wolves 2-1

Independent:
Lampard seizes his chance to make point
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Chelsea 2
SAM WALLACE MOLINEUX

Frank Lampard spent so long celebrating with the Chelsea fans in the Steve Bull stand at the end of the match yesterday that Andre Villas-Boas gave up waiting for him on the pitch and walked down the tunnel with the rest of his victorious team, leaving his match-winner to come back in his own time.
The pair of them shaking hands or embracing, as Villas-Boas had done moments earlier with a bare-chested John Terry, would have been the picture to soothe the bubbling stories of discontent at the club but it never happened. Lampard wanted his moment with the Chelsea fans and he was not for rushing back. Chances to score the kind of crucial goal he did have been fewer than ever under this new young manager.
It was a day that began with another story about the rift between Villas-Boas and senior players at Chelsea, one which prompted an indignant denial from the manager. It ended with the pressure being lifted from Villas-Boas by Lampard's goal. And along the way there were a few subplots that made this another fascinating day in the development of Chelsea under Villas-Boas.
It was not just Lampard's lingering celebrations with the Chelsea fans that meant he avoided encountering Villas-Boas in the centre of the pitch. There was also a strangely contrived goal celebration following Ramires' first for Chelsea on 50 minutes when a group of players – mainly the Lusophone contingent, it should be said – headed over to the touchline for a man-hug session with Villas-Boas and his assistants.
On that occasion, John Terry arrived at the party too late and Lampard did not even make it over at all. In his post-match press conference, Villas-Boas avoided giving Lampard any personal credit – although, it should be said, that is common with this Chelsea manager. Nevertheless it provoked an outraged response from Phil Thompson on Sky Sports. This is not an issue that is likely to just go away.
That was the politics of the Chelsea camp; the game was another story altogether. Having lost so disastrously at home to Aston Villa, with Lampard gifting the opposition the third goal on that occasion, this game looked like it could be yet another cock-up from Villas-Boas's players when Stephen Ward scored an equaliser on 72 minutes.
Before then, Chelsea had much the better of the second half. They worked hard to push Wolves back and played like a team that knows it is in urgent need of a win. Fernando Torres had one of his better days, accelerating past defenders from a standing start and attacking without the moping that has become commonplace for him.
The Chelsea goal had come from a corner that was poorly defended by Wolves. Terry jumped to challenge for the ball, did not reach it and it came through to Ramires. The Brazilian midfielder, who had been impressive all afternoon, held off Ward and blasted the ball into the roof of the Wolves goal.
Chelsea had spent the first half making little progress until the later stages when Jose Bosingwa and Terry had both come close. Before then the referee Peter Walton had struggled to keep a lid on the game during a flurry of bookings for five players across both teams, the most controversial of which was for Lampard for a tackle on Adam Hammill.
