Wolves 6 (Strand Larsen 9, 41, 58, Arias 11, R Gomes 86, Arokodare 90+2) 1 Shrewsbury Town (Marquis 26)
Wolves booked their spot in the FA Cup fourth round after comfortably advancing past League Two side Shrewsbury Town at Molineux.
Jorgen Strand Larsen and Jhon Arias put the Old Gold in control by half-time, with John Marquis briefly reducing the deficit from the penalty spot between Wolves’ second and third goals.
However, a dominant second-half display saw Strand Larsen complete his hat-trick, and substitutes Rodrigo Gomes and Tolu Arokodare further adding to the scoreline.
The home side started quickly and wasted no time in gaining control of the tie. Ladislav Krejci split the Salop defence and fed Hwang into the penalty area, where the South Korean pulled the ball back across goal for Strand Larsen, who improvised a neat flick to find the back of the net.
Just two minutes later, Wolves doubled their advantage. Neat midfield interplay between Hwang and Strand Larsen allowed the latter to slip Arias through on goal, and the forward coolly finished in off the post, making it back-to-back goals at Molineux.
Wolves continued to dominate proceedings following their two early goals. However, against the run of play, Shrewsbury were rewarded a penalty, which Marquis converted past Sam Johnstone.
The hosts responded well to being pegged back and created opportunities to regain their two-goal cushion around the half-hour mark. First, Hwang picked up possession on the edge of the final third before threading Joao Gomes through on goal, but the Brazilian dragged his effort wide.
Moments later, Jackson Tchatchoua beat his marker and delivered an inviting ball to the back post. Krejci met the cross on the volley but could only divert it wide of the mark.
As the interval approached, Strand Larsen doubled his tally for the afternoon, rolling the ball into an unguarded net after capitalising on a loose ball in the Salop defence.
Half-Time | Wolves 3-1 Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury threatened the Wolves goal early on in the second period, with Sam Clucas coming closest to pulling another goal back for the visitors. However, Santiago Bueno was perfectly positioned to deflect the defender’s effort off the line.
The hosts responded to the warning perfectly, extending their lead to three just shy of the hour mark. Arias played Strand Larsen into the penalty area, where the Norwegian steadied himself before firing into the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick.
Wolves showed no signs of easing off and continued their search for a fifth goal. Andre tried his luck from distance with a volleyed effort, but Elyh Harrison was equal to it.
Moments later, substitute Mateus Mane began to stamp his mark on the game. The youngster gained a yard on his marker and clipped a teasing ball towards the back post, where Strand Larsen met the cross, only for Harrison to deny him a fourth of the game.
Mane almost followed up his instant impact with a goal shortly after. Andre picked him out in space on the edge of the area, and the forward fired goalwards, but Harrison once again reacted well to smother the effort.
Edwards’ substitutions proved effective, maintaining the intensity set by the starting 11, with three substitutes combining for Wolves’ fifth goal. Fer Lopez struck the post with a powerful long-range effort, before Arokodare reacted quickest to collect the rebound and squared for Rodrigo Gomes, who made no mistake from close range.
Just minutes later, Arokodare netted a sixth for Wolves after meeting David Moller Wolfe’s inviting ball across the face of goal.
Edwards watched on as his side wound down the clock, before the full time whistle eventually blew and Wolves were comfortably in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Full-Time | Wolves 6-1 Shrewsbury
Wolves | Johnstone, Tchatchoua (R Gomes 60), Doherty, S Bueno, Krejci, Wolfe, Andre, J Gomes (Mane 60), Arias (Lima 82), Hwang (Lopez 74), Strand Larsen (Arokodare 74).
Unused subs | Bentley, H Bueno, Mosquera, Chirewa.
Shrewsbury | Harrison, Hoole, Anderson, Boyle, Clucas, McDermott, Perry, Morgan (Ogunsuyi 74), Kabia, Ruffles (Loughran 74), Marquis.
Unused subs | Brook, Benning, Lloyd, Aneke, Stewart, England, Gray.
By Callum Greybanks
