Junior Hoilett winner gives Neil Warnock the perfect 70th birthday gift

JUNIOR HOILETT’S rocket gave Neil Warnock the perfect 70th birthday gift.

The Cardiff boss, who enters his eighth decade on Saturday, looked set for a day of misery when Matt Doherty put Wolves ahead on 18 minutes.

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But a second-half turnaround saw Aron Gunnarsson level with close-range finish before Hoilett fired in brilliantly from the corner of the penalty box to take the points.

It lifted the Bluebirds to 15th in the table - a stat that Warnock can raise a toast to in his personal celebrations this afternoon (SAT).

Because at the start of the season almost every pundit had written off his side’s chances of staying up.

The question had been more about whether they would accrue fewer points than the awful Derby side that managed just 11 points in the noughties - the worst in Premier League history.

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This win means they already hit that target before December.

The defeat extended Wolves’ winless run to six games in what was another blow to Nuno’s much-fancied side.

At least this game was much more civil than the April encounter between the two which saw Warnock launch an X-rated rant in the Portuguese’s direction after the Wolves chief had celebrated on the pitch before shaking hands.

Both were all smiles before kick off as they did shake hands this time, looking like best of friends.

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He sprung a surprise by switching to a back three to counter Nuno’s established 3-4-3 formation.

While the ex-Porto chief drafted in Romain Saiss and Adama Traore in a rare mini shake-up.

The managers may have been behaving more courteously but it did not stop the away fans from serenading Warnock with a chant he has become well used to with eight minutes gone.

And ten minutes later the Wolves supporters were celebrating an opener as Doherty tucked in at the far post after Neil Etheridge had parried Raul Jimenez’s initial header.

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It was the Irish wing-back’s second league goal of the season and marked his 200th league appearance for the club.

The omens were looking good for Nuno’s men as Wolves had not lost a league game for 44 matches after taking the lead.

Cardiff had little in response until Harry Arter smashed the crossbar on 37 minutes with a brilliant strike on his left foot after the visitors had failed to clear a corner.

Ruben Neves had settled the April game with a wonderful free-kick and will have been disappointed not to hit the target when presented with a chance from 20 yards soon after.

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It was a physical battle as it was always going to be and Callum Paterson wanted a penalty as he was nudged by Ruben Vinagre - but ref Andre Marriner deemed the contact minimal.

Wolves looked in control until another Arter blast almost caught them out on 65 minutes, with only a Conor Coady flick preventing it from going in.

But the danger was not over and when Nuno’s men failed to clear the resulting corner, Arter looped the ball back in the mixer for Sean Morrison to knock down and Gunnarsson to fire into the net.

And the comeback was complete on 78 minutes when Hoilett curled superbly in off the bar from the edge of the box.

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The Canadian could not have been a more fitting player for the winner as he was given the gift of a club when no one else wanted him by Warnock during the veteran boss’ first season here.

Hoilett paid his gaffer back with a present he will never forget.

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