- Wolves came from 2-0 down to draw with Brighton in the Premier League
- The hosts were two goals up with just two minutes of normal time remaining
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Wolves might still be looking for a first win of the season but this must have felt like a victory for Gary O’Neil whose side came from two goals down to seize a dramatic equaliser in the 93rd minte.
Brighton had looked home and hosed when Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson had given Fabian Hurzeler’s side a comfortable lead with five minutes remaining.
But Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunhad rescued a point for Wolves’ beleaguered manager and left the away end in rapture.
O’Neil said: ‘To find it in you to be able to keep pushing after being 2-0 down on 85 minutes says a lot about who they (the players) are. We’ll definitely be ok.
‘The one thing I can guarantee we won’t come up short with is fight. Coming back late gives everyone a lift. Only what we deserved from the game, second half performance we were the dominant side.’
Matheus Cunha netted a last-gasp equaliser as Wolves drew 2-2 with Brighton on Saturday
The visiting side snatched a point having been two goals down in the closing minutes
Wolves claimed their second point of the season as they stunned the home side at the Amex
Stand-in Brighton captain Welbeck, who turns 34 next month, continued to roll back the years as he continued his rich vein of form with his sixth goal of the season on a day in which Fabian Hurzeler criticised his team’s maturity.
He said: “We lost two points and we failed today in our development. We were not mature enough, nor professional enough to win this game.
Hurzeler was dealt a blow before kick-off with captain Lewis Dunk injured in the warm-up and unable to lead the side out for his 250th Premier League appearance. Igor Julio came in to start and Welbeck picked up the armband.
The first chance of the game went Wolves’ way with Tommy Doyle blazing high over the bar from Cunha’s cut back.
Brighton’s first chance went the way of Welbeck whose looping header from Ferdi Kadioglu’s cross landed on the roof of the net.
Incrementally, Albion were taking control of the first half and their brightest moments, unsurprisingly perhaps, were coming from Karou Mitoma when he stepped in from the left.
Amidst a flurry of Brighton corners, one dropped to Carlos Baleba and the Cameroonian struck a fierce 25-yard volley which Jose Sa did well to turn away.
Mitoma was presented with a chance when Kadioglu’s cross was deflected into his path but Sa was quickly off his line to smother the danger as Brighton continued to push.
Rayan Ait-Nouri pulled one back for the visitors to give Gary O’Neil’s side hope of a comeback
Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for the hosts shortly before half-time at the Amex
Evan Ferguson seemed to have sealed the three points with his first goal for 11 months
Brighton’s press was extremely high and Wolves were struggling to play through it. They fared better when Craig Dawson went long to Matheus Cunha. He beat Julio in a foot race but the excellent Baleba recovered at lightning speed to dispossess him.
Just when Wolves seemed to have weathered the storm, a costly mistake from Sa saw them fall behind on the stroke of half-time.
His clearance went straight to Kadioglu who quickly found Georginio Rutter, he in turn Welbeck who expertly swept the ball into the far corner for his sixth goal of an impressive season.
O’Neil stomped furiously down the tunnel and promptly made two changes at the break and reverted to a back four.
It made Wolves a little more compact but still they laboured for chances. One came when Pablo Sarabia played the ball through the channel for Cunha who shot wide of the far post, with Cunha also bringing a save from Bart Verbruggen soon afterwards.
Wolves late equaliser sparked jubilant celebrations from the visiting players and supporters
O’Neil insists his Wolves side will be fine as he praised the fighting spirit having trailed
With Wolves pushing for an equaliser, two of Brighton’s subs combined to seal victory five minutes from time. An electric break from Tariq Lamptey left several Wolves players trailing in his wake and he fed Evan Ferguson to sweep the ball low into the corner.
That should have led to a leisurely finish for Brighton but Wolves pulled one back three minutes later as Rayan Ait-Nouri was on hand to smash in a loose ball after Brighton had struggled to clear a corner.
Then Brighton broke clear with a three-on-one but Mats Wieffer wastefully passed to straight to Tommy Doyle who launched the ball towards Cunha. The Brazilian was given a heavy dose of luck as his shot deflected of Jan Paul van Hecke and in off the bar but O’Neil won’t care about that.