When the full-time whistle blew at Molineux, the first player to be mobbed by his team-mates was not the match-winner, Joao Palhinha, but Tottenham’s stand-in goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
On a cathartic afternoon, Kinsky’s scrambling save from Joao Gomes’ stoppage-time free-kick ensured Spurs would hold on for their first league win in 118 days while claiming their first clean sheet since New Year’s Day.
That save, and the warm embraces he received from Mathys Tel and Rodrigo Bentancur, should mark another turning point in Kinsky’s young career.
After the cataclysmic fallout from his nightmare performance away to Atletico Madrid - where he twice gifted Diego Simeone’s side a goal before being replaced just 17 minutes into his Champions League debut - Kinsky has recovered ably to take control of his narrative and give Spurs stability between the sticks.
The Czech keeper could have let those mistakes dictate what had, to that point, been a burgeoning young career. Instead, aided by an injury to Guglielmo Vicario, Kinsky is rebuilding his confidence and banishing the demons of Madrid by letting his football do the talking.
Under Roberto De Zerbi, Kinsky has been reliable, aggressive and seemingly undeterred by what happened at the Metropolitano last month. In changing perceptions, there is a lesson in there that Spurs would do well to learn from.
With four games to go, Spurs remain two points from safety after West Ham snatched a stoppage-time victory at home to Everton on a dramatic afternoon at the bottom of the Premier League table.
It is a case of ‘as we were’ in the race for survival. Yet, by cutting loose the albatross from around their neck, by securing a precious three points against Wolves, Spurs finally have the wins De Zerbi hopes will kickstart their drive out of the relegation zone.
Spurs’ slide towards the second division had begun to feel more inevitable by the week, and would have matched a club-record 16-game winless run had they not beaten Wolves.
Now, though, the impetus has changed, and Spurs have some momentum to build on at long last.
De Zerbi’s side did not make things easy for themselves against the league’s bottom club, labouring for large periods before eventually finding the breakthrough when Palhinha prodded home in the 82nd minute.
But at this stage of the season, none of that matters. Spurs do not have to win well. They just have to keep winning.
A few eyes were rolled when De Zerbi emphatically declared that he believed Spurs were capable of winning all five of their remaining games. But winning is a habit, and one that Spurs have finally rediscovered.
One down, four to go will be the rallying cry heading into another huge week for the club. But for a team that have not won back-to-back league games since the first two weeks of the season, there is work to be done.
It remains on a knife-edge between Spurs and West Ham, though injuries to Xavi Simons, ruled out for the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and Dominic Solanke will make De Zerbi’s task far harder.
The Italian has always maintained that one win could prove the catalyst for Spurs’ season. In restoring belief and confidence to his side, he has achieved one of the main aims he set out when he took the job just under a month ago.
Spurs played with bravery and assertiveness against Brighton, and then converted that into three points against Wolves. Now comes the biggest test of their mettle. Can they find the consistency needed to claw their way to safety?