Given how fervently the Wolves manager, Mick McCarthy, had argued against Stuart Attwell's decision to dismiss Nenad Milijas at the Emirates last month, you had to wonder whether that would play on Walton's mind in Lampard's case. The studs of one boot were raised, they connected with Hammill and it was a decision that could go either way – even Lampard said later "my heart was in my mouth".
That it should be Lampard who came back to score the winner would, you suspected, only further stoke McCarthy's indignation. However, by the time of his post-match press conference he had made a decision not to go down that route. "It [the Lampard decision] is irrelevant," he said. "Defend the bleeding cross. They shouldn't have scored and I should have been sat here talking about a 1-1 draw."
It provoked a bout of bad feeling between the players during which five in all were booked in the space of eight minutes. Ashley Cole landed a high kick on Kevin Doyle and then lashed out when he was on the ground. He should have been booked but only Doyle was shown a card for throwing the ball at Cole. Karl Henry and Oriol Romeu also followed into the referee's book.
The game was low on quality with Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge, both injured, notable absentees. That is the last Chelsea will see of Drogba for some time as he meets up with the Ivory Coast squad on Saturday for the Cup of African Nations. Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou were also unavailable.
As for Wolves, McCarthy gave Emmanuel Frimpong his debut and rested Matt Jarvis, Steven Fletcher and Stephen Hunt. He said he could simply not afford to push them too hard. But with his team a goal down he brought on Jarvis and Fletcher and the two combined well to create Ward's goal. Jarvis played the ball into the area for Fletcher to knock down and the defender finished confidently from close range.
It looked grim for Chelsea. On form it was hard to see them scoring a winner but when it came it was expertly made. Lampard played the ball in to Torres, who spread it out left to Cole. When he crossed, it was Lampard who arrived on time to force it into the goal.
Even Villas-Boas would struggle to argue that the transition under his stewardship is developing painlessly. It feels like there will be many more awkward afternoons like this one until he finally has the team working the way he wants, with the individuals in whom he believes. In an ideal world he would also wean them of their reliance on Lampard's goals but this was not an afternoon to be picky.
It turned out to be Lampard's day, no doubt about that, and if it was the case that he was reluctant to celebrate with his manager at the end then so be it. Villas-Boas is trying to shake it up at Chelsea and even after that goal, Lampard knows there is no guarantee he will be in the team to play Portsmouth in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Substitutes: Wolverhampton Wanderers Jarvis 7 (Forde, h-t), Fletcher 6 (Frimpong, 61), Foley (Edwards, 76). Chelsea McEachran (Mata, 87).
Booked: Wolves Hammill, Henry, Doyle. Chelsea Lampard, Romeu.
Man of the match Ramires.
Match rating 6/10.
Possession: Wolves 39% Chelsea 61%.
Attempts on target: Wolves 5 Chelsea 10.
Referee P Walton (Northamptonshire). Att 27,289.


