Gary O’Neil says this Wolves group can he hard to stop when they have momentum and he’ll hope their late rally at Brighton & Hove Albion can be symbolic of the rest of their season.
The Old Gold came back from two goals down on 87 minutes to earn a point at the Amex, and it’s one the head coach hopes will be more significant when it comes to a feel-good factor. After a tough run of fixtures and luck, things changed on the south coast, as Matheus Cunha’s shot deflected home to spark scenes of jubilation that the players and supporters deserved after a difficult start to the campaign.
On the lift the result gives
“Obviously coming back late gives everyone a lift. It was something we deserved from the game, it looked very unlikely at 85 minutes, of course, when we’d just gone 2-0 down, but in the second half we were the dominant side. To come here to a club where they are in the league, how well they've done against some really good sides recently, the players they have, the money they've spent in the summer, to come and be the better side for 45 minutes, the players deserve an awful lot of credit, especially off the back of the run they've been on.
“To come out second half and be able to find the personality and quality and drive to still produce, that deserves something from the game. We went about it in a strange way and the way the game's going, you're probably expecting it to go 1-1, but as it is at the moment, we decide to try and do it the hard way, and it ended up a little bit crazy at the end, but I’m delighted for the boys, because they've had some tough, tough breaks, some deflections go against us – Schar and the last minute goal at the weekend.
“So, to still be able to keep fighting speaks a lot about what they are and what they try to do. Disappointed with the goals because they were two real poor giveaways. I’m a little bit disappointed in myself for starting with a five as well. There’s quite a thing made of being a five at this football club and it did do well against City, but I thought it would be tough today to get any sort of hold of the game in a five against their shape. We were solid to be fair, but we didn't look that much of a threat. Glad that we were quick enough to change to a four quickly at half-time and make a couple of changes, and that it gave us some momentum and energy.”
A hard-fought point on the south coast.
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 26, 2024
Thank you for all of your support today 💛 pic.twitter.com/z9V7qRFwHr
On a dramatic final moment
“This group can be tough to stop when they get some positive momentum and energy. You think of Tottenham last year, where we equalised at home and everyone was probably thinking, ‘What a great point’. You see the boys, when they do get some something going, they can use that emotion to create things.
“Of course, we were all bit all over the place. Took Joao off and put a number nine on in Guedes, and two centre backs went up for a set play and stayed up there for ages. But the good thing with defending a one versus four is that if you do manage to win it back, you are ten versus seven at the other end.
“Tommy did well to get himself out of the four versus one, and then obviously if you want the ball at anyone's feet in and around the penalty area, it's Matheus. We did get him in some good situations today, and if you do that enough, you know that he's he has a real good chance of producing for you.”
On big performances
“I was pleased with him [Doyle]. He's tactically very good, so he helped us. Changing from a five to a four in game, some of the lads would struggle, but Tommy takes it on very, very well. His performance was good. I thought there was a lot of good performances, but glad for them and for the fan base, really.
“My only two thoughts and concerns are the players and how much they've given, because it can easily not look like that when results are so bad, results can cloud everything. But if we're really honest, Aston Villa second half, I was disappointed with Chelsea second half, Brentford, apart from that they've just given everything, and they continue to do so. So, I'm delighted that they got something for their efforts, and the fans have stuck with us. To be on one point 85 minutes into an away game and still be able to hear them and still have their backing speaks volumes.
“The one thing that I guarantee is we won't come up short with is fight and passion and togetherness and effort. If we come up short on quality sometimes, like the two goals today and the two giveaways, we work hard to make sure that that doesn't happen, but we definitely won't come up short on anything else.”
On carrying the momentum forward
“I know there'll be a lot made of the next games. They're not ‘must wins’. Crystal Palace are good, they spent 30 million on a striker from Arsenal, Eze’s pretty good. We need to just be ready in every game. We treated today as a game we wanted to win. Palace will be the same. Southampton will be the same. Southampton will be tough when they come, they keep the ball forever, have a real set way of playing. So, there will be challenges in every game because that's the level of the Premier League. But we just keep going. The lads will never stop. One point today towards helping us be fine.”
