Jan 2 (Reuters) - WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 0 CRYSTAL PALACE 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers saw their impressive Premier League campaign run into the buffers as two goals in the dying minutes enabled Crystal Palace to take all three points with a 2-0 win at Molineux on Wednesday.
Looking out of sorts at the start of the year, Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves had only needed a draw to become the first promoted team to garner 30 points after 21 matches in a top flight season since Birmingham City in 2009-10.
Instead, their hopes of rising as high as seventh were spoiled as Palace deservedly took the spoils with Ghanaian international Jordan Ayew firing home his first goal for the club in the 83rd minute.
Luka Milivojevic then converted from the penalty spot, five minutes into added time, after Ryan Bennett had brought down Wilfried Zaha.
It gave Palace consecutive away wins in the same Premier League season for the first time in two years and Roy Hodgson's team were well worth the points.
They dominated the first half, with only their profligate finishing letting them down - with Andros Townsend's dismal ballooned right-footed shot and James Tomkins' missed header proving the most glaring examples.
Wolves, as befits their reputation this term as second-half revivalists, looked much sharper on the resumption, creating more chances in the opening four minutes after the break than in the entire first-half.
(Reporting by Ian Chadband; Editing by Alison Williams)