Tawanda Chirewa struck within seconds of coming off the bench as Wolves came from behind to beat Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor, extending the hosts' winless home run to 21 league games.
Chirewa had just replaced Sean Neave in the 72nd minute when Mateus Mané pounced on Igor Julio's heavy touch and sent the 23-year-old Zimbabwe international through. His angled shot flew into the net despite Grégoire Coudert getting his hands to the effort.
Vital victory for Wolves
It was a vital victory for the visitors, who had fallen behind to Jamie Vardy's first Burnley goal before levelling through Fer López.
For Burnley it was a huge blow. Their last league win at home was when they beat Leeds in the Premier League on 18 October 2025, meaning their horror run will extend beyond a year. Sheffield Wednesday established an unwanted English Football League record last season by going 23 games without a win at Hillsborough.
Hayen's future in doubt
Burnley's head coach, Nicky Hayen, admitted he does not know what the future holds for him. “I will not give up,” he said. “I am not thinking about [his future] because I don't want to lose energy. That's a question for other people.
“We played with a lot of courage in the first half, scored one good goal, and could have scored more. But then we made a mistake before half-time and it gave the opponent energy.
“It was more equal in the second half, but Wolves didn't create many chances until we made another mistake. Then you could feel the atmosphere change in the stands – and I understand why.”
Vardy's strike and Wolves' comeback
Vardy, who celebrates his 40th birthday in January, illustrated that his finishing instincts are as sharp as ever with a low 20th-minute strike that gave Wolves keeper José Sá no chance.
However, the home side failed to turn their first-half superiority into more goals and were hit by a sucker punch when a mistake by Kyle Walker, the captain, led to López side-footing an equaliser before the break.
Wolves, weakened by an injury crisis that worsened this week when Raúl Jiménez and Adam Armstrong joined the list of absentees, travelled north having lost their previous two games. They improved after half-time and Coudert saved Fer's free-kick and Rafiki Saïd's snap shot, before Chirewa came on to score the winner.
Peixoto praises substitute
“Sometimes substitutions don't work and sometimes they do,” said Peixoto. “The important thing is that the players are ready for when they come on. They must have the right mentality to help the team – and Tawanda showed he has the right mentality. It is an important three points, but that's all it is.”
Tommy Doyle spurned a golden chance to add gloss to the scoreline late on, but Wolves held on for three much-needed points before boos rang around Turf Moor at the final whistle. Burnley's next home game is against Portsmouth, with their bitter rivals Blackburn then scheduled to visit Turf Moor on 22 November.
