Wolves Fans' Verdict v Brighton: A remarkable comeback!

It takes some doing to spurn a four against one break with the profligacy Brighton displayed with the game there for the taking.

So, Wolves got lucky but I defy anyone to begrudge them a belated rub of the green. We’ve been a poor outfit all season, the evidence is indisputable but we haven’t enjoyed a scintilla of good fortune and this unexpected reward is well overdue.

Credit to the team for manufacturing a decent point from the most unpromising circumstances and it’s undoubtedly a morale booster, but talk of turning points and watershed moments is a huge overstatement.

Over the next fortnight Wolves face two of the most definitive games that they will have played in a long time.

The time for extenuating circumstances, whether it be talk of a horrendously challenging run of difficult fixtures, misfortune with VAR, injuries, lack of investment or any other caveat to explain our dismal start to the season, all are rendered irrelevant.

There really cannot be any further excuses; should the team flop against Crystal Palace and Southampton, then surely a change of direction will become an absolute necessity.

Conversely, a six- point return surely would be a platform to at least suggest that there is a realistic possibility that this dreadful record hanging around our neck might be lifted. It’s a highly significant time for the club; we have to deliver.

Clive Smith

Wow...where to begin, the 88th minute, the end or the start? What a mixed up game it was. The ‘highs and lows’ doesn’t come close to describing the swinging emotions throughout.

The opening half saw Brighton’s impressive passing seemingly always able to find an open man, whether it was wide left, right or through the middle. We’ve seen this before and still have the scars from a recent encounter.

Our back five (hurray) held firm throughout, restricting clear cut chances as we had done v City. Sa had made one full length save from a long range shot, but as the half came to a close he misdirected a kick that was in our net within seconds.

Having worked so hard to preserve our clean sheet it was annoying to present such an opportunity and be punished clinically. I think at least 95 per cent of us wanted Sa to start and it was his only mistake. Hard to crucify him for that, given the several mistakes others made, but this one sure ruined our spirits during the interval.

We’d been second best in the half but did fashion the best opening that saw Doyle shoot over from an excellent pass from Cunha. Besides that Semedo provided our best attacking option, constantly having lots of space with Mitoma not keen on defending at all.

Instead of making the most of this our attacks tended to go down the left side. Toti and Ait-Nouri however offered very little going forward.

We’re not used to expecting the unexpected but a back four (really?) and the introduction of Sarabia and Forbs was certainly a surprising way to start the second half.

We played at a much higher tempo, a partial press, were slightly less wasteful with our passing and managed to play the game very much further forward. We looked more likely to score than we had, but equally we looked just as likely to concede again.

Hopefully there is no unconscious bias, but Doyle gets my MOTM. Having seen previous comments regarding the midfield mismatch when Lemina, Gomes and Andre all play – at one point, we had a line-up that included none of them.

Another turnover of possession in our own half, this time by Forbs, and in a flash it was 2-0, five minutes to go, game over and several fans headed for the exit.

Without a win in months, more disappointment, a long journey home, it’s easy to wonder why we bother.

The final minutes reminded us why we do. A corner, a scramble, a consolation goal. A Brighton break, our five at the back, reduced to four had become one. Perhaps that’s all we need! The one and only Tommy Doyle intercepts, plays a forward pass. Cunha tries to find a pass, sees nothing, so whacks it into the net.

The next thing he would have seen was all those remaining in the away end making full use of the extra space to go completely bonkers, leaping, hugging, bouncing, flying around. (Think Ryan Bennett, 2-1, Bristol). A great way to make new friends and enjoy not having to act your age. After that the journey home didn’t seem so long.

Elen Young

I’m trying not to get carried away in the buzz of a last minute equaliser, but it feels like we are turning a corner.

I’m impressed at O’Neil’s decision to take off Lemina at half-time, and as much as he has been fantastic for the club, I don’t think he can be a guaranteed starter every time. Doyle offers so much in terms of defending, and even though he missed that chance at the start, the more starts he gets the more goals he’ll bag.

Thought Larsen was a bit off his best on Saturday, but having him available for corners (defensive and attacking) is a massive asset and I’m sure he’ll be back to fine form.

