LIAM BERRY REPORTS ON BRENTFORD 1-1 WOLVES
Wolves chalked up their tenth point of the season with an away draw against Brentford.
And to an extent, it was a game of two halves.
A scrappy and underwhelming first half with not much to report on turned into an action-packed second 45 with a couple of goals, plenty more chances and a sending-off.
FIRST HALF
Going into the game, Wolves made two changes to the team who had so disappointingly lost 4-0 to Leicester the week prior, with Jonny Otto and Joao Moutinho dropping to the bench, replaced by Nelson Semedo and Boubacar Traore.
And there was only a minute gone when Semedo was booked for a late challenge on Rico Henry, the Wolves full back’s second yellow card of the season.
Wolves had a couple of opportunities in the opening stages of the game, Daniel Podence seeing a weak shot saved, and a vital block from Ethan Pinnock denying Diego Costa a clear sight of goal.
Referee Bobby Madley, in charge of his first Premier League fixture in four-and-a-half years, handed another harsh yellow card to Podence for a foul on Kristoffer Ajer.
Both teams were forced into a first-half substitution, Brentford’s Mathias Jenson was brought off for Mikkel Damsgaard, and Wolves’ Matheus Nunes was replaced by Moutinho due to a shoulder injury, another name to add to the ever-growing injury list.
Neither team looked threatening going forward in that first half, and it was goalless at the break.
SECOND HALF
But a quick start to the second half saw a corner routine from Brentford finished off by an emphatic first-time volley from defender Ben Mee, putting the home team ahead.
Wolves though, to their credit, hit back immediately, the opener cancelled out by a Ruben Neves goal from outside the penalty area. Standard! Adama Traore pulled it back from the right to Semedo, who teed up Neves who placed it nicely into the right corner.
Wolves then had all the momentum in their favour, and went close with chances from Podence and Costa without being able to take advantage.
A clash of heads between Ivan Toney and Maximilian Kilman saw a break in play, Kilman needing the introduction of a headband to cover the wound.
Costa was looking lively and found himself inside the penalty area, shifting the ball onto his left foot and powering a shot straight into David Raya.
As the game petered out for Wolves, Brentford piled on the pressure and came close to a winner through Toney, but the Wolves defence generally stood strong and kept the team in the game.
There was still one bit of drama to come.
A coming together in stoppage time saw Costa punished for an apparent headbutt on Mee, gaining his first red card in the Premier League, the 11th of his overall career.
IN SUMMARY
The game finished all square leaving Wolves sat in 18th position. It was certainly a vast improvement on Leicester the week before but, still in the bottom three, Wolves will be hoping to pick up points from the final two league games before the World Cup to step up that improvement.
ARTICLE BY LIAM BERRY
I am a life long Wolves fan that is passionate for the club. I am a sixth form student who loves writing about things I love!