Wolves 0 - 1 Palace

Sat Oct 20 2001 - League

Crystal Palace moved to top spot of Division One after a 1-0 win over Wolves at Molineux.

The Eagles made a bright start with three chances from Dougie Freedman and one from Clinton Morrison.

Wolves had a good chance to score from a Kevin Muscat free kick, but Palace goalkeeper Matt Clarke tipped the ball over after it was headed towards his own goal by defender Steve Vickers.

Just before the half time break it was American Jovan Kirovski who gave Palace the lead with a right-footed drive from 20 yards.

After the interval it was a different story as Wolves mounted attack after attack.

Carl Robinson, Adam Proudlock, Nathan Blake, Michael Branch and substitute Alex Rae all came close, but Clarke kept a clean sheet.

Freedman almost got a second, but his shot hit the foot of the post.

Man of the Match: Hayden Mullins

Chant of the Match: Say we are top of the league!!!

Post match comments:

Steve Bruce admitted that he was going to savour his side going top of Nationwide Division One.

He said: "It is an extraordinary story. I would like to say 'well done' to the players and the rest of the staff because they were castigated last season.

Bruce was sacked by Huddersfield then failed to take Wigan into the play-offs last season and is enjoying his time at the moment.

He said: "I became very reclusive for two or three months, particularly when I left Town. I took the whole thing very personally.

"But after the way things have started here, I'm ready to go out, have a couple of glasses of wine and really start enjoying myself again. I feel very happy with my life right now.

"I have been kicked from pillar to post in the last three years, so why not enjoy it now?"

Bruce also admitted that he was searching for new additions to his squad.

"The average age of the squad is something like 23, yet they all became real men. They deserve all the credit, not me. They couldn't have done any more and overall it was a tremendous show.

"We are still on the look-out to add two or three players. The chairman has told me there is cash available, so it's a case of keeping ourfingers crossed." Wolves boss Dave Jones urged his squad not to panic after their second defeat at home in five days.

"We have just got to be careful and not get carried away by thinking our world has collapsed," he said.

"Teams have gained ground on us and we must not stop believing in what got us here. But we are still joint top. We want to stay there."

Wolves' home record of two wins, two defeats and two draws contrasts sharply with their away record of six victories and one draw.

And Jones added: "I'm looking for the magic key as to why that is. We have to be big enough and brave enough to get rid of that tag."

From The Terrace Photos

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