======================

Guardian:

Vintage Frank Lampard saves the day for Chelsea against Wolves
Stuart James at Molineux

The pain was short-lived for André Villas-Boas. Moments after the Chelsea manager threatened to kick over the drink bottles in the technical area in a fit of pique, following Stephen Ward's late equaliser for Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Portuguese was celebrating a restorative victory courtesy of a vintage Frank Lampard goal in the 89th minute that should help to relieve some of the pressure.
Wolves supporters will have departed questioning whether Lampard should have been on the pitch at the time, after a reckless challenge on Adam Hammill in the 24th minute that drew a yellow card from Peter Walton, the referee, when it might easily have been red. Yet for Villas-Boas all what mattered was that Chelsea had secured a first win in five matches and taken a small step on the road to redemption after a miserable festive period.
The three points could still have been wrestled from their grasp in injury-time but Petr Cech produced an instinctive save to turn Kevin Doyle's close-range header over the bar in what proved to be the final action of an absorbing contest. Chelsea deserved to triumph on the basis of the number of chances that they created although Mick McCarthy's anger at the way his side allowed the visitors back into the game, after Wolves had worked so hard to haul themselves level, was understandable.
"I am livid we conceded the goal we did," said the Wolves manager, who claimed it was "irrelevant" whether Lampard should have been on the pitch to score it. "Defend the bleeding cross. I have had a proper snarl in [the dressing room] because that is not acceptable for me. It was professional suicide."
It was a trademark Lampard goal, although it was also notable that when Villas-Boas was asked about the midfielder's contribution afterwards he passed up the opportunity to offer any praise. Instead the Chelsea manager saluted a team performance that included a show of solidarity of sorts when half a dozen of the players ran towards the dug-out to celebrate the goal that Ramires scored to put the visitors in front shortly after the restart. Lampard stayed out of the picture and also made no attempt to head in that direction when he grabbed the winner.
For Villas-Boas, however, this was an afternoon that was all about the result. Chelsea had lost here last season, when their season was unravelling under Carlo Ancelotti, and another defeat would have been difficult to bear in the wake of Aston Villa's 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Without the injured Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge, Chelsea's resources were stretched – four academy graduates were on the bench – forcing Villas-Boas to reconfigure his side. Ramires adapted well to his unfamiliar attacking role on the right flank and Fernando Torres, although still desperately short of confidence in front of goal, was industrious outside the penalty area and played a number of incisive through balls that opened up the Wolves defence.
One of those passes led to Lampard's goal, with the Spaniard threading a neat ball into the path of the onrushing Cole, who somehow got through the match without picking up a yellow card, despite poor tackles on Hammill and Kevin Doyle in a first half in which five players were booked in an eight-minute period as Walton lost control of the game. Cole delivered the perfect centre, picking out the run of Lampard, who volleyed home from close range.
It was a bitter blow for a Wolves side that had brought parity five minutes earlier. Jarvis swung a cross towards the far post and Steven Fletcher, who started on the bench, ghosted in behind José Bosingwa to steer the ball back across goal, where Ward thumped home. Although Wolves started poorly, they troubled Chelsea a couple of times in the first half, in particular when Roger Johnson headed Hammill's free-kick against the upright and when Ward nodded a set-piece from the same player wide with the goal at his mercy.
That profligacy was punished when Ramires stabbed the ball high into the roof of the net in the 54th minute after Wolves had failed to deal with Juan Mata's corner. The celebrations that followed will have been a long way from Villas-Boas's mind when he struggled to contain his frustration on the touchline after Ward scored, but Lampard ultimately ensured that this was a satisfactory day for the Chelsea manager and one that added credence to the idea that playing away from home suits his players much better at the moment.
"Our results away from home have shown we are more tranquil and we have less anxiety; this a thing we also have to address at Stamford Bridge," Villas-Boas said. "We have discussed it between us and I think we can correct it. It's been a very informative period in terms of learning the mistakes we have been doing."


