Wolves crashed out of the FA Cup in heartbreaking style as Championship side Coventry City scored twice in injury time to win 3-2 and book their place in the semi-finals.
In one of the most thrilling matches of the year so far, Coventry started the brightest and forced Jose Sa into some smart saves.
Mark Robins’ side should have taken the lead at Molineux when Ellis Simms missed a sitter inside the box as Wolves were lethargic in the early stages and kept on gifting possession away.
In the second period, Coventry continued where they left off, wreaking havoc on the counter-attack with Simms making amends for his earlier miss by bundling the ball over the line on 55 minutes.
After going behind, Wolves did show some fight, and while the Sky Blues looked dangerous in attack, Gary O’Neil’s decision to bring on Hugo Bueno and move Rayan Ait-Nouri into a central position worked wonders.
Ait-Nouri got the hosts back on level terms with a strike on his weaker right foot before his incredible solo run was complemented by a delicate pass into Bueno, who dispatched his chance past Brad Collins to score his first-ever goal.
Just as Wolves thought they’d sealed their place in the FA Cup semi-finals, Simms scored in the 97th minute and Haji Wright’s beautifully curled effort in the 100th left Molineux in a state of shock.
During the match, Ally McCoist waxed lyrical about Ait-Nouri’s solo run to initially get Wolves in front.
Ally McCoist blown away by what Rayan Ait-Nouri did against Coventry
Without Pedro Neto, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan in the side, O’Neil’s men were always going to struggle to convert chances, so Ait-Nouri shouldered that responsibility again.
The Algerian started in this usual left wing-back position, but after taking Nathan Fraser off, the 22-year-old was moved into a central attacking role and he single-handedly dragged his side back into the game.
First, he took advantage of a Coventry mistake by slamming the ball home, then he blew away McCoist with his run for Bueno’s goal.
He picked up the ball in his own half and breezed past multiple players before sliding a delicate pass into the Spaniard.
Speaking on ITV’s coverage, McCoist waxed lyrical over the pass, in particular, but also hailed him as “different class”.
“This pass, ridiculous. It really is a ridiculous pass, just completely takes the two defenders out of the game,” the former Rangers striker said.
“Magnificent. What a goal, what a finish, I’ve got to tell you, I do have sympathy for Coventry but Ait Nouri – in the last five minutes – he has been different class and he’s been the difference between the two teams.”
At the point of that goal, the £10k-a-week star was the difference between the two teams, although his heroics weren’t enough to get Wolves to Wembley for the second time in five years.