Ndah maintains his strike rate as Wolves hit the ton

FA Cup weekend full of controversy and calamity found its apotheosis in its final game last night as two deflections and a couple of rebounds brought the tie its four goals, with Wolves eventually securing a deserved victory, their 100th in a competition they have won four times.

After Kenny Miller had reacted first when Matthew Gilks pushed out Lee Naylor's powerful shot with 11 minutes remaining to score his sixth goal in five games, Adam Proudlock completed the scoring in injury-time with his first touch as substitute. This time Colin Cameron's shot was palmed away by Gilks and Proudlock slid in at the far post.

If there is ever a right time for a team from the Third Division to visit one of the biggest clubs in the First, this was not it. Not only were Rochdale missing their goalkeeper, Neil Edwards, who had a groin strain, they were also without their top scorer Paul Connor, with a twisted ankle. If such poor omens had them looking to the skies in search of assistance, they will have seen only a bright, full moon - and it is no secret what effect that can have on Wolves.

The visiting player-manager Paul Simpson, who made 67 appearances during almost three years at Molineux, would have appreciated the size of his team's task better than anyone. When the Midlands club last reached this stage, in 1998, they went all the way to the semi-finals, where Simpson was in the team that lost to Arsenal.

In such circumstances Rochdale should have grimly resolved simply to make life as difficult as possible for their opponents. Instead they very nearly opened the scoring for them, Simon Grand's attempted back-pass in the 16th minute appearing too firm for Gilks, only for the goalkeeper to clear the ball for a corner with a desperate slash of the leg.

From the start Wolves had most of the possession, working the ball tidily into wide areas with Mark Kennedy and Shaun Newton prominent.

Then in the 32nd minute Gareth Griffiths deflected Newton's cross for a corner, apparently with his hand. Perhaps the penalty appeal distracted the visitors, for Kennedy's inswinging centre rolled across the edge of the six-yard area to an unmarked George Ndah, whose low shot was deflected by Lee McEvilly and went under Gilks for the striker's fifth goal in his last five starts.

Rochdale had an opening half of few highlights. Simp son himself provided one, attempting to lob Matt Murray from all of 40 yards, only to miss by 10. David Flitcroft did, however, produce perhaps the finest pass of the game to send Scott Warner clear but the wing-back's first touch was too strong and Murray intervened.

Gilks clung on to a glancing header from Paul Butler following a flick-on from Joleon Lescott a minute before the interval. Then he did well to keep out a well struck Ince volley from Ince following a Lee Naylor cross and Rochdale would have been relieved to be only one goal in arrears at the interval.

Having beaten Preston and Coventry in the two previous rounds Rochdale have become accustomed to straddling a two-division gap in class.

Inevitably Simpson was behind his side's breakthrough, his long-range shot flicking off Gavin Melaugh and sneaking past Murray at the near post after 53 minutes.

The midfielder only signed for the club last month at the end of a successful loan spell from Aston Villa, and had scored just one previous goal in his professional career, against Oxford in his previous appearance.

Disenchantment is never far beneath the surface and Molineux and, buoyed by their goal, Rochdale enjoyed a somewhat more equal share of the possession in the second period while the home support rediscovered their extensive range of gripes, gasps and groans.

Still Wolves looked the more likely to score, but it did not always seem as if they truly believed they would.