===================

Telegraph:

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Chelsea 2
By Jason Burt, at Molineux

As a study of body language this was a psychologist’s dream. There was the mass touchline man-hug of celebration at Chelsea’s first goal, interestingly mainly involving the Portuguese speakers including Andre Villas-Boas. Then, pointedly, there was Frank Lampard’s solitary communion with the away supporters after the final whistle as the manager sought out more contact with his players including a bare-chested John Terry.
Too much can be read into all that, although much of it appeared relevant given the machinations from some at the club right now including Lampard’s unease over his future and the limitations on his minutes on the pitch. However, there was no doubting the anger ofWolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy, who could well have argued that the midfielder’s goal, scored with just 90 seconds left on the clock, came 64 minutes after he should have been shown the red card for a reckless late tackle on Adam Hammill.
Instead McCarthy was simply “livid” at the appalling nature of his side’s defending and admitted he had had what he termed a “proper snarl” at his players for hauling themselves back into the contest only to toss it away as Lampard ran unchecked to volley home Ashley Cole’s low cross late on and deflate a gloating home contingent in front of him.
Wolves’s sense of injustice was compounded because they lost Nenad Milijas to a dismissal for a less-vicious looking challenge against Arsenal recently. In fairness to Lampard, his contrition was immediate and genuine after catching Hammill and that, and the fact it was a first offence, may have persuaded referee Peter Walton to spare him. But he probably should have gone. The official then embarked on a mad six-minute spell in which he booked four more players and with Ashley Cole on the verge of losing control.
It was an unedifying passage in a match that meant so much to Chelsea - they simply could not afford anything short of victory after three draws and a defeat - but which they almost threw away by giving up a goal, once more, late on. They have conceded 10 times in the final 10 minutes of matches this season and, even then, there was almost an 11th with the very last piece of action only for Petr Cech to superbly tip over a Kevin Doyle header from close range.
When Wolves had scored, Villas-Boas’s frustration was obvious but he pulled back from kicking a row of water bottles. Another equalising goal and he would have attempted to launch those bottles over the stand instead of saying, “it was good to see the team react to a negative” following the “incompetent” defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday and, before that, the draws that had hit belief and rekindled stories of player unrest.
Villas-Boas, as is his wont, hit those stories head on - “what is written is false” - and said the celebrations were “part of the unity of the team and what the team have been doing”. But it was interesting to observe what happened when Ramires turned, after Juan Mata’s corner ran to him, to lash the ball high into the Wolves net and open the scoring.
The Brazilian reeled away, only for Raul Meireles to gently steer him towards the away dugout, then David Luiz to join in with Jose Bosingwa to make a full-house of Chelsea’s Portuguese speakers. Cole joined in as, to an extent, did Terry with Luiz beckoning the substitutes and coaching staff to come forward also which they did.
Such gatherings can be signs of weakness as well as strength, looking overly dramatic, but Villas-Boas added to the sense of occasion by suggesting that, after all, Chelsea might just be back in the title race if the others continue to slip and they can take advantage with a string of wins. Certainly he feels that the 90-point winning post target set by Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini needs to be revised down.
Interestingly Villas-Boas did not accept invitations to praise Lampard but that is par for the course for the manager who does not like praising individuals. Given, however, that he did offer a nod of approval to Fernando Torres’s performance - once more an improvement - then it did add to the feeling that all does not remain well between the 33-year-old England international and his 34-year-old boss.
Only a fine tackle by Richard Stearman prevented Lampard from opening the scoring early on, as he shaped to shoot from Torres’s pass while the striker had already, by then, set up Mata whose effort slid across goal.
Chelsea’s set-piece vulnerability was also again obvious as Roger Johnson’s header came back off the post from one free-kick and then the unmarked Stephen Ward steering his header wide when he should have scored.
Just before Chelsea went ahead, there was a clear opportunity for Wolves as substitute Matt Jarvis crossed superbly and the ball fell to Hammill, only for his goal-bound shot to cannon off Terry. Once in front, Chelsea were dominant with Wayne Hennessey beating out Ramires’s shot after another powerful run by the midfielder and then Torres stumbling as he threatened to wriggle through.
Wolves appeared bereft of ideas but McCarthy’s substitutions rekindled them and when Jarvis sent in an angled cross, Steven Fletcher beat Jose Bosingwa to it and turned the ball to Ward who slammed it past Cech. It seemed then that Wolves had staged another rousing come-back but Chelsea re-grouped for the resilient Lampard to take the honours - although he didn’t seek out his manager for celebration.


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Mail:

Wolves 1 Chelsea 2: Lampard to the rescue as Blues bounce back at Molineux
By NEIL MOXLEY

