Jamie Cureton rode to Norwich's rescue again this afternoon with a 75th minute leveller to wipe out Andy Keogh's opener and keep Glenn Roeder's recent unbeaten run intact.
In what was still a poor, patchy contest against an out-of-sorts Wolves side, Norwich had struggled to gain a sight of Wayne Hennessey's goal for much of the afternoon. And it was only with the arrival of first Lee Croft and then Dion Dublin after the break that the contest started to open up and offer a bit of life for another bumper festive crowd.
Indeed, it was Dublin's classic centre-forward's flick on that enabled Cureton to squeeze his way into the Wolves box before bagging his eighth goal of the season off Hennessey's despairing dive.
Second-half substitute Dion Dublin had earlier came closest to dragging Norwich back into the contest with ten-yard smash that Hennessey saved well at the first and second attempts; Cureton would almost double his tally 11 minutes from the end only to stab his final shot just wide.
In the end City had to settle for a point as David Marshall stood up tall to deny Jay Bothroyd deep into injury time, but right now every point is counting; every unbeaten game takes Norwich away from the danger zone.
With Roeder being true to his word and resisting the temptation to throw a half-fit Mark Fotheringham back into the fray, so he announced an unchanged team from the side that drew 1-1 with Charlton Athletic on Boxing Day.
The one and only change came on the bench where Chris Brown arrived ahead of Chris Martin who continues to struggle to force his way into Roeder's thinking.
As for Wolves – in the midst of a festive wobble and alongside Norwich the lowest scorers in the Championship – Roeder's ex-Pro licence course pal Mick McCarthy put his attacking faith in Jay Bothroyd alongside the ex-Scunthorpe United striker Andy Keogh.
Given events at Molineux back in the middle of September, the biggest relief came in the non-appearance of one-time non-league winger Michael Kightly who was still sidelined with an ankle injury. They would, however, still have to find a way round the six-foot four-inch presence of Seyi Olofinjana in the centre of midfield. Matty Pattison would probably give away eight inches in height and a couple of stone in weight to the strapping Nigerian.
Given the niggly history between the two clubs, it wasn't a huge surprise to find a yellow card providing the 'highlight' of an untidy opening as Mo Camara clipped Bothroyd tight on the touchline.
That said it still needed a big block from an alert Jason Shackell to deny Stephen Ward in the sixth minute; ditto Darel Russell as Keogh sniffed the rebound. Again it was Wolves who forced the game's first corner as Jon Otsemobor got himself into a nasty tangle.
City's best moment arrived in the tenth minute when Darren Huckerby took a Ched Evans header down firmly into his stride only to blaze well over from some 25-yards out. It was a start. Twice Darren Ward would have to slide to intercept a cross from Otsemobor as Norwich started to pick up the pace.
It stopped, briefly, as Jimmy Smith found himself floored on the edge of the Wolves box. But once both City physio and doctor had dusted the 20-year-old down, so Norwich continued to shade the possession without ever really forcing a clear-cut chance.
Huckerby would have forced one but for a classic block by Olofinjana that resulted in the game's second booking. Pattison failed to lift the resulting free-kick beyond the first defender which pretty much summed up the game's opening half hour – big on huff and puff, short on genuine moments of quality.
As for Wolves, they almost caught City horribly pants-down when to a man they stood and appealed for offside as both Bothroyd and Keogh ambled towards the halfway line. Coming from an onside position, Ward caught everyone napping. Fortunately his final header lacked both the direction and strength to unduly trouble a suddenly stranded David Marshall.
How these two sides had arrived at the half-way mark of the season with the joint lowest number of goals scored was swiftly being explained as a chanceless half drifted on its way – or at least until the 34th minute when Marshall was forced to pull out a fine, instinctive stop to deny Neill Collins as the Wolves defender reacted first to a badly-handled corner from the visitors.
City's growing unease was reflected in a 37th minute booking for Shackell after a ghastly piece of control left him second-best to the ball with Keogh. Foot high, it was an awkward moment for the Canary centre-half with the January transfer window looming. It also summed up a tired, ugly first-half that offered precious little by way of festive cheer.
When Norwich's lone chance did arrive it came deep into injury time. Cureton drifted a decent-ish cross towards the far post where Smith produced a decent-ish overhead kick that a scrambling Huckerby just failed to poke inside Wayne Hennessey right upright. And that was it.
Whether 'words' were being had or not, Norwich took to the field a good three minutes after the visitors – and, for now, they remained unchanged. But a big spark was required if victory was to be their's.
Five minutes later and Roeder looked elsewhere for inspiration as Lee Croft replaced Smith. It brought an almost immediate change in the balance of play – as Wolves scored.
Michael Gray's drifted a pretty standard cross towards the edge of the Canary six-yard box where Keogh had lost both Shackell and Camara. Marshall could only watch helplessly as the Wolves striker gently arced an eight-yard header away and inside the City keeper's right-hand post. Once again, the Canaries would have to dig deep for victory as Dublin replaced the tiring Evans.
City had to survive a big scare as Olofinjana escaped the offside trap and in the acres of space between Shackell and Camara, drilled a low cross straight through the heart of the Canaries' six-yard box where Bothroyd lurked.
Two big yellow cards as Norwich started to fire into life at least roused the home faithful from their first-half slumbers, but City were still way off their fluent best.
Cureton scampered clear and drilled a low cross through an empty penalty area; Dublin would appeal long and loud for handball as the Canaries continued to scratch around for a leveller. It was Stephen Ward who came the closest, however, to changing the course of events as he finished a darting run with a fine, 20-yard drive that flew just wide of Marshall's left-hand post. Roeder's recent revival was threatening to run out of steam. Cue Jamie.
Norwich City (4-4-2): Marshall; Otsemobor, Camara, Doherty, Shackell; Smith (Croft, 50 mins), Russell, Pattison, Huckerby (Brown, 84 mins); Evans (Dublin, 56 mins), Cureton. Subs (not used): Arnold, Spillane.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-4-2): Hennessey; Foley, Gray, Darren Ward, Collins; Gibson, Olofinjana, Henry, Stepehn Ward; Bothroyd, Keogh (Elliott, 73 mins). Subs (not used): Ikeme, Edwards, Jarvis, Eastwood.
Attendance: 24,300.
Man of the Match: Gary Doherty.
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