Premier League: Blackpool 2 Wolves 1

Blackpool claimed only their second home win of the season thanks to goals from Luke Varney and Marlon Harewood in a tense 2-1 victory over Wolves.

Varney’s volley gave Blackpool an early lead before former Wolves loanee Harewood added another, but Kevin Doyle’s late strike made for a thrilling finale.

Mick McCarthy’s men, however, could not find that elusive equaliser and Ian Holloway’s Tangerines held on for maximum points.

At the start of the season, pundits would have marked this down as a relegation scrap and despite Blackpool’s promising start, the match certainly had the feel of a basement duel.

Wolves turned up at Bloomfield Road having lost eight of their past 10 matches while the Tangerines’ home form – with one win all season before the match – also looked in need of improvement.

Right on cue, Varney’s stunning strike after just two minutes was certainly the best way to go about changing that record. Controlling a high ball from distance, he unleashed a brilliant dipping volley which gave Marcus Hahnemann in the Wolves goal no chance.

McCarthy reacted with disdain and hauled off right-back Kevin Foley in favour of the more attack-minded Nenad Milijas, but the move didn’t pay off as Blackpool extended their advantage on 40 minutes.

Hahnemann claimed he was impeded but the Wolves keeper fumbled the ball to Harewood, who made no mistake.

Milijas struck the bar in the second half for Wanderers, but McCarthy’s men lacked the cutting edge to get back into the game.

Blackpool finished the stronger-looking side, and Varney should have done better when Charlie Adam put him through, but he could only fire wide.

Just when the match looked to be heading towards an obvious conclusion, Doyle struck with only four minutes to go to set up a grandstand finish.