at Turf Moor, it was Wolves who struck again, albeit courtesy of another avoidable error from the hosts, which ultimately killed the game off.

Burnley do not play at home again until 31 October, at which point it will be more than a year since they beat Leeds United at Turf Moor in the Premier League last season - their most recent home league win.

Friday's result also means they have won just one of the past 23 league games and have conceded 21 goals in their opening 11 Championship matches.

The pressure on Hayen eased after their 4-0 thrashing of Watford last week, but will now be back on in light of a game in which they initially impressed yet ultimately lost to a side that had rung the changes and were in a poor run of form themselves.

A positive end to a torrid week for Wolves

Tawanda Chirewa of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates at full-timeImage source, Shutterstock
Image caption,

Tawanda Chirewa scored his first goal for Wolves this season

Wolves' return to the Championship has not been easy and for the first half an hour at least, it looked as if they were staring down an unenviable run of three successive defeats since the return to action following the extended three-week international break.

Their poor recent run came in conjunction with a number of injuries, with Rodrigo Gomez hurting his ankle in last weekend's defeat by Middlesbrough, while Bertrand Traore and Boubacar Traore have also been sidelined.

In the lead up to Friday's trip up the M6, however, Wolves suffered a further attacking blow, with the news talismanic striker Jimenez will be out until January while Armstrong missed Friday's fixture due to a back injury sustained after Tuesday's home defeat by Bolton Wanderers.

That left Wolves boss Cesar Peixoto no option but to make further changes to his side, with 19-year-old Neave leading the line for the visitors, as one of a whopping six changes.

Their victory brings some much-needed respite for Peixoto, but their injury crisis also asks questions of their summer window and how the former Premier League side have been left so exposed in their pursuit of a top-flight return.

'We didn't bring enough energy' - reaction

Figure caption,

Hayen: 'We just have to keep on working'

Burnley boss Nicky Hayen told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"The first 30 minutes were really good. Then we made an individual mistake and conceded a goal. Then we could see we were suffering so we tried to change this and tried to keep the organisation and the structure.

"In the second half we had quite a few chances but we made an individual mistake again and we were losing.

"You like to try and change some things but also I think we didn't bring enough energy from the players that came in and it's really unfortunate."

Figure caption,

Peixoto: 'We deserved the win'

Wolves head coach Cesar Peixoto told BBC Radio WM:

"It's a very important victory. The team had the right mentality and when they have that, it's very difficult to play against us.

"It took a lot of effort to play in a difficult stadium against a good team but I thought we deserved it.

"I think the team had some doubts in the first 20 minutes. I talked with the players and we changed a little the pressure and we stayed more organised and compact to pressure in the right moments and we finished the first half better than Burnley.

"In the second half we managed the game and we won and deserved it."

Player of the match

Number: 28 Fer López
Average rating 7.58
Number: 9 J. Vardy
Average Rating: 5.07
Number: 7 J. Bruun Larsen
Average Rating: 4.33
Number: 23 Lucas Pires
Average Rating: 4.22
Number: 19 L. Ramazani
Average Rating: 4.04
Number: 37 G. Coudert
Average Rating: 4.01
Number: 3 M. Alleyne
Average Rating: 4.00
Number: 5 R. Hatate
Average Rating: 3.98
Number: 29 J. Laurent
Average Rating: 3.97
Number: 12 D. Satpaev
Average Rating: 3.77
Number: 18 H. Ekdal
Average Rating: 3.76
Number: 44 Igor Julio
Average Rating: 3.75
Number: 8 U. Raghouber
Average Rating: 3.30
Number: 10 M. Edwards
Average Rating: 3.29
Number: 27 A. Broja
Average Rating: 3.08
Number: 2 K. Walker
Average Rating: 3.07

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

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