| Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v 2 Ipswich Town FA Premier League Saturday, 14th December 2024 Kick-off 15:00 |  |
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Ipswich Town - Match Report Saturday, 14th Dec 2024 17:13 Jack Taylor netted his first Premier League goal in the fourth minute of injury time to secure the Blues a 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Wolves at Molineux which was as crucial as it was dramatic. Matt Doherty’s 15th-minute own goal gave Town a 1-0 half-time lead, before Matheus Cunha levelled on 72 for the home side, but Taylor claimed a famous win for the Blues with a far post header from a corner seconds before the whistle to grab three vital points. Town, who went in to match having won only one of their last 17 at Wolves, made three changes from the team which lost 2-1 to AFC Bournemouth last Sunday with Jens Cajuste, Harry Clarke and Wes Burns coming into the team. Clarke replaced Ben Johnson, who dropped to the bench, at right-back, while Cajuste took over from Jack Taylor in the centre of midfield, with the Irish international also among the subs. Burns returned to the side for Sammie Szmodics, who was missing from the 20-man squad having been taken ill. The Wales international’s inclusion saw Omari Hutchinson move to the left with Conor Chaplin the number 10. Wolves made one change from the team which was defeated 2-1 at West Ham on Monday with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde coming in for the suspended Joao Gomes, while Mario Lemina was stripped of the captaincy earlier in the week and Nelson Semedo wore the armband. Town, with Ed Sheeran alongside Blues chairman and CEO Mark Ashton and former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær also watching from the stands, started brightly, taking the game to the Old Gold with crosses from the left somehow just avoiding first Wes Burns, from Leif Davis, and then Conor Chaplin, from Liam Delap, at the back of the box either side of the 10-minute mark. Chaplin eventually was able to get in a shot but straight against a defender. But on the quarter-hour, the Blues went in front. Delap muscled his way past Semedo on the right and into the area to the byline. The striker cut back to Hutchinson but it caught a defender on the way across, so the former Chelsea man was unable to take the chance, instead cutting inside, drawing keeper Sam Johnstone. His shot was blocked by Matt Doherty, but the ball deflected out to Chaplin, whose low effort hit Toti, then ricocheted back off Doherty and into the net. Chaplin and his teammates celebrated in front of the Town fans, situated all along the lower tier of the far side, despite the forward denied what would have been his 100th goal for the club with it going down as a Doherty own goal. Lemina blazed deep, deep, deep into the stand behind the goal on 19, then five minutes later, the home side should have levelled. After Dara O’Shea had given the ball away, Lemina found Bellegarde in space on the right of the area but the Frenchman also sent it well over, much to the frustration of the already tetchy home crowd. After that spell, the Blues kept Wanderers pinned in their own half for a brief period, two Cajuste long throws causing problems but without leading to serious chances. The home side quickly regained control, however, with their fans now getting behind them. On 33, Matheus Cunha got round the outside on the right before cutting the ball across the six-yard box but O’Shea was able to clear to Hutchinson on the edge of the area. Within a minute, Rayan Ait-Nouri played in Jørgen Strand Larsen on the left of the box but the Norwegian’s effort was too close to Aro Muric, who saved. The Blues continued to come under pressure and in the 37th minute Lemina struck a low shot from the edge of the area, which Muric saved down to his left. Two minutes later, Town made a rare foray into the Wolves half, Cajuste teeing-up Hutchinson, whose 25-yard strike was too close to Johnstone, who saved comfortably to his right. In the 41st minute, Santiago Bueno went to ground off the ball after a clash with Hutchinson, replays showing there had been nothing more of a shove away from the England U21 international. VAR evidently agreed and the Spaniard was able to continue. Three minutes later, there was a more controversial incident when Ait-Nouri appeared to deliberately swing a hand into Burns’s face after the two had battled on the touchline. Referee Simon Hooper spoke to the Algerian but took no further action. VAR was similarly uninterested. As the fourth official indicated three additional minutes, Ait-Nouri did get his name in the book for a foul on Burns. That was the last action of the half with the home fans making their dissatisfaction very clear with loud boos following referee Hooper’s whistle. Town had started brightly and on the front foot but with neither side having created a chance until the goal. While the manner the ball crossed the line may have been fortuitous, Delap’s superb strength down the right to beat Semedo will not have gone unnoticed by his many suitors. From there, Wolves had taken the game to Town with the Blues defending staunchly but with the home team having two opportunities they will feel they should have taken. Ahead of the start of the second half, Wanderers made a change, Andre making way for Tommy Doyle in midfield. Town began the period well and in the 48th minute forced a save. Morsy found Burns in space on the right of the box and the Welshman struck a powerful effort across Johnstone, which the keeper was able to palm away. Wolves, however, began to see more of the ball with the Blues giving away possession too easily and too often in their