Predators hunt down Wolves

The former Manchester United duo, who were once feted as Europe's most fearsome strike-force, chose a timely moment to rediscover their scoring touches as Rovers rescued a point from this breathless four-goal thriller.

And Yorke may even have poached an unlikely winner in a dramatic finale but the chance of glory slipped tantalisingly through his fingers.

Yorke began the day as the focus of back page headlines in the Wolverhampton press as mystery surrounded an alleged inquiry from Wanderers about taking the striker on loan.

And when he strolled out of Molineux last night, he did so smug in the knowledge that he would be making the headlines again after snatching the precious late equaliser that kept Wanderers pinned to the foot of the Premiership.

Behind the toothy grin and the cool exterior, the 32-year-old is said to be seething at the fact he's being kept out of the side by Academy starlet Paul Gallagher.

Some have even suggested that his agents, SFX, are currently touting his name around the Premiership in a bid to get him fixed up with a new club.

But if Yorke has become frustrated by the way manager Graeme Souness has shunned him then he showed no signs of it as he climbed off the bench to perform his late heroics.

It's no exaggeration to say that Yorke could have had a hat-trick in the final 15 minutes as Rovers mounted a desperate fightback.

In the end, he had to settle for just one but that was reward enough on an evening when all had previously looked lost.

Before last night, Yorke had gone eight games without a goal, which had led to him losing his place.

His old sparring partner Cole had endured an even greater drought with his last goal coming at Portsmouth on September 20.

Since then, he's been stuck on 249 career goals during a barren spell comprising 13 games.

But he finally reached that landmark when he thumped home a Brett Emerton cross in the 14th minute only for the pendulum to swing back in Wolves' favour courtesy of second half goals from Paul Butler and then Alex Rae.

Amazingly, this was only the fourth game in which Cole and Yorke have both scored in the same game for Rovers.

During their pomp at United it was a regular occurrence, but the last time it happened in the blue and white, or in this case red, of Blackburn was at Tottenham on the final day of last season when a thumping 4-0 win secured Rovers' passage into Europe.

Now eight months on, the circumstances could hardly be more different but the strikers' contributions up front were just as welcome as Souness battles to keep his side away from the jaws of the bottom three.

"Andy played arguably his best game for me this season," said the Rovers boss. "I'll be happy if he continues to play as he played tonight. I thought he was threatening throughout.

"All strikers want to score goals but I was really happy with his overall performance - he looked aggressive.

"And Dwight is unhappy with me at this moment in time because he's not starting but he showed that he wants to be starting games and that pleases me."

Once again, Souness was forced to make changes as Andy Todd was unable to take his place in the centre of defence due to a calf injury.

That meant a recall for Martin Taylor, who made his 100th start for Rovers alongside Craig Short.

And Emerton also returned on the right hand side of midfield after missing Saturday's trouncing at Birmingham with a foot injury.

With so much at stake, both sides showed signs of nerves in a tense opening, but as the game began to settle into a pattern, it was Rovers who looked the more threatening going forward.

Cole blazed over from an acute angle then Souness leapt off the bench to protest when referee Neale Barry waved away Cole's vociferous penalty appeals after Butler appeared to clip his heels in the box.

It then took an immaculately-timed challenge from Taylor to deny Rae what would have been a certain goal from Shaun Newton's cross and, from the resulting clearance, Rovers broke the deadlock in devastating style.

Emerton, who was the scourge of Wolves in that 5-1 thrashing on the opening day, raced down the right leaving several defenders trailing in his wake and when he cut the ball back from the by-line, there was Cole to gleefully smash home his first goal in nearly four months.

In contrast, Wolves offered little going forward other than a shot from Henri Camara that was deflected wide for a corner and, to add to their woes, Steffen Iversen then limped off with an injury, prompting the arrival of former Rover Nathan Blake from the bench.

Blake's pace gave the home side renewed attacking impetus and he engineered their best opportunity of the half with an electric run and cross which found Camara arriving at the near post but the striker's low shot whistled agonisingly past the upright with Friedel rooted to the spot.

Rovers were forced into a change themselves two minutes before the break when Short trudged off dejectedly with a hamstring strain.

That heralded the introduction of Nissa Johansson from the bench and his partnership with Taylor looked anything but secure after that.

The defending was questionable to say the least when the equaliser finally arrived in the 63rd minute.

Rae's free kick from the left touchline should have been comfortably dealt with but Butler got between Taylor and Babbel to head powerfully past a stationary Friedel.

Rovers survived another scare when Camara rattled the base of the post before Wolves did make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute.

Once again, the defending left a lot to be desired as Rae received a pass off Camara and somehow bundled his way through the melee, playing a one-two with, before bending a low right-footed shot inside Friedel's far post.

At that point, all looked lost but in a spirited finale, Yorke could have helped himself to a hat-trick.

Michael Oakes brilliantly saved his header from a Gresko free-kick then Emerton delivered a pin-point free kick from the right and the former Trinidad and Tobago ace stuck his head in amongst the flailing boots to nod home the equaliser.

Even then he could have snatched a late winner when Cole played him in in the 87th minute but his low shot from a tight angle flashed agonisingly across the face of goal.

WOLVES 2

Butler 63, Rae 72

ROVERS 2

Cole 14, Yorke 78