Wolves 2 Newcastle 2
Gary O’Neil’s side welcomed Newcastle to the ground they have only won at once in the Premier League era. That victory came some twelve years ago as The Magpies needed victory to keep up the pace with the teams at the top.
Sandro Tonali had started his 10-month suspension for breaching betting rules so Newcastle were without their record signing. Wolves had managed to turn their fortunes around of late and were hoping to continue that with victory over Eddie Howe’s side.
Newcastle started on the front foot as Joelinton found Longstaff but as he managed to squeeze a shot through the legs of the defender, it narrowly missed the far post, much to the delight of Jose Sa in the Wolves’ goal.
The Magpies took the lead when Anthony Gordon clipped a ball into the box and Sa bundled into his own defender and dropped the cross. Wilson reacted but his shot was blocked on the line before the striker acrobatically performed an overhead kick to give the visitors the lead.
Credit: @NUFC
Cunha then capitalised on a great tackle on Gordon as he broke and rode tackle after tackle before getting into the box but nobody could decide whether what he did next was a shot or a cross but it ended up being neither as it went out for a goal kick.
The dangerous Pedro Neto then had a chance as he turned onto his left foot but Pope palmed it over for a corner. Neto took it and found Lemina who headed the ball passed the Newcastle keeper to draw Gary O’Neil’s side level.
As Wolves tried to clear their lines from a Newcastle corner, Hwang did not see Schar approaching and kicked the player instead of the ball. The referee pointed to the spot but again the fans were left twiddling their thumbs as the VAR studio took an age to make a decision.
Finally, the penalty was given once they had confirmed their Dominos order for half-time and Wilson stepped up to take it, just about scoring as Sa got to it but could only parry it into the opposite corner of the goal.
Wolves continued to put pressure on the visitors and Lascelles was booked for impeding Hwang as he tried to run onto the ball. The Magpies failed to fully clear the free kick and as Toti danced past two players, he spotted the run of Hwang in the box.
The South Korean checked back onto his left foot before beating Pope at his near post to score his sixth goal at Molyneux in as many games, setting a new record for the club for consecutive goal-scoring appearances.
Credit: @Wolves
The Magpies were struggling to deal with the Wolves onslaught and as Pedro Neto ran past his marker and towards goal, he pulled up rather painfully, clutching his hamstring. Sad to see for Wolves’ fans as he was stretchered off the pitch.
Newcastle were to create one more chance before the end of the game as Trippier crossed to the back post, which was met by Schar, he headed his effort down well but it was just wide of the post.
As result, the points were Schar-ed which was probably a fair result. Gary O’Neil was still not happy with the penalty that was awarded in the first half, while Eddie Howe pointed to a challenging week in which they lost the services of Sandro Tonali. What were the odds on that? Sandro may know.
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