Jørgen Strand Larsen’s brace earned Wolves victory at rock-bottom Southampton and ensured they took a huge step in confirming their Premier League status.

The Celta Vigo loanee took his tally for the season to nine as Wolves moved nine points clear of third-bottom Ipswich with nine games left. Southampton, who pulled a goal back through Paul Onuachu, remain on nine points, with the chance of beating Derby’s record-low total of 11 in a single campaign still not a certainty.

The early signs suggested it could be Southampton’s day as they looked to claim their first three points since 1 February when they beat fellow relegation strugglers Ipswich. Lesley Ugochukwu drove into space and laid the ball off to Joe Aribo but the midfielder blazed his shot from the edge of the area over the crossbar.

But, typical of their season, any positives were outweighed by poor defending as Southampton fell behind.

Wolves winger Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was allowed all the time in the world to whip a cross on to the head of Strand Larsen and he nodded past Aaron Ramsdale from close range to open the scoring after 19 minutes.

Paul Onuachu pulls one back for Southampton in the 75th minute. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images/Reuters

Southampton manager Ivan Juric’s decision to replace midfielder Mateus Fernandes at half-time prompted boos and chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” from the home crowd, before Strand Larsen doubled Wolves’ lead early in the second half.

Towering forward Onuachu was beaten in the air by Emmanuel Agbadou and, after a few simple forward passes, the ball found its way to the unmarked Strand Larsen on the edge of the box and he drilled an effort into the bottom-left corner.

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Teenager Tyler Dibling’s individual skill had been on display all afternoon and after he cut inside and struck a post, Onuachu was on hand to pull one back for Saints in the 75th minute.

Wolves’ tight shape paid dividends in the final stages as they stifled their opponents during six added minutes to claim all three points.