Wolves fans have never liked VAR and are very vocal about the fact. There was a chorus of “Premier League, corrupt as fuck” while their coaching staff argued with match officials having seen a 99th-minute equaliser from Max Kilman ruled off for offside, with Tawanda Chirewa deemed to be interfering with play in front of the goalkeeper.

Gary O’Neil fumed on the touchline and ran to speak with the referee Tony Harrington at full-time, mainly to stop his players offering a piece of their mind to the officials, with yellow cards being shown to numerous members of Wolves staff, angered by leaving with nothing.

It is understandable that West Ham fans are frustrated with David Moyes after witnessing a pathetic first-half at Wolves but his team transformed to earn victory. The manager did many things to turn the tide but he cannot take much credit for James Ward-Prowse scoring the winner straight from a corner.

It had been a tale of two penalties, scored by Pablo Sarabia and Lucas Paquetá, until Ward-Prowse swung the ball into the net from the left, as José Sá failed to read the flight and watched the cross fly over his head and into the far corner. Kilman thought he had rescued a point, only to see his goal overturned after a spring to the monitor from Harrington.

There was little indication that West Ham would leave Wolverhampton with all three points at the halfway mark having been second best in every department but the introduction of Michail Antonio ignited the Hammers, who lost Jarrod Bowen to injury early in the second half.

With a trip to Leverkusen on Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final, West Ham could be forgiven for having one eye on Germany. They were lethargic in the early stages with the direct running of Rayan Aït-Nouri causing problems. It was one of Aït-Nouri’s many runs that earned Wolves a deserved lead. The full-back-come-No 10 drove forward into the area where he was met by Emerson Palmieri who came across Aït-Nouri and brought him down. Harrington pointed straight to the spot and, despite questions over whether the West Ham defender got a touch on the ball, VAR did not feel the need to intervene. Sarabia stepped up and fired the ball in off the post.

West Ham were completely ineffective in the first half of a match watched by the former Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper in the stands. The Hammers looked as if they were wondering where they had left their passports at home and if they require a work visa to travel to Leverkusen.

Moyes had left Antonio on the bench even though he had scored two in his previous three appearances but the abject nature of the team’s performance in the first half meant he was called upon at the break to offer a focal point. He was teamed up with Bowen for fewer than 10 minutes when the England forward was forced off with a hip problem, making him a doubt for Thursday.

Despite losing Bowen, West Ham had turned the tables on Wolves, becoming utterly dominant. Emerson, moved to left wing, thought he had made amends for giving away the penalty when he headed home a Mohammed Kudus cross at the back post but another infringement was spotted by Harrington, who adjudged the full-back to have fouled Nélson Semedo in the buildup. It looked soft but VAR was on the referee’s side once more.

Emerson eventually achieved redemption when his cross was handballed by Kilman inside the box. Wolves had sent their own downfall by giving the ball away in their own area, allowing West Ham to pounce. Paquetá stepped up from the spot and just about defeated Sá to his left-hand side.

Those inside the ground expected a winner but no one could have envisaged Ward-Prowse’s inswinger making the difference, although that was forgotten when those left in Molineux showed their anger once more with match officials when Kilman’s equaliser was belatedly chalked off.