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Matheus Cunha hit his 12th goal of the season as Wolves booked their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 2-0 victory at Championship promotion-chasers Blackburn.
After the hosts had a Dom Hyam header ruled out for offside, Wolves scored two goals in as many minutes just past the half-hour mark, taking the lead when Joao Gomes’s shot rolled in off goalkeeper Balazs Toth.
Wolves’ top scorer Cunha then swiftly doubled the advantage with a strike into the far corner. The Brazilian, who signed a new contract with the club last weekend, had chances to net again after the break, putting a header over and twice having strikes saved by Toth.
Blackburn went into the tie amid speculation regarding manager John Eustace’s future, with reports having linked him with his old club Derby after they sacked Paul Warne on Friday.
The former Rams midfielder made eight changes to his Rovers starting lineup from Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at QPR, handing debuts to deadline-day signings Emmanuel Dennis and Yuri Ribeiro and giving their fellow January recruit Augustus Kargbo a first start, while Vitor Pereira’s Wolves XI had five changes from last weekend’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
In the opening moments Blackburn’s passing inside their own area led to a chance for Wolves as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s shot was saved by Toth, who then dealt with a Cunha free kick.
The hosts subsequently passed up a good opportunity, with Kargbo blasting into the Darwen End, then had the ball in the net in the 19th minute as Hyam headed home, only for the flag to go up for offside. While it looked a tight call, with no VAR in use the goal was disallowed.
Seven minutes later Kargbo appealed for a penalty having gone down under a challenge from Emmanuel Agbadou, but referee Lewis Smith’s response was to book him for diving.
Wolves then suddenly seized control of the contest by scoring twice in quick succession as Gomes’s shot went under Toth’s body, off his arm and over the line, and Cunha fired past the Hungarian moments later having been teed up by Nelson Semedo.
Blackburn attempted to hit back before the interval with Dennis putting a header wide and seeing a shot go behind off Sam Johnstone’s legs, and Todd Cantwell subsequently blazed over the Wolves bar early in the second half.
The Premier League side then threatened to add to their lead as Cunha and substitute Marshall Munetsi, another deadline-day signing making their debut, headed off-target from good positions.
Wolves’ push continued and Toth did well to push away a firm Cunha strike before Munetsi fired wide.
After Johnstone made a good save to deny Blackburn substitute Makhtar Gueye, Cunha was denied by Toth again as Wolves’ progression was secured.