He might not have been at the centre of the celebrations which marked Chelsea’s first goal on Monday, but Frank Lampard supplied Andre Villas-Boas with something far more tangible when it mattered.
As the clock ticked down towards another frustrating afternoon for the young Portuguese, up stepped the club’s faithful on-field lieutenant to provide late relief.
Lampard has scored more spectacular goals with greater aplomb than Monday’s 89th-minute winner. But a close-range volley enabled his under-fire boss to speak with greater freedom about club unity, the need for improved consistency and neatly sidestep any suggestion of player unrest.
Indeed, there was a show of togetherness which accompanied the visitors’ opening strike, nine minutes after the interval. Goalscorer Ramires, joined by a clutch of his team-mates, made tracks to the Blues bench for what appeared to be an impromptu celebration.
Lampard and skipper John Terry were late arrivals to the pitchside throng. But they were at the heart of a resolute display against determined hosts.
Villas-Boas, amid rumours that his senior players are in revolt at his management style, refused to acknowledge the get-together after the opening strike was in any way a public show of confidence in him.
‘I didn’t know it was coming,’ he said, dismissing its relevance. ‘It was just them (the players) showing the unity of the team. We have had our first bad period, so it’s good to see. We were incompetent against Aston Villa and we didn’t do our jobs properly, but we recovered within 48 hours.’
It might help any negativity swirling around the west London club if credit was given where due by the club’s boss.
When asked about the veteran midfielder’s late contribution, Villas-Boas said: ‘I think the whole team did well. No matter who scores. Romeu, Mata - the most important thing is to find consistency.
‘Away from home we have less anxiety. We need to correct it at Stamford Bridge. We have discussed it between ourselves and I think we can correct it. It doesn’t matter who does the scoring, the most important thing is the victory.’
Lampard was fortunate to be on the pitch for his winner. His 25th-minute lunge at Adam Hammill was out of character and horribly late and could have easily ended in a dismissal.
As Lampard rose from the turf, acknowledging his error, howls of protest rained down from the stands. The man in the middle, Peter Walton, endured a dreadful first half and opted to caution the midfielder.
For some reason, he also refused to caution Ashley Cole, despite having at least two opportunities to do so, and produced a flurry of five yellow cards in eight minutes.
The official’s display overshadowed a first half in which Wolves could have taken the lead. Chelsea enjoyed a number of opportunities but the hosts came closest when Roger Johnson’s header from Hammill’s free-kick thumped into an upright and Stephen Ward glanced wide from the same source.
Shortly after the interval, the visitors found the net from Juan Mata’s right-wing corner. Terry provided the faintest of flicks and Ramires dug the ball out from under his feet before lashing into the top corner. There then came the unusual sight of the goalscorer being joined by Raul Meireles, Jose Bosingwa, Cole, Oriol Romeu and David Luiz running over to the dug-out. Villas-Boas’s assistants jumped into the melee. It was a very public demonstration.
The emphasis of the afternoon changed in an instant. The onus was then on the hosts. For all their efforts, Wolves find it difficult to retain possession and thus find it equally difficult to exert pressure.
The equaliser came when keeper Wayne Hennessey’s long free-kick was only partially cleared to substitute Matt Jarvis on the right. The winger centred and Steven Fletcher’s miscued centre arrived at Stephen Ward’s feet. The left back connected sweetly and the ball flashed past Petr Cech.
Wolves were now within sight of an unlikely point. But Lampard fed Fernando Torres, who spotted Cole racing up the left flank. His low cross was stabbed home by Lampard for his eighth goal of a disjointed campaign. There was no rush to the manager this time.
McCarthy was furious about the late goal. ‘They should have defended the cross,’ he said. ‘Chelsea shouldn’t have scored. I should be sat here talking about a 1-1 draw. I’ve had a proper snarl in there because it’s not acceptable for me.’
He left the press room paying tribute to Lampard. It didn’t go unnoticed that it was more than the winning manager managed to do.


=================

Sun:

