Hee Chan Hwang’s second-half penalty earned a rather young Wolves side a draw against SC Farense in their final warm-up match ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League season getting underway.
The Korean stepped up from the spot after the visitors fell behind to an early goal in Faro after a mix-up in the defence led to a free-kick, but a Wolves side which consisted of many under-21 players got better as the contest went on, and Hwang was able to make sure his side ended their pre-season with a well-deserved tie ahead of the campaign commencing in six days’ time.
The early break fell the way of the hosts and Farense didn’t need a second chance to take the lead through Christian Ponde. The forward lined up a free-kick 20 yards out from goal after a clumsy challenge by Conor Coady who was covering for a Willy Boly mistake, and Goncalves curled a right-footed effort beyond the diving fingertips of Jackson Smith.
A Wolves side which would not have played together before understandably grew into the game as the first-half progressed and could have been back on level terms within 15 minutes. A mistake from Farense goalkeeper Rafael Defendi saw the ball fall to Hwang inside the box and the Korean picked out Chem Campbell 18 yards out, but the winger was unable to direct the ball on target, narrowly slotting his effort just wide of the upright.
Moments after Wolves had a chance from a Hugo Bueno corner which had found the head of Boly in the Farense penalty box, the hosts went straight up the other end and had an almost identical opportunity to double their lead on the half-hour mark as Mosquera was adjudged to have committed a foul 20 yards out from goal.
But fortunately for Wolves, this time Ponde was not able to produce the same quality as he did in the opening five minutes, instead firing a shot narrowly over Smith’s crossbar.
Half-time | Farense 1-0 Wolves
Having shifted the side around in the second period by bringing midfielder Harvey Griffiths off the bench in place of defender Toti, Wolves came out looking the stronger side and could have equalised inside the first three minutes with Campbell lining up a shot from the edge of the box which was spilled by Defendi, and Hwang’s follow-up was blocked. Moments later Bueno fired a fizzing shot just over the crossbar.
The visitors didn’t have it all their own way however, as a long ball over the top caught Yerson Mosquera out and dropped to the feet of Marco Matias, but the forward blazed his effort high and wide.
Moments later, Wolves did get their equaliser. Connor Ronan laid a perfectly-timed ball into the path of Campbell down the right, and the winger beat his man before cutting inside the penalty area, where he was upended by Talohca. Just like Ruben Neves the night previously against Sporting CP, Hwang stepped up to the spot to send the goalkeeper the wrong way.
As the half progressed, Wolves brought on fresh legs from the bench in the form of development team regulars Ollie Tipton, Harry Birtwistle and Lee Harkin – all three heading straight to Portugal after arriving back in the UK from the under-21s pre-season trip to the US on Friday evening – and the latter two were straight in the action, with Harkin almost planting his head on a dangerous Birtwistle cross into the area.
In the closing minutes, Smith in the Wolves goal had to be alert to deny Farense substitute Elves Balde when the forward cut inside from the left and curled an effort towards the far post, but the keeper was at full stretch to push the ball away from danger.
Full-time | Farense 1-1 Wolves
Farense | Defendi, Isidoro (Bandarra 78), Albino (Abner 78), Ponde (Lucao 64), Paulo (Velasquez 83), Talocha (Balde 78), Harramiz (Lopes 64), Silva (Rafinha 89), Oliveira, Matias (Paulo 78), Goncalves (Seruca 89).
Unused subs | Velho, Carvalho, Henrique.
Wolves | Smith, Mosquera (Tipton 69), Coady, Boly, Toti (Griffiths 46), Hodge (Hodnett 83), Ronan, Cundle (Fraser 83), Bueno, Campbell (Harkin 76), Hwang (Birtwistle 69).
Unused sub | Storer.
