Adam Proudlock came to Wolves' rescue with the goal that took them into the second round - after they looked to be heading for an early exit.
The 19-year-old striker was recalled from Scottish club Clyde, where he was on loan, to answer an injury crisis at Molineux.
He popped up with a brilliantly finished decisive third goal against Oxford United as Wolves hit back in the second half of the Worthington Cup first round second leg tie.
Jon Shepheard had headed Oxford in front from a corner to give them a 2-0 aggregate lead, but Carl Robinson equalised for Wolves with a 49th minute header.
Wolves overcame the loss of young defender Joleon Lescott, who was sent off after receiving his second yellow card, as Robert Taylor transformed the tie.
Taylor's powerful far post header from a Darren Bazeley cross put them ahead on the night and Proudlock sealed their passage into the second round with a fine right-foot finish from Taylor's long pass.

WOLVERHAMPTON EXPRESS AND STAR

Wolves regained some much-needed pride and confidence last night as they found 10 men more than enough to complete a thrilling Worthington Cup fightback.

Undeservedly one goal down from the first leg at Molineux and then one man down on the night following the 61st-minute sending-off of Joleon Lescott, they turned the screws brilliantly to salvage a cause that looked like becoming lost.

After the horror shows at Portsmouth and Gillingham that had taken the club's season towards an unexpected early crisis point, a massively decimated side displayed all the fighting spirit Colin Lee had called for.

At first, some of the determination bordered on foolish bravado as no fewer than four of their players were booked for over-zealous tackles in the first five minutes.

There was also the now customary early goal against, Michael Oakes having another unhappy corner-kick experience as he failed to deal with a Dean Whitehead cross that central defender Jon Shepheard converted into a 2-0 Oxford aggregate lead.

But this display proceded to contain much to be happy about as Wolves ultimately stormed through by scoring three times in 20 second-half min-utes, the last two of them while they were numerically disadvantaged.

The evening was a triumph for several individuals, yet not one of them could have derived more personal satisfaction than the Molineux management and the players did for a tremendous team effort that exposed the full shame of those last two League games.

Lee made another five changes to his constantly fluctuating line-up, dropping Temuri Ketsbaia to the bench and choosing 19-year-old Adam Proudlock in his place as the most fascinating of them.

Elsewhere, Ryan Green's promotion for a second senior start was repaid with a mature performance at right-back that enabled the recently out-of-form Kevin Muscat to rediscover some form at centre-half.

With Carl Robinson playing wide left in midfield, Wolves' side bore an unfamiliar look, but the payback came from all the men who were handed the club's new light blue change strip.

Proudlock, very much a man, not a boy, might well have scored in only the 12th minute when he was totally unmarked to meet a right-wing cross by the fit-again Robert Taylor.

But his powerful free header was straight enough to enable Richard Knight to pick up where he heroically left off at Molineux.

The Shropshire-born striker narrowly failed to connect properly with Scott Taylor's driven low cross shortly after the Second Division strugglers' breakthrough and Green was inches off target with a 25-yarder on the stroke of half-time.

If Wolves had been unconvincing in the first half, though, they clicked spectacularly in the second against big odds.

Robinson's goal-scoring capacity was underlined with a 48th-minute headed equaliser that matched Green's excellent cross and, in the onslaught that followed, the much-improved Robert Taylor and Proudlock again worried the home defence.

Wolves were even able to weather the loss of Lescott, who followed up a 35th booking by rashly sliding in on Joey Beauchamp as the one-time Molineux target was running away from goal just outside the area. A second yellow card was sadly inevitable for the youngster, who must have been relieved his team-mates did him proud in his absence.

Four minutes later, Robert Taylor headed in Darren Bazeley's centre for a near-repeat of the equaliser and only two more had passed before the striker's through ball allowed Proudlock to clip right-footed past the advancing Knight.

It was a composed finish at a time when the newcomer was struggling with cramp, although he found the freedom to launch himself full-length Klinsmann-style in celebration before immediately departing on a stretcher.

Proudlock's return to the fray was brief and his permanent exit from a debut of rich promise enabled Ketsbaia to show how badly he had been stung by being demoted.

The Georgian quickly became the sixth Wolves player to be booked and flirted dangerously with a red card, such was his pumped-up state.

But his 17-minute cameo as a lone striker was a high-quality exhibition; full of venomous shooting, good control and the fire that had been lacking from his game since the draws against Sheffield Wednesday and Stockport.

Twice in the last three minutes, he brought diving saves from Knight while Wolves - with Robert Taylor by now in a withdrawn wide-right role - comfortably contained a late rally that had 25-yarders from Beauchamp and Paul Tait as its sum total.

Their performance earned them joyous acclaim at the end from supporters who had subjected them to a gauntlet of abuse at Gillingham three days earlier.

So quickly fortunes can change in football, but Wolves fans would never have many grounds for complaint if their side always displayed this spot-on attitude.

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