Wolves 1 Chelsea 2

IF 2011 was an annus horribilis for Chelsea, 2012 is already shaping up to be a whole lot better.Whatever could go wrong for the Blues last year, did.
Carlo Ancelotti was sacked after failing to win a trophy, Fernando Torres proved a £50million flop and the team ended the year outside the Premier League's top four.
Saturday's 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa prompted the bookies to slash their odds on new boss Andre Villas-Boas getting the sack.
No wonder the mood in the camp was far from positive as the team bus chugged its way into Molineux yesterday.
And it was not exactly lifted by the news that Didier Drogba, Daniel Sturridge, Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou had all joined Branislav Ivanovic, John Obi Mikel and Michael Essien on the Stamford Bridge injured list.
Yet if Villas-Boas' starting line-up almost picked itself, the manager was rewarded with as spirited a performance as his team has managed for a long time.
Frank Lampard's dramatic late strike finally stopped the rot after a run of four games without a win and gave Villas-Boas some much-needed breathing space.
Now AVB is even mumbling about Chelsea being back in with a shout of challenging for the title. Make up your mind, pal.
At least he was smart enough to acknowledge that it will take plenty more results like this on a consistent basis before anyone at Chelsea can honestly claim they have turned the corner.
But at least Villas-Boas can see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel after getting the backing of at least some of his stars yesterday.
For the first 20 minutes, Chelsea stroked the ball around as though they didn't have a care in the world while Wolves could hardly get out of their own half.
Juan Mata should have fired the visitors into an early lead when Torres took advantage of a defensive mix-up between Roger Johnson and Christophe Berra to play in his fellow Spaniard.
But Mata's attempt to lift the ball over the advancing Wayne Hennessey lacked both power and conviction and was easily cleared by the covering Stephen Ward.
Lampard was then denied by a last-ditch tackle from Richard Stearman before Mata teed up Ramires for an angled shot which flew the wrong side of the post.
Yet, just when it was looking as though Chelsea were heading for a rare trouble-free afternoon, they were dragged into a scrap by Lampard's 24th-minute foul on Adam Hammill.
There was no doubt that the challenge was late nor that Lampard caught Hammill with his studs as he threw himself at the ball from distance.
Yet the yellow card from referee Peter Walton was probably the correct decision despite calls from the Molineux crowd for a straight red.
But with Nenad Milijas currently serving a three-match ban for a far less fearsome challenge at Arsenal last week, it was hardly surprising that Wolves felt so aggrieved by Walton's decision.
What followed in the next 10 minutes was little short of anarchy as tackles flew in from both teams and the fans massed in the Jack Harris Stand bayed for blood. Hammill, Roger Johnson, Kevin Doyle and Oriol Romeu all followed Lampard into Walton's notebook and they should have been joined by Ashley Cole for a wild kick from behind at Doyle.
With the flow of the game constantly disrupted by Walton's whistle, Wolves took full advantage to test Chelsea's dodgy defence with a series of high free-kicks into the danger zone.
Johnson headed against a post and Ward missed the target with another unchallenged header as Chelsea suddenly looked vulnerable.
Yet Mick McCarthy's strugglers could not capitalise on Chelsea's uncertainty and they paid the price when Ramires lashed the visitors into a 54th-minute lead. John Terry's faint flick on Mata's corner dropped invitingly in the six yard-box for Ramires to turn Ward and thrash a rising shot high into Hennessey's net.
The Brazilian wideman turned on his heels and led the charge to the manager's technical area, where a slightly sheepish Villas-Boas was swamped by seven members of his celebrating team.
It might have been a choreographed display of unity but there was no doubting the sincerity of the show of gratitude from Ramires, Raul Meireles, David Luiz, Jose Bosingwa, Oriol Romeu, Cole and Terry.
But nothing is ever straight- forward at Chelsea these days and just when they looked set for a rare clean sheet, they were undone at the back once again.
Steven Fletcher showed greater desire than Bosingwa to reach Kevin Jarvis' 84th-minute chip and when the ball broke across Chelsea's six-yard box, Ward was the first to react with an unstoppable left-footer.
Villas-Boas looked ready to explode as he sensed another squandered opportunity.
Yet Chelsea's response was as swift as it was unexpected.
And with just one minute of normal time remaining, they seized the victory they desperately needed.
Torres worked the ball out wide to Cole and the full-back's cross was met by a surging run from Lampard, who volleyed emphatically into the net from close range.

DREAM TEAM
STAR MAN — RAMIRES (Chelsea)

WOLVES: Hennessey 6, Stearman 6, Johnson 6, Berra 6, Ward 6, Forde 5 (Jarvis 6), Frimpong 6 (Fletcher 5), Henry 6, Hammill 7, Edwards 5 (Foley 5), Doyle 6. Subs not used: De Vries, Elokobi, Ebanks-Blake, Hunt. Booked: Hammill, Henry, Doyle.

