Jorgen Strand Larsen netted a hat-trick as Wolves eased to a 6-1 thrashing over League Two Shrewsbury to book their spot in the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup.
Things have not come easy for bottom side Wolves in a troubling Premier League season but they enjoyed a rare comfortable afternoon at Molineux to continue their recent upturn in form and proved to be a different class above a side who are battling for their own safety, three leagues below.
Strand Larsen ended a run of 12 games without a goal with the opener which was quickly followed up by Jhon Arias, who made it two with his second goal for the club.
Wolves strolled through the opening 25 minutes but the fourth-tier visitors managed to cut the deficit in half through John Marquis’ spot-kick, but a sloppy pass from Elyh Harrison gifted Strand Larsen one of the easiest goals in his career.
The Norway international – who has been linked with a move away from Molineux in the January transfer window – bagged his first hat-trick for the club in the second period before Rodrigo Gomes and Tolu Arokodare rounded off the scoring to help extend Wolves’ recent unbeaten run to four matches.
The hosts did not have to get out of second gear before they opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Santiago Bueno unlocked the Shrews defence with a perfect through ball to Hee Chan Hwang and he played it across to Strand Larsen, who flicked into an empty goal.
Wolves doubled their advantage two minutes later, this time Strand Larsen turned creator and fed the ball through to Arias, who latched onto the pass and finished expertly past Harrison.
Despite being relatively comfortable throughout the opening quarter, Wolves gave Shrewsbury the chance to halve the deficit from the penalty spot as Arias rather tamely brought down Marquis inside the box and he stepped up before sending Sam Johnstone the wrong way.
The hosts should have had a third after Harrison’s poor clearance ended with Andre squaring across to Strand Larsen, who was unable to get his foot on the end of it.
Wolves punished Harrison for another poor clearance a few minutes later though, the Shrews goalkeeper passed the ball straight to Strand Larsen, who was able to roll it into an empty net from distance to restore his side’s two-goal advantage.
The League Two relegation battlers came close to getting their second but Sam Clucas’ goal-bound strike was cleared off the line by Hugo Bueno.
And Wolves netted their fourth before the hour as some neat play between Arias and Hwang opened up the space and the former put it on a plate for Strand Larsen to easily stroke into the bottom corner.
Mateus Mane has been a revelation since he started making starts under Rob Edwards and he made an instant impact when he was introduced on the hour as he supplied a cross for Strand Larsen, who saw his header brilliantly saved by Harrison.
Wolves were showing no signs of mercy either and after Fer Lopez’s long-shot cannoned off the post, Arokodare collected the rebound and passed it to Gomes, who tapped in before Arokodare slotted home David Moller Wolfe’s cross to cap off a dominant afternoon.
