Wolves finally claimed their first Premier League victory of the season at the 20th attempt, sweeping aside fellow strugglers West Ham with a convincing display at Molineux.
The 3-0 success marked Rob Edwards’ first win since taking charge and ended Wolves’ lengthy league drought, stretching back to a victory over Leicester City in April.
Three first-half goals from Jhon Arias, Hwang Hee-chan and teenager Mateus Mane doubled the league’s bottom side’s points haul to six.
Facing one of the division’s most fragile defences, Wolves wasted little time asserting themselves.
After just four minutes, Hwang burst into the area, skipped past Konstantinos Mavropanos and squared for Arias to tap in from close range for his first goal in a Wolves shirt.
The hosts grew in confidence and were rewarded again when Mane was caught by a high boot from Soungoutou Magassa.
Hwang calmly converted the resulting penalty in the 31st minute before Mane capped a dream half by firing a low strike from distance past Alphonse Areola for his first senior goal.
West Ham offered little in response after the interval, and the damage was already done as their winless run stretched to nine matches, leaving them 18th and four points adrift of safety.
Relief swept around Molineux at full-time after Wolves ended a run that had seen them go 23 Premier League games without a win, including the tail end of last season.
Tuesday’s draw at Manchester United had halted an 11-match losing streak, and this performance built on that momentum.
Edwards’ side were sharp, aggressive and clinical, registering eight shots on target while restricting West Ham to none.
The result lifted some of the gloom surrounding a campaign that had threatened to mirror Derby County’s infamous 2007-08 season.
Survival remains a huge task, with Wolves still six points from 19th and 12 from safety, but this victory at least removes the spectre of a historically dire season and offers hope that a fightback may yet be possible.
While Wolves celebrated, the pressure intensified on West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo after a limp display against the league’s bottom club.
Defensive errors, a lack of urgency and the absence of injured playmaker Lucas Paqueta left the Hammers second best throughout.
They managed just one shot in the first half and, despite switching to a back three after the break, failed to seriously trouble Wolves.
With Nottingham Forest visiting on Tuesday in another key relegation clash, confidence is ebbing away.
For West Ham, this defeat felt like a missed opportunity – and another warning sign as the threat of relegation looms ever larger.