CHELSEA: Cech 7, Bosingwa 6, Luiz 7, Terry 7, Cole 7, Ramires 8, Romeu 7, Meireles 7, Lampard 7, Mata 8 (McEachran 5), Torres 7. Subs not used: Turnbull, Lukaku, Ferreira, Hutchinson, Bertrand, Chalobah. Booked: Lampard, Romeu.
REF: P Walton 5


================================


Star:

WOLVES 1 CHELSEA 2: FRANK LAMPARD CUTS UP ROUGH TO SINK WOLVESABOVE:
By Dave Armitage

FRANK LAMPARD took on the role of panto villain and showed he’s still the man Chelsea can rely on.
Nice guy Frank Lampard showed his mean streak with an 89th-minute winner which had Wolves boss Mick McCarthy gnashing his teeth.
Because the burning question for Wolves fans was: should the England midfielder still have been on the pitch?
Lampard was celebrating his return to the team but he could easily have been sent off for a late tackle on Adam Hammill in the 25th minute.
It was so late that the Blues star had a split second to try to pull out of it – and that might just have saved him.
Referee Peter Walton reached for the yellow and the significance of that decision wasn’t to be fully ­realised until Lampard stole into the box with just over a minute left and snatched the winner.
It certainly eases the pressure on Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas, who had seen his side go four games without a win.
He even got the touchline celebration with his players he had asked for when Ramires had fired them into the lead shortly after half-time.
AVB didn’t get such luxury when Lampard pinched it at the death, but no doubt he was too relieved to worry about that.
In between, Stephen Ward looked like he had grabbed Wolves a share of the spoils when he shot home from 12 yards in the 85th minute.
But Lampard seemed determined the have the final say and he answered those doubting him with one of his trademark goals from just inside the six-yard box.
He tucked it home after John Terry had flicked on an Ashley Cole cross when the full-back was sent clear by the impressive Fernando Torres.
The Spaniard might have gone another 90 minutes without getting on the scoresheet, but he turned in an impressive all-round display.
He seems certain to get a bit of a run now as Didier Drogba reports for African Nations Cup duties with the Ivory Coast later this week.
They still had to rely on Petr Cech producing a stunning save in the last second to keep out a Kevin Doyle header, but Villa-Boas’ delight was there for all to see.
Until Ramires put a different slant on the game with his 54th-minute goal, all the talk had been about whether Lampard should have been sent off for scything down ex-Barnsley winger Hammill.
The home crowd were furious that Lampard was only booked and let Mr Walton know how they felt.
Unfortunately, the referee let all the fuss get to him and he seemed to lose control for the rest of the first half. It was all too much for Wolves boss McCarthy, who seemed to spend an awful lot of time chatting with fourth official Howard Webb.
Lampard’s challenge was the catalyst to the five first-half yellow cards shown by the Northants official.
The Chelsea man could have had few complaints if he’d been sent packing, but the referee presumably accepted that he had tried to pull out of the tackle.
Chaos ensued and within a minute Hammill joined him in the book for a clumsy challenge on Cole.
Then it was Karl Henry’s turn when he clipped Torres’ heels as the striker went past him.
Doyle was next after he stupidly tossed the ball at Cole in frustration after the England defender had ­clattered into
him.
The Wolves crowd were incensed at the referee’s interpretation of things and when Oriol Romeu sent Hammill tumbling, it was inevitable he would join the other four into the book. It was a good job half-time came to take the sting out of things.
And it wasn’t long before Ramires gave the home side more important things to think about.
The Brazilian ripped a shot into the roof of the net nine minutes after the break.
The Londoners had forced a corner down the left which the industrious Juan Mata stepped across to take.
Mata swung it over in the direction of Terry and the England skipper managed to flick it into the mixer with a great glancing header.
Ward got the ball tangled up in his legs as he tried to clear and Ramires pounced to fire home his shot from eight yards.
It was Ward who levelled things up before Lampard ghosted in to show his boss there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet.


