9 November 2024
Wolves 2 Southampton 0
Two old teammates met at Molineux as Wolves locked horns with Southampton. Both Gary O’Neil and Russell Martin were in the Norwich City team that secured promotion to the Premier League. The visitors came into this game full of confidence after picking up their first win of the season last weekend, something which the hosts had not managed to muster this campaign.
As the league table stands, this game seemed to have more importance than ever. Both of these teams have struggled to push themselves out of the bottom three so far this campaign. Despite this being only the eleventh game of the season, you felt that if either side took all three points, it could have a big bearing on whether they secure their Premier League status or not.
Martin will be annoyed with how his side started the game. They struggled to get going and as a result Wolves opened them up after only two minutes. Cunha slid the ball in between the defenders for Sarabia to run onto. He took the ball around Ramsdale and drilled it home to give the home fans something to celebrate at Molineux.
Despite not picking up as many points as they would have liked this season, Wolves have not looked as bad as their results suggest. They have been unlucky on a few occasions but one thing is for sure, if they are going to steer clear of the bottom three Cunha was integral to their plight. The Brazilian forward is starting to shine and O’Neil may struggle to keep hold of his prized asset.
The Saints thought they had made the perfect reply as they put pressure on in the final third. Manning laid it off to Fernandes but his shot was superbly blocked by Dawson. The provider reacted quickest to drill the ball into the top corner to level. It was some good build-up play by Southampton and a good response to going behind so early on in this game.
Martin’s side then went from jubilation to depression. A VAR review deemed there was enough in it to send the referee to the monitor. Fernandes and Semedo had a coming together just before the goal, which ended up with both players on the floor. After watching the incident a few times, the referee decided it was a foul by the Southampton player.
It was another terrible decision as the Wolves’ player puts his body across Fernandes to block him from getting to the ball. He then, as a result, brings down The Saints’ man before going to ground himself. There was no doubting that the goal should have been given, if he had missed his effort, it should have been a penalty to the visitors.
Southampton did not let up and continued to pile the pressure on Wolves. Fernandes tried to get another shot off from the edge of the box but it was well blocked by Dawson. Credit where it is due to the defender, he is never one to shy away from putting his body on the line for his team. As the cross came in, Harwood-Bellis had a free header but made a complete hash of it, as he glanced it well wide of the goal.
Wolves finally ventured into the attacking third once again. A mistake by The Saints presented them with the ball, which was quickly worked to Gomes on the edge of the box. He got a shot away into the bottom corner of the goal but Ramsdale got down well to make the stop. Despite the hosts’ lead, this had been a very even start to the game.
They went into the break with the Wolves leading. Soon after the restart, Southampton started to struggle with the physicality of their opponents. Dawson muscled Archer off the ball and threaded it forward to Lemina. He took his time, waiting for some movement in front of him, before he spotted the run of Cunha in between the lines.
The Brazilian picked it up some twenty yards out and The Saints players just backed off him. He let fly with a sublime shot that had Ramsdale well beaten. It arrowed into the far corner of the goal and Molineux erupted. Martin was fuming as he felt there were two fouls on his players in the build-up but nobody in a Wolves shirt cared as they doubled their lead.
As Southampton tried to find a way back into the game, they looked to build from the back. Ramsdale dropped in as another defender as they passed it around. The former Arsenal keeper then mishit his pass straight to Bellegarde. With an empty goal at his mercy, the Wolves midfielder tried a first time shot but got his angles all wrong. Had it been on target, The Saints’ keeper was in no man’s land.
Wolves should have added a third deep into added time. Some brilliant footwork from Ait-Nouri saw him skip past the defenders before he drilled a teasing ball across the six yard box. Bellegarde was completely unmarked at the back post but could not react quickly enough to slide in to score. So close to putting the icing on the cake for Gary O’Neil’s side.
Not that it will matter as Wolves took the three points for their first win of the Premier League campaign. It is a bit of a statement win for the Molineux outfit against their rivals. Martin was disappointed with the goal they had chalked off, feeling that the foul that was given was more the Wolves’ player putting his body across his player to initiate contact. He may have a point, though not literally today.
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