Wolves score twice in final minutes to stun Brighton and climb table
A visit from rock-bottom Wolves meant that expectations were high at the Amex Stadium, but it soon became clear that patience would be needed as the home side failed to turn possession into goals for large parts of the first half.
Indeed, it was the away side that carved out the first chance, as Matheus Cunha’s pull-back to the edge of the box found the onrushing Tommy Doyle, but the midfielder blasted his shot a long way over.
From then on it was the Seagulls who dominated, with Carlos Baleba stinging the gloves of goalkeeper José Sá with a thunderous volley from 30 yards out, but it looked as though it would be a frustrating half for the hosts until they were gifted a breakthrough on the stroke of HT.
Sá’s weak kick allowed Ferdi Kadıoğlu to feed Georginio Rutter, who released Danny Welbeck with a pinpoint through ball, allowing the striker to rifle his diagonal shot into the bottom corner.
The introduction of Pablo Sarabia and Carlos Forbs at HT improved Gary O'Neil’s side in the second half, with Jørgen Strand Larsen wasting a half-chance when he glanced his header straight at Bart Verbruggen in the Brighton goal.
From there, the game descended into a tense affair, with neither team consistently maintaining the upper hand and neither goalkeeper being forced into any save of note.
Brighton had not conceded a single goal in the final 15 minutes of any PL game this season, so entered the final stages of the game with confidence belying the narrow advantage they held.
The points looked to have been secured when Evan Ferguson’s smart finish doubled his team’s lead, but Rayan Aït-Nouri started the miracle as he blasted home from close range after Brighton failed to clear a corner.
In a frantic finish, the home side squandered a four-on-one attacking situation and were suitably punished when Matheus Cunha’s deflected effort gave his team the unlikeliest of points.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion)