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Express:

WOLVES 1 - CHELSEA 2: OLD SOLDIER LAMPARD RESCUES AVB

Frank Lampard’s 88th-minute goal secured a win for Chelsea
By John Wragg

IT’S the time of year for awards and the OBE, Out Before Easter, was waiting for Andre Villas-Boas before Chelsea got themselves out of their crisis with this win.
The OBE for AVB was on the cards, but the way Chelsea reacted to their problems should cause owner Roman Abramovich to give his young manager more time.
Frank Lampard’s 88th-minute winner does not alter the overall situation. Chelsea will not win the Premier League this season and an ageing team needs surgery, but there is fight in the patient.
When Carlo Ancelotti came to Molineux on January 5 last year and lost 1-0, Chelsea were in a similarly worrying state with only five points from four games and Ancelotti did not survive.
Villas-Boas was on a damaging run of three points from four games before this critical afternoon in Wolverhampton, but his team fought for him and Lampard, one of those earmarked to be part of the radical changes, won it.
The irony of that will be lost on no one. Villas-Boas is 34 and rated as a future superstar of management – Abramovich has his fingers crossed for that anyway – but he needs the old soldiers with experience around him at the moment.
Chelsea, who had not won since beating Manchester City in the first weeks of December, when optimism was high, benefited from the fact that Wolves were so negative for so long against them.
Steven Fletcher, who is so full of goals, did not come off the substitutes’ bench until an hour had gone by, and creative winger Matt Jarvis was not used until the second half.
When Wolves should have been baring their teeth and going for Chelsea they backed off and looked for the visitors to try to beat them. It was a tactic that did not work, Chelsea dominating the majority of the game and regaining confidence with every moment, despite the questionable refereeing of Peter Walton, who took five names in an eight-minute blitz.
What Walton failed to do, though, was send off Lampard for a lunging tackle on Adam Hammill – a decision which, if taken, would have changed the fate of the game.
Given that Nenad Milijas’s red card for a similar tackle on Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta is still annoyingly fresh in Wolves manager Mick McCarthy’s mind, you could understand if he was angry at Walton’s failure to follow FIFA’s directive on the sliding tackle.
If there was red mist, McCarthy kept it under control. “I’m not interested in whether Frank Lampard should have been on the pitch or not. It’s irrelevant,” said McCarthy.
“We should have defended the cross, he shouldn’t have scored. I should have been talking about a one-all. I’m livid with my team over that. I’ve had a right snarl at them.”
Chelsea generally controlled things with Juan Mata, who was to go on to be man of the match, forcing goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey into an early save and looking for holes in Wolves’ defensive cover.
By the 54th minute, Mata had found it. Chelsea were put on the attack by a sloppy Richard Stearman pass and, although Wolves recovered to concede a corner, Mata took it, John Terry attacked it, and whether he managed a slight glancing header or not, the ball fell for Ramires to out-fight Stephen Ward and smash the ball in.
The players’ mad rush to the touchline for a group hug with Villas-Boas and some sheepish- looking backroom staff signified loyalty and concern, and by the 84th minute Chelsea needed those qualities.
Wolves finally managed to do them some damage when Jarvis’s cross was played by Fletcher for Ward to equalise. With Jarvis and Fletcher both involved, who is to say what they might have additionally done to Chelsea if they had been given longer on the pitch? McCarthy said his star men were tired after a busy run of games and focused instead on Lampard’s winner that leaves Wolves without a win for six games. Ashley Cole was allowed to run down the left and get in the cross for Lampard to hit his shot from 12 yards.
There was no AVB group hug this time. But there was a smile.

Wolves (4-4-2): Hennessey; Stearman, Johnson, Berra, Ward; Forde (Jarvis 46), Frimpong (Fletcher 60), Edwards (Foley 75), Henry; Hammill, Doyle. Booked: Hammill, Henry, Doyle. Goal: Ward 84.

Chelsea (4-5-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Meireles, Romeu, Lampard, Mata (McEachran 70); Torres. Booked: Lampard, Romeu. Goals: Ramires 54, Lampard 88.
Referee: P Walton (Northants).