Swansea 4-4 Wolves
Last updated on .From the section Football
Matt Jarvis's two goals spearheaded a thrilling Wolves fightback at Swansea.
In a breathless start Andrea Orlandi and Nathan Dyer headed in for Swansea either side of Joe Allen's low strike.
Steven Fletcher looped in a header in reply before Danny Graham's close-range curler made it 4-1, only for Jarvis to drill in from Kevin Doyle's cross.
Dave Edwards burst through the middle for Wolves' third and Jarvis completed the recovery as he slid in to convert Fletcher's cross.
Wolves arrived at the Liberty Stadium bottom of the Premier League and already relegated, and the early signs were that they would sink into the Championship with a whimper.
Swansea took the lead within 46 seconds when Scott Sinclair, on the left wing, was allowed to turn inside and deliver a curling cross with his right foot.
Orlandi, who had not scored for two years, rose highest to flick his header over Dorus de Vries in the Wolves goal.
De Vries opted to leave the Welsh club to join Wolves at the end of last season and his former team-mates soon had the Dutchman stooping to pick the ball out of the net for a second time.
Graham and Gylfi Sigurdsson combined to send Allen through the middle, and the midfielder's shot took a deflection off Richard Stearman to leave De Vries stranded.
A third goal arrived within 15 minutes when Orlandi was allowed to drive into the left of the Wolves area before squaring for Dyer to head in at the back post.
Wolves' lackadaisical defending was catching and the visitors pulled a goal back as the Swansea defence dozed, allowing an unmarked Fletcher to head home from Doyle's cross.
Graham restored Swansea's three-goal cushion when Dyer was allowed two bites to squeeze the ball across goal for the striker to end an 11-game goal drought.
But back came Wolves as Doyle, this time popping up on the right, sent a steepling cross towards Jarvis to smash home despite Ashley Williams' attempted block.
Swans manager Brendan Rodgers had started with an experimental 3-4-3 formation, but a knock to Orlandi allowed him to bring on Wales left-back Neil Taylor instead of the midfielder for the second half.
Sigurdsson nearly extended the Welsh side's lead twice in a matter of moments, first hitting the post from the edge of the area and then bringing a fine save out of De Vries.
Instead it was Wolves who scored the next goal, as Michael Kightly played a reverse-pass into the path of Edwards for the Wales midfielder to shoot low into the far corner.
Edwards was also heavily involved in the 69th-minute equaliser, finding Fletcher in space on the left, the striker in turn threading the ball across for Jarvis to grab his second.
Kightly had a late chance to strike an improbable winner when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake picked him out on the right, but the Wolves midfielder skied his shot over.
A topsy-turvy game would not have been complete without one more Swansea chance deep into injury time, but substitute Luke Moore was well tackled by Ward before he could get his shot goalwards.
But while Wolves will be in the Championship next season, despite their show of spirit, the point was enough for Swansea to mathematically guarantee their involvement in the Premier League next season.
Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers: "Obviously I'm a bit disappointed, for the first 30 minutes of the game we were sensational… we lost our concentration before half-time and then second half we just didn't defend well as a team.
"But give credit to Wolves. It's been a tough time for Terry [manager Terry Connor] since he's gone in there, I think he's been admirable on how he's coped with it all and many teams at 3-0 down here… would maybe fall away but they never did that.
"They kept fighting and it's a great credit to Terry and the players that they did that."
Wolves boss Terry Connor: "Since I took over, every time we've travelled away the fans have been absolutely terrific, right behind the lads, right by myself and they've applauded them at the end of every game.
"That's credit to those fans who have come and supported us through thick and thin.
"I'll give a full review [to the Wolves board] at the end of the season, give my thoughts, what we've done well and what we haven't done so well. Whatever path the club decide to take next season it will be for the benefit of the football club."
