WOLVERHAMPTON, England (REUTERS) - Wolverhampton Wanderers shook off their recent poor Premier League form to ease past Cardiff City 2-0 on Saturday (March 2) and leave the Welsh team in the relegation zone after a third straight defeat.
Desperate for a win to help their quest for Premier League survival, Neil Warnock's side started strongly with plenty of possession and could have had the first goal when Wolves keeper John Ruddy fumbled the ball on the line from a corner.
But Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves showed why they are seventh in the Premier League, quickly imposing their fast-breaking and slick-passing game in front of an appreciative crowd of 31,309 at the Molineux stadium.
Portuguese striker Diogo Jota smashed in the first goal from close range in the 16th minute after great link-up play and an assist by fellow forward Raul Jimenez.
Two minutes later, Jota repaid the favour, laying up the ball for Mexican Jimenez to fire into the bottom left-hand corner for 2-0.
"To be honest, I was stood there 15 minutes gone thinking I've never been as comfortable at Wolves, the crowd were restless, then within two minutes we were 2-0 down," Warnock said.
"We committed suicide... stupid goals."
Wolves, who squandered numerous chances for a bigger scoreline, needed the result after a surprise mid-week defeat at Huddersfield and two draws in their previous league outings.
'GLOOMY' CARDIFF
Cardiff, who came up from the Championship with Wolves last year, now sit third from bottom in the Premier League, with a worrying 10 goals conceded in their last three games and a two-point gap from Southampton in 17th.
The gulf between them and Wolves was illustrated in the first half when Jota cheekily put the ball between the legs of Cardiff's burly Icelandic midfielder Aron Gunnarsson, who looked bemused.
Jota, who was substituted in the second half, has now been involved in nine goals in his last seven games in all competitions at Molineux, scoring five and assisting four.
The win gave Wolves 43 points after 29 games - their highest ever haul in the Premier League in a fantastic season for the central English club rejuvenated under their Portuguese manager.
On the wings, Ruben Vinagre and Adama Traore terrorised Cardiff all afternoon with their pace and trickery.
But the demanding Nuno was disappointed Wolves did not score more. "I wasn't too pleased with the second half, we must do better when we have superiority," he said.
Warnock complained that Wolves defender Ryan Bennett should have been sent off for a second yellow card, but said Cardiff had to look at themselves for solutions.
"We've got to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and make our own luck. We're not scoring goals and we're conceding silly goals, it's a bad recipe, isn't it? It's a gloomy situation."
Desperate for a win to help their quest for Premier League survival, Neil Warnock's side started strongly Soccer: Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win Home
Football news - Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win. By Reuters. 02/03/2019 at 17:34 Updated 02/03/2019 at 19:01.
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Wolves deepen Cardiffs relegation plight with 2-0 win By Andrew Cawthorne Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Cardiff City - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - March 2, 2019 Cardiff Citys Sean Morrison shoots at goal Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough March 2
Football: Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win
Football: Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win
Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win. March 2 - - Wolverhampton Wanderers shook off their recent poor Premier League form to ease past Cardiff City 2-0 on Saturday and leave the Welsh team in the relegation zone after a third straight defeat.
Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win
Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win Published on: 02 March 2019 0 Print facebook Twitter G+ Comments
Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win - Reuters
Football: Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win Diogo Jota (centre) celebrates scoring Wolves' first goal with team-mates Raul Jimenez (left) and Morgan Gibbs-White. PHOTO: PA
Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win
Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Cardiff City - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - March 2, 2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Morgan Gibbs-White in action with Cardiff
Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win
FOOTBALL NEWS. News home page Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win. March 02, 2019 Desperate for a win to help their quest for Premier
Soccer: Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win
Football: Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win WOLVERHAMPTON, England (REUTERS) - Wolverhampton Wanderers put their recent shaky Premier League form behind them to ease past Cardiff City 2-0 on Saturday (March 2) and leave the Welsh team in the relegation zone after a third straight defeat.
Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win
Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight with 2-0 win. Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Cardiff City - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - March 2, 2019
Football news - Wolves deepen Cardiff's relegation plight
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