Romain Saiss' glaring second-half miss ensured Aston Villa and Wolves played out an entertaining goalless draw on Saiss had the goal at his mercy after Conor Coady's header had struck the post but the defender could only direct his effort over the bar from a yard out
Aston Villa had struck the woodwork twice in the opening period through Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa, but they faded in the second period as Wolves were left to rue Saiss' moment of misfortune
Rui Patricio denied Watkins before Konsa's rebound was wide in stoppage time and the result leaves Villa in ninth place with 40 points from 26 games, while Wolves remain in 12th on 35 points
Twelve miles and five points separated these two mid-table teams, while Aston Villa were looking to secure their first league double over Wolves since the 2003/04 season having won the reverse fixture 1-0 in December
The hosts made a bright start and came within inches of finding the breakthrough inside four minutes when Watkins collected John McGinn's pass, escaped Leander Dendoncker, and unleashed a ferocious shot that thundered back off the crossbar
It was the seventh time this season Watkins had struck the woodwork, more than any other Premier League player
Wolves were vying to earn consecutive away league victories against Villa for the first time since 1960, but their goal continued to lead a charmed life when 10 minutes later Konsa met Bertrand Traore's cross to hit the same spot of the woodwork
Don Goodman said: "Once again, Wolves have got away with it
 Desperately unlucky for Aston Villa
"The visitors had just four touches inside the Villa box during the opening period as Emi Martinez was untroubled
 Nuno Espirito Santo will have demanded more at the interval, and his side improved markedly in the second period
A Villa corner broke down within five minutes of the restart and Pedro Neto drove from inside his own half to test Martinez at his near post, but the Argentine was equal to the effort
A trademark volley from Ruben Neves came next but it whistled over the bar as a malaise set in Villa's performance, shorn of Jack Grealish's inspiration once more
Dean Smith's side had not heeded the warning and should have fallen behind when Neto's short corner was headed onto the post by Coady before Saiss somehow lifted the rebound over from a yard out
"That is remarkable that he can't turn that in," Goodman said
 Villa had lost all their rhythm as Wolves continued to hunt a winner - and they thought it had arrived with 15 minutes remaining when Willian Jose's scuffed shot was collected by Coady, but his turn and shot brought a superb stop by Martinez
Remarkably it meant that Coady has now had a shot on target in his last two Premier League games, after not registering a single one in his first 102 appearances in the competition
The chance had been all of Villa's own making after a poor touch inside his own penalty area by Ross Barkley, but the game ended with both teams ruing missed opportunities and Grealish's mind elsewhere after his side had fired another blank in his absence
Aston Villa boss : "It was a game of two halves
 The first half was the best we've played since December
 Ollie Watkins pulled one back when he could have had a shot
 In the second half I thought Wolves were really good
 So it's probably a fair result
"There were some big chances missed
 Whenever Jack Grealish is not playing you are always lacking something
 I know Wolves are missing Raul Jimenez but they are a good team
"I keep saying there is a lot of inconsistency around the Premier League at the moment with the exception of Manchester City
 There is tiredness and fatigue
"Wolves boss : "We didn't press so well in the first half but everything changed in the second half
 At the moment it's the case and it's something we need to try to improve
 I wish I knew why
 It's something we need to reflect on and find why and the how to stop it
"After the first half, we had to improve and we found better ways of pressing
 We controlled the game with and without the ball after that
 Everything changed - we were much more organised and aggressive in the duels
"We had the header from Coady and I know him very well so I can say he should've done better
 Credit for him as we're pushing him to get into the box
 We'll keep looking for more solutions so he can score more
"Of course there's been progress
 We weren't playing well but we've improved and individuals are getting better
 We're recovering players, we're more stable and are more confident in ourselves
 We're focused on making improvements game after game
"Espirito Santo refused to blame Saiss after his horror miss, saying: "It's clear he should have done better but the mistake, in our view, is something we are always supportive of
 There is no problem at all
 Saiss must be proud because he fought really well for the team
"It was Coady first, the header of Coady, I know him very well and he could have done better but credit to him because it's something we are pushing him to go into the box
 He has been able to find good positions
"Villa boss Dean Smith said: "When I have seen it back it's one which comes back at him and he (Saiss) inexplicably puts it over
 I was certainly a relieved man after that
""I should have scored two tonight
 I should have scored again after the other night as it was right in front of goal
 The second shot was on the turn and was a bit scuffed
 We were much more like ourselves in the second half so we're a bit disappointed
"I should score - it doesn't matter if I've scored one or 100
 I should've scored
 We'll keep on working hard to get better
 It needs to stop [where second halves are better than the first]
"We were too passive and were giving the ball away
 It was more our sloppiness, but we had words at half-time
 If we perform like we did in the second half more, we'll pick up more results
""Pretty much all the chances fell to the centre-backs
 It was that sort of game as the frontmen didn't show enough quality, and the chances fell to the likes of Coady and Saiss
"It's so easy to say in hindsight that they should've taken another touch but people panic in these situations
 Strikers stay ice cool and it's why they make the difference
"Dean Smith will be really disappointed with the second half
 They had been the better side, and they were in the ascendancy
 There wasn't enough quality on show apart from Neto
 He was the only offensive player who looked likely to score
"Speaking prior to the game, Redknapp said: "Neto is one of my favourite players in the Premier League