Wolves lose last game in the Premiership

Wolves 0 Tottenham 2

Goals from Tottenham strike duo Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe ensured Wolves defender Denis Irwin brought the curtain down on his glittering career with a defeat at Molineux.

The former Republic of Ireland and Manchester United full-back made the 902nd and final appearance of a 22-year career as Wolves said farewell to the Barclaycard Premiership.

Another Old Trafford old boy, Paul Ince, also saw his season end on a sour note as he was sent off and it remains to be seen if he will be back at Molineux next season.

Dave Jones named an unchanged side while the visitors – who included former Wolves ace Keane in their line-up – handed a full debut to Irish striker Mark Yeates.

Wolves started well in front of a boisterous home crowd, many of whom were waving Senegal flags in a bid to encourage striker Henri Camara to stay at the club, with Ince forcing Kasey Keller to tip over his bar in the opening seconds.

Then ever-present Lee Naylor made fine progress into the left side of the Tottenham box before crossing to Henri Camara, who scuffed his shot straight at the Spurs goalkeeper.

Wolves went close in the 11th minute when Carl Cort and Anthony Gardner challenged in the Spurs box and the ball hit the underside of the bar before being knocked away by Ledley King.

Irwin almost made a fitting contribution to his final game when his 25-yard free-kick hit the outside of Keller’s right-hand post on the quarter hour.

Spurs failed to stretch the Wolves backline at all in the early stages with Christian Ziege’s free-kick straight into Paul Jones’ arms in the 20th minute the extent of their threat.

Defoe also crossed straight to Jones but Wolves continued to hold the upper hand in a typical end-of-season affair with few clear-cut chances.

But Ince still looked as fired up as ever as he reacted furiously after being booked by referee Steve Bennett on the half-hour for deliberate handball in the Spurs box.

However, Keane marked his return to his former club with the opening goal in the 33rd minute, reaching Yeates’ cross and bundling the ball past Jones at the second attempt.

Defoe flashed a shot across the face of goal as Spurs ended a low-key half in command.

Ince headed straight at Keller on the stroke of half-time from Colin Cameron’s right-wing cross.

Irwin came to Wolves’ rescue in the 50th minute when he dribbled the ball out of danger after Keane had trickled a weak shot past Jones.

Wolves continued to press for an equaliser with desperate defending denying Cort a shooting chance two minutes later.

But Spurs went further ahead in the 68th minute when an appalling backpass from Cort from 35 yards let in Defoe to knock the simplest of chances into the net.

Jones made his first change in the 70th minute, replacing the ineffective Shaun Newton with Romanian striker Vio Ganea.

Defoe needed treatment after falling under Ince’s challenge in the centre circle but soon got up to continue to torment the Wolves defence.

And the Wolves skipper was sent off in the 67th minute for a foul on Jamie Redknapp in the centre circle.

Ince reacted furiously at referee Bennett’s decision and had to be shepherded towards the touchline by his team-mates.

Alex Rae, making his final appearance for Wolves with a summer move to Rangers thought to be imminent, came on as a substitute minutes later with Naylor making way.

And Irwin was given a standing ovation from all four sides of the ground as he came off in the dying minutes.