Although both sides headed into the final quarter of the season seemingly stuck in PL purgatory, there was no lack of motivation on display at either end early on.
Evan Ferguson failed to adjust to successfully tap in after Jarrod Bowen’s marauding run and low cross, provoking the hosts into shifting up a gear.
In the first signs of a Wolves surge, Toti’s header from Rayan Aït-Nouri’s outswinging free-kick was saved well by Alphonse Areola.
But that warning wasn’t heeded, and Jørgen Strand Larsen added to the brace he registered before the international break, receiving a loose ball on the edge of the area and slamming it inside the near post via a slight deflection off former Wolves defender Maximilian Kilman.
And it was just minutes before Wolves went close again – this time, Marshall Munetsi smashed against the bar after being laid off by Strand Larsen.
The Hammers improved from there and began to force some chances of their own, but that didn’t stop Graham Potter from making wholesale changes at the break.
There was an improvement to the visitors’ overall play as a result, but they still struggled to get their forward players on the ball, and missed opportunities for both Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde and Strand Larsen indicating the second half wouldn’t be one-way traffic.
In fact, the Hammers had to wait until the last 15 minutes to finally cause real trouble, as Lucas Paquetá’s cross was headed onto the bar by returnee Niclas Füllkrug, and Edson Álvarez scuffed wide on the rebound.
But by far their best chance came in the 89th minute when Füllkrug cleverly slipped through Tomáš Souček, who disappointingly fired into the side netting with only José Sá to beat.
Wolves subsequently held on, and their now 12-point cushion gives them almost complete certainty of staying up, especially given none of the bottom three sides have won a league match since February 1st.
It’s a similar story for West Ham, too, meaning Potter can focus on further embedding his philosophy during what should be a jeopardy-free final eight matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Toti (Wolverhampton Wanderers)