own half. On 53, Delap flicked a ball into Hutchinson’s path just inside the Wolves half with the former Chelsea man breaking between two defenders towards goal, but his touch wasn’t clean enough and a defender stabbed the ball back to Johnstone. Six minutes later, the Blues went even closer. Chaplin swept a pass away to the right in behind Ait-Nouri for Burns. The winger crossed for Delap, who threw a knee towards it but could only divert it across the face and well wide. In Delap’s defence, the ball came at him at an awkward height. On 62 Clarke was booked for a foul on Ait-Nouri, then two minutes later, Goncalo Guedes replaced Doherty for the home side. Wolves, whose fans were swinging from boos for their players being offside or misplacing passes to loudly backing their team when attacking with greater conviction, threatened on 68, Ait-Nouri seeing a shot deflect wide after Bellegarde had ridden challenges to get to the edge of the area. The home crowd were becoming ever more fractious towards their team but in the 72nd minute they equalised. Sub Guedes played in Cunha on the left of the area and the Brazilian international shot between Muric and his post to claim his eighth goal of the season. Having been pegged back, Town made a double change in the 75th minute, Taylor and Jack Clarke replacing Cajuste and Chaplin, Hutchinson moving into the centre, Hwang Hee-Chan having taken over from Bellegarde for the home side. Wolves, with their fans now well behind them, went looking for a second goal, Burgess making a superb saving challenge on Strand Larsen as the forward was about to shoot from a very promising position. On 78, the Norwegian international struck another effort from the edge of the box, which Muric bundled behind. As the game moved into its final eight minutes, Cunha hit a fizzing low shot from distance which Muric initially failed to hold onto but claimed at the second attempt. A minute later, the home support thought Strand Larsen had won it, but the on-loan Celta Vigo man somehow sent Guedes’s cross from the right wide. Ahead of the goal-kick, Town swapped Delap and Burns for Ali Al-Hamadi and Johnson. Wolves had another great opportunity to claim the three points on 85 when Harry Clarke was unable to get his head on a cross-field ball for Cunha, who brought it in on goal before hitting a shot which Muric blocked but was unable to hold. The ball ran back to the Brazilian but he sent his effort well into the stand. Town were hanging on with the game now almost exclusively played in the Town half, although as three additional minutes were indicated strong runs from Hutchinson and Al-Hamadi saw the Blues threaten, the Iraqi international scuffing wide from a good position on the right of the area having done well to get there. And with around two seconds left the Blues won it. Jack Clarke sent over a deep corner from the left and sub Taylor rose unmarked at the back post to nod home his first Premier League goal. The Ireland international whipped his shirt off as he ran over to the Town fans, leaping a fence as he did so, to celebrate a vital winning goal with the delighted Blues support, picking up a booking he will care little about as a result. There was just time for a restart before referee Hooper blew his whistle. prompting angry boos from the home fans and dust-ups between Cunha and a member of the the Town security staff first and then Al-Nouri with Burns and then stewards, with Blues coaches including Sone Aluko and Rene Gilmartin helping to hold back the fighting factions.
Al-Nouri it later emerged was shown a second yellow card and then a red in the tunnel, while Delap was handed a fifth booking of the season which will see him miss next weekend’s game against Newcastle. Manager Gary O’Neil, whose position looks even more precarious after a fourth successive defeat, approached referee Hooper for a lengthy discussion, with the officials still on the pitch long after the end with Aluko seemingly acting as impromptu security with the melee around the tunnel continuing. A vital, vital victory for the Blues, ending a run of three defeats in a row - McKenna has never lost four in a row in the league ahead of his third anniversary on Monday - and with a gap to safety having grown to four points and a very tough run over Christmas. The Blues were worth their lead in the first half and had opportunities to increase advantage in the second before Wolves had a strong spell in which they scored and had further opportunities to win it. But Town somehow found a new burst of energy in injury time and had had a couple of chances before Taylor joined Morsy and Chaplin in scoring in the top four divisions, and Szmodics in netting in the top five, to claim a first win at Molineux since a 2-0 December 2012 victory under a delighted Mick McCarthy, who had been sacked by the Old Gold earlier that year. Wolves showing their frailty at set pieces once again, seven goals of eight in their last three games having come via that route. A second away win of the season for the Blues, who are now only one point behind Crystal Palace, who are at Brighton tomorrow for a derby. Town: Muric, H Clarke, O'Shea, Burgess, Davis, Morsy (c), Cajuste (Taylor 75), Burns, Chaplin (J Clarke 75), Hutchinson, Delap. Unused: Walton, Johnson, Woolfenden, Townsend, Phillips, Broadhead, Al-Hamadi. Wolves: Johnstone, Doherty (Guedes 64), Semedo (c), Bueno, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Andre (Doyle 46), Lemina, Bellegarde (Hwang 73), Cunha, Strand Larsen. Unused: Bentley, Dawson, R Gomes, Forbs, Meupiyou, Lima. Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire). VAR official: Darren England. Att: 30,866.
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