Wolves are safely through to the fourth round of the FA Cup following a 5-0 victory over Doncaster.
McCarthy's men put Doncaster to the sword
Wolves are safely through to the fourth round of the FA Cup following a 5-0 victory over Doncaster.
Steven Fletcher put the hosts on their way at Molineux early on, before Geoffrey Mujangi Bia, Kevin Doyle, Matt Jarvis and David Jones settled the contest in the second half.
It took just five minutes for the deadlock to be broken in a lively third round replay, with Fletcher left unmarked by a sleeping Rovers defence to nod home from six yards.
Both sides rather huffed and puffed without reward for the remainder of the first 45, but it was Wolves who took complete control of proceedings after the interval.
Mick McCarthy's men required 16 minutes in which to double their lead, but did not look back once Mujangi Bia lashed past Neil Sullivan.
Doyle added third soon after, drilling into the back of the net off the inside of the post, and Jarvis stepped off the bench to produce a composed finish on 74 minutes.
Wolves then bagged a fifth in stoppage time as Jones drilled low into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to put the finishing touch to the most convincing of wins.
In front of a sparse 10,031 in attendance, the result could have been so very different if Doncaster had taken the one gilt-edged chance that came their way in the third minute.
In tinkering with his back four, as Wolves boss McCarthy opted to do, there was scope for trouble.
Tested
In resting Stephen Ward and with George Elokobi suspended from the initial tie at the Keepmoat Stadium following his red card in that 2-2 draw, McCarthy was effectively without a recognised left-back.
It resulted in him switching Ronald Zubar from right-back to left and bringing in Stephen Mouyokolo to fill the vacancy, with both men playing in their new positions for the first time.
After 16 matches on the sidelines with a hip injury, Jody Craddock was restored to the centre of defence, leaving Christophe Berra on the bench.
So it was with a degree of consternation for a few fleeting moments that Wolves' untried backline was tested so early in the game.
Dean Shiels, a late replacement for Martin Woods who suffered a groin strain in the warm-up, delivered a delightful low cross in behind the new-look Wolves rearguard for Billy Sharp to run onto.
With only Marcus Hahnemann to beat, the 11-goal forward could only rifle his drive against the advancing American.
The importance of such a save and Sharp's miss became all too apparent just two minutes later as Wolves scored the only goal of the first half.
Doyle initially combined with Stephen Hunt down the left, with the latter then whipping in a piercing delivery for Fletcher to glance home from eight yards beyond Sullivan.
The remainder of the half then belonged to Wolves who were far more the imposing side, save for one header from James Hayter in the 11th minute that was narrowly wide.
Instead, it was the Premier League side who should have headed into the break with a more comfortable advantage against their Championship opponents.
Retribution
Zubar and Mujangi Bia, the 21-year-old Belgian-born midfielder making only his third start, initially went close with edge-of-the-area drives either side of Hayter's effort.
Mujangi Bia followed that up with a right-foot curler from 25 yards that was inches beyond Sullivan's left-hand post before missing a sitter 11 minutes from the interval.
Breaking from deep via a move sparked by Doyle, Mujangi Bia played an incisive one-two with Fletcher, but with the goal at his mercy from 12 yards he could only blaze his chance over the bar.
Recognising it was a golden opportunity for Wolves to carve out a 2-0 lead, Mujangi Bia was given a playful kick up the backside from Hunt as retribution.
Mercifully for Wolves it did not prove costly as Mujangi Bia gained his just reward for his industry by finishing off a 61st-minute move with a powerful 12-yard drive for his first goal for the club.
Doyle had been the supplier on that occasion with a low cross from the left, and five minutes later he again shaped as if to play the role of provider from a similar position after turning James Chambers inside out.
But instead, arguably catching Sullivan by surprise, the Republic of Ireland striker squeezed an acutely-angled shot in off the right post for what was also his sixth goal of the season.
The comfortable scoreline allowed McCarthy to make the first of his substitutions, with Hunt replaced by Jarvis in the 69th minute, and five minutes later the midfielder added further emphasis to the scoreline.
Centre-back Richard Stearman played Jarvis into space and he finished expertly with a sidefoot shot beyond Sullivan for his first goal since mid-October.
Wolves were not finished, though, and in the third minute of injury time Jones swept home a Jarvis corner from 16 yards to give the midlands club their biggest win since a 6-0 victory over Gillingham in March 2003.
| Wolverhampton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Doncaster Rovers |
| 5 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
2 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 4 |
Corners |
5 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 44.9 |
Possession |
55.1 |
|