Despite a few sketchy balls out, I still think Sa needs to start, especially against better teams. His shot stopping is far superior and I actually like that he’s a bit of a maverick.

Palace and Southampton are going to be stressful for a different set of reasons. It may only have been a point but I haven’t celebrated like I did since spurs at home last season so I’m just going to enjoy it.

Harry Lee

There’s no doubt Wolves are in need of wins, but if you’d have offered me a point before the game I’d have snatched your hand off – just to stop the rot more than anything.

Two very different halves of football, with Wolves defending resolutely in the first, albeit with a lack of counter attacking threat.

That was exacerbated by the team selection again, relying on two attacking players and the width from Semedo and Ait-Nouri.

After the City performance, all Sa had to do was not drop a clanger, for him to do it with his kicking almost justified the Johnstone move in one moment of madness, but doubts remain around both goalkeepers.

Fair play to O’Neil switching up formations at half time, we looked much more of a threat and the better team for long spells of that 45.

Interesting comments from our manager at full time around being gutted he didn’t go with a four at the back from the start, it feels like he is showing inexperience dealing with the press at the moment, publicly calling out players as well as formation questions.

Either way, two positive performances now going into two huge home games for Wolves, they could prove to be crucial in the future of the club and the manager.

Liam Berry

Wolves have doubled their points tally in the space of 10 minutes, in what was quite a chaotic ending against Brighton. However, the question remains as to whether this moment has only papered over the cracks that have been showing so far this season? All will be revealed!

For me, throughout the game – especially in the first half – our players seemed to be devoid of confidence and without much belief in how they were performing. If it hadn’t been for a major mistake by Wieffer, everyone would be having a very different conversation.

I’ve been on the fence with Gary O’Neil recently, but have been generally supportive of him and willing to reserve judgement, but this game was very underwhelming for me. Had we lost, I think there would have been very strong arguments for O’Neil to be sacked, therefore the late comeback has given him a huge lifeline. That’s how quickly football can change, and hopefully O’Neil and the team can now take advantage.

An interesting topic is where O’Neil is playing Joao Gomes. In the YouTube documentary about Gomes, there was footage of him telling O’Neil that he doesn’t like playing further forwards with his back to goal. So why is he being used as a right winger?

It would be a different situation if he was performing well in the final third, but it’s so clear that is not his strength. In the second half he was much better when moved back to his normal position, where he has attackers in front of him that he can play off.

If O’Neil wants to play with two wingers, we have the depth and quality to play with two wingers – we don’t need to keep playing players out of position anymore, whilst restricting their game.

Overall, it’s a great point. However, I do think it’s papered over the cracks that have shown this season, and I think the next two fixtures will decide if Gary O’Neil will still be the Wolves manager ahead of the busy Christmas schedule.

Matt Gallimore

There is always one game in every team’s season where one result is seen as the catalyst. The game where the run of good results started. The one game where the luck changed, the confidence grew and the team thrived.

Hopefully this huge point is from ‘that’ game.

Confidence is such a weird thing in sport.

A run of poor results and suddenly the instinctive sides of a players performances disappear, and before you know it, it feels like whatever you do isn’t working.

After 87 minutes it felt this way. Losing 2-0 and another defeat looming, it felt like nothing was going our way. Again!

Six massive minutes later, and here I was believing we could try and get the winner.

That’s how quickly things change and hopefully now we can use this as a springboard to now start our season.

With many difficult fixtures being played in our first nine games, we now have games that look winnable on paper. Three of the next four are at home and against sides we must take some wins from.

My belief is we are better than what we have shown so far and that there is a lot more to come from this bunch of players.

Santi Bueno is growing into his role every week. Ait-Nouri is starting to get into gear with three goals in his last four. Tommy Doyle, showing again that he deserves to keep his place in the team and Cunha looking more like himself.

Add this to the fact that the team showed huge character to grab a draw from defeat, and we have the potential to improve the situation we are currently in.

This could be wishful thinking. After all, actions speak louder than words, but judging by the ‘limbs’ in the Wolves end, when Cunha grabbed the equaliser, this could be the game that installed the belief again.

Let’s do this together, and let’s get Molineux rocking next Saturday under the lights.