Hear what Wolves fans have to say following late equaliser at the Amex to draw 2-2 with Brighton
George Lakin
By hook or by crook we’ve got a point. Not sure how, but they dug in and showed spirit once again, just like against City last week.
I think they are still playing for him, even if it is a tactical mess and half the time I’m not sure the players really know what they are meant to be doing.
Look, it was disjointed but 4 points was the minimum requirement from Brighton/Palace and the first part of that particular assignment has been done.
Shout out to Tommy Doyle. 4v1. Looked destined to be 3-1 and O’Neil out the door. Blink and it’s 2-2. Fine margins. Fair to say Gary owes him everything right now, and make no mistake his smile at the end was one of total relief. But he’s not out of the woods just yet, Brentford did us a massive favour today, and a win against Palace next week could see us move out of the bottom 3.. Hopefully from there we can put this whole mess behind us and never look back.
Plenty of work to do first though.
Breaks like today can be turning points when you’re trying to stop a rot- we now just need to make sure we capitalise on it!
BLACKPOOL WOLF
Mixed emotions for me after that. In the first half, I thought we defended well again. If it hadn’t been for an error from Sa, we would have gone in at half-time level. That said, we need to score goals, and we never really looked like scoring, except when Doyle hit over from about 10 yards. He should have at least hit the target. Larsen and Cunha were once again too deep. Every time we cleared the ball, we just gave it back to the opposition, and it showed in our half-time stats.
Gary O’Neil changed at half-time, but I think it was out of desperation, probably feeling he had 45 minutes to save his job. In the second half, we were much better, but we still didn’t create many chances. Then came disaster; we found ourselves 2-0 down. I thought the players’ heads would drop, but credit to the lads, they still believed. Somehow, we managed to score two goals in the last five minutes to get a point from the game. We have all been calling for Doyle to start, and the last goal proved our calls right. He went 1v4 to win it in defence and played a brilliant ball to spark the attack for the equaliser. That has to be one of the greatest assists I have ever seen, brilliant from Doyle.
I still believe O’Neil has to go. Tactically, he got it wrong again and didn’t bring on subs quickly enough. He will probably escape criticism because we nicked a point in the end.
Man of the Match = Doyle
CRAIG HICKEY
I expected to go to the seaside today and possibly grab a point if we kept things tight.
I couldn’t listen to the game as I was out doing husband stuff, and in retrospect, it was the best thing I could have done. I kept up to date with the game through the Always Wolves WhatsApp group, and it made for interesting reading regarding the thoughts of my fellow contributors, until I lost signal in a garden centre after half-time.
Obviously, Sa had a calamity that gifted them a goal, and then it informed me that we were 2-0 down. Cue the inevitable – he has to go. I can’t argue with that as it stands, and the post-mortem started early.
By the time I got in the car, the alerts were pinging. Doyle was getting praise, Cunha scored a goal, and it got nervy, I’m sure, as I still couldn’t get any updates.
Then the page went wild; we snatched a draw. I hope everyone who was at the Amex and listening has come back down to earth now and maybe seen that this could be a massive turning point in our season.
Yes, they have injuries, and yes, they are a quality side, but to go and do what the lads have done is massive. The belief they will gain from this result shouldn’t be underestimated, and the next two games are an opportunity to take six points.
I know we will all get behind them. I, for one, want to see the atmosphere white hot and hostile. Let’s hope the players thrive on it and seize this opportunity. It may not get Gary O’Neil out of the woods yet, but we can see the pathway ahead.
A great result today, and let’s show the lads how much we appreciate that never-say-die attitude. This is the start of the season for me.
PAM WELLS
Wow wow, wow, what an ending to an otherwise dreadful game. We doubled our points.
When I saw the team sheet, I was so excited. Yes, it was Brighton away, but we had enough quality in the team to go for it. Was I wrong? For the whole of the first half, they completely dominated the game. We were overrun by them.
They defended in great numbers on the very few occasions they needed to, but they attacked in great numbers as well. Just like last week, we defended really well in great numbers, but when we got forward, we attacked in ones and twos. Was that tactical?
Then Sa made one of his dreadful kicks out straight to their man, and just before half-time, they took the lead. Up until that point, he was my man of the half.
