Wolves - 1, Norwich City - 0 A season that for so long oozed with optimism for Wolves ended in acrimony, regret and envy last night. Defiantly protecting a 3-1 cushion from Sunday's first leg, Norwich City safely navigated their route to the first division play-off final at the expense of a club that must wonder where it all went wrong.
Nigel Worthington's players will take on the winners of tonight's play-off between Millwall and Birmingham at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Sunday week, a remarkable feat for a club that was overlooked as promotion material at the start of the season. By reaching this stage Worthington has taken less than 18 months to achieve what five predecessors, Martin O'Neill and Gary Megson included, have failed to do since their relegation from the Premiership in 1995.
For Wolves, battered and bewildered, the inquest starts now. Kevin Cooper's brilliant strike set up a nerve-shredding finale but, ultimately, it was too little, too late.
An early goal would have soothed some of the anxiety in the home stands but, while the hosts boasted the territorial advantage throughout a claustrophobic first half, their perspiration was seldom matched by inspiration. Only when Craig Fleming sliced a clearance, after 17 minutes, did Norwich's resolute defence display an air of vulnerability in that period but even then Nathan Blake's header was aimed too close to Robert Green to cause the goalkeeper any serious discomfort.
Though Wolves were encamped in the visitors' half, the most inviting early chance fell for Norwich when Mark Rivers whipped in a cross from the right. If Clint Easton had shown more conviction with his header, he could effectively have ended the contest.
That apart, there was little of attacking substance from Norwich inside the first 45 minutes. That the referee Tony Leake was obliged to book four Wolves players in the opening half suggested their ploys of containment were working.
Norwich continued to play with composure after the interval. On 77 minutes, when Cooper lashed in a wondrous left-foot shot from 30 yards, the complexion of the night changed again but, try as they might, Wolves could not find another way through.
Wolves' long-suffering supporters have learned the hard way that football can be a cruel game. But nothing could have prepared them for the trauma of surrendering an 11-point advantage over West Brom for the second automatic promotion spot and then losing in the play-offs to a side that finished 11 points and three places below them in the table.
Guardian Service
WOLVERHAMPTON: Oakes, Halle (Miller 74), Lescott, Butler, Camara, Newton (Kennedy 45), Cameron, Rae, Cooper, Blake, Sturridge. Subs Not Used: Naylor, Pollet, Murray. Booked: Blake, Lescott, Butler, Sturridge. Goals: Cooper 77.
NORWICH: Green, Kenton, Mackay, Fleming, Drury, Rivers (Sutch 71), Holt, Mulryne, Easton, Nielsen (Iwan Roberts 45), McVeigh (Notman 90). Subs Not Used: Crichton, Libbra.
Referee: A R Leake.