Gary O’Neil made a couple of subs at half-time and switched to a back four with Sarabia and Forbs giving us extra width. It worked a bit better, but although we had a couple of decent free kicks and corners, they didn’t amount to much. Then, really late on, O’Neil made three more subs, bringing on Rodrigo Gomes and Guedes.
Out of the blue, they broke away and were four against our one, but thankfully Doyle was there to pick up the pieces and made a fantastic pass out for Rayan Ait Nouri to score. With four minutes of extra time left, surely we couldn’t, could we?
Yes, we could! Cunha levelled the score with just a minute left, and for the first time in weeks, there were smiles on the players’ faces. We had doubled our points.
Absolute pandemonium. My man of the match was Semedo. Until Doyle’s heroics, I had to give it to him. I was only giving a five for the performance rating until the ending, and I just have to give it a seven for that ending.
Come on, boys, onwards and upwards.
KARL WHITEHOUSE
Gary O’Neil kept faith with the back five system he started with against Manchester City, introducing Doyle into the starting eleven to give us the creative play we need.
We began the game well, with our players having time on the ball and avoiding mistakes. We needed to take on Brighton and create issues for them.
When we were thinking of reaching half-time with a clean sheet, we faced another problem with Sa and his distribution. He gave the ball away to Brighton, allowing them to score and lead at half-time. These mistakes must be dealt with early as they can lead to defeats for us.
The second half was much better. Gary made half-time substitutions to improve our play and changed our formation. We thought we were in for a hiding, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
However, this momentum left us exposed to Brighton’s attacks, which came near the end, and we feared another defeat was on the cards.
But Wolves showed character and tried to salvage a point from the game with limited time left. Ait-Nouri sparked the comeback with a goal, leaving Brighton to wonder whether they were tired and lacking pace or if we were simply better. We finished the game stronger, aiming for an unlikely draw.
What Doyle did on his own with four Brighton players around him was incredible; few would have made the same play, saving us from conceding a certain goal.
We got the draw we wanted against our bogey side, where we haven’t won many times, thanks to Cunha. Will this be the point that keeps Gary in the job? It should give him another chance with two important home games ahead. Let’s get our season started now. At least we’re not bottom of the league, so keep the faith, everyone. A win is coming soon.
Doyle was the player of the match today. He made a difference for the team and delivered a brilliant assist for the equalising goal, earning a rating of 7.5.
JOHN TARAS
The first half went smoothly without much danger apart from a world-class save from Sa to deny Brighton. But he gifted Brighton the lead in the 45th minute with a shocking kick to one of their players. I couldn’t see Wolves getting back into the game in the second half.
Drastic substitutions at half-time brought on Forbs and Sarabia. I just didn’t see Wolves making a comeback. Disaster struck when they lost the ball on the halfway line. Brighton raced upfield, and Ferguson finished clinically.
I’m sure I was one of the hundreds of fans who thought after Brighton’s second goal that it was time for a P45. Wolves hadn’t created enough to suggest a comeback was possible.
But the players proved me wrong. First, Ait-Nouri finished from six yards. Then we all witnessed a miracle. In the 93rd minute, Brighton broke away four to one and nine times out of ten it would have been game over at 3-1. But nobody in the ground expected Doyle to cut out the crossfield pass while outnumbered. Then he made the best assist of the season so far. He sent a beautiful pass to Cunha inside Brighton’s half. Cunha charged towards goal and hit a deflected shot into the roof of the net.
I doubt I will see anything like it again. A miracle and a point. Will it be enough to keep O’Neil in charge? Wolves have two home games next. Six points is a must.
Today’s turn of events might change Wolves’ fortunes. The ball’s in their court. Match reaction: amazed. One point and we’re off the bottom!
LOUIE LEFEVRE
An incredible point. Full credit to the players for their hard work until the end. It was a very negative first half but still unfortunate to concede in the manner that we did. Sa’s shotstopping is fantastic but his kicking leaves so much to be desired. The second goal was more of the same, sloppy in possession from Forbs leaving us vulnerable.
SCOTT DRAME
What an incredible match today! O’Neil’s game plan was absolutely spot on and executed with precision. The VAR decision was right on the money, much to everyone’s relief. Both Cunha and Ait-Nouri were outstanding on the pitch, bringing their A-game. Their impressive performances really set them apart, showcasing their skills and tactical awareness.
