Danny Murphy makes bold Vitor Pereira claim after Wolves drop points late against Brighton

Mood around Molineux looked to be improving after a defiant performance against Tottenham, but a late equaliser by Brighton has dimmed it quite a lot.

Jan Paul van Hecke’s 86th-minute header sent the Old Gold home without all three points. It was heartbreaking for all involved, and images of the players looking dejected had Conor Coady worried.

Vitor Pereira was sent off, and the reason for the red was aggressively kicking a ball away.

The Portuguese had to watch the rest of the game from the stands, and while he’ll be disappointed about the result, Danny Murphy has given him praise.

Danny Murphy says Vitor Pereira got his tactics right against Brighton

Much has been said of Vitor Pereira’s decision to go defensive and try to hold onto Wolves’ 1-0 lead on Sunday.

In the end, it did not work out, and there has been criticism of Pereira’s tactical choice.

However, Danny Murphy is not in that same boat. The former Premier League man believes the head coach made the correct call, even if they did not get the win.

Murphy said on Match of the Day, “”I actually think today [Sunday] he did the right thing because if he went toe to toe with Brighton for the remainder of the second half, they could have ended up losing the game.

“I know fans end up getting pessimistic regarding teams dropping off and defending, but when you haven’t won for so long, it didn’t work out, but I understand why.”

Vitor Pereira criticism might be harsh in hindsight

Danny Murphy does make a great point. Brighton are a strong team, and if Wolves had opened themselves up, the Seagulls no doubt had the quality to score more than one.

However, the Old Gold did have plenty of chances to score, and if they were a little braver in attack, the game could have been out of sight.

Pereira’s tactical change was so close to working out, but for fans watching, the relentless pressure by Brighton and the lack of chances in the last 15 minutes for Wolves meant they could just feel a goal coming for the away side.

• READ MORE: Vitor Pereira and Gary O’Neil both share an eerily ominous Wolves record after Brighton draw

And ultimately that goal did arrive.

However, if it were not for the Wanderers switching off for a split second from a corner, we could be sitting here praising Vitor Pereira for going to a back five instead of criticising him.

A better balance would have been helpful to relieve pressure off the defence, and the in-game management still played a part in the two points dropped.

Criticism of Pereira might be harsh, but there is still truth behind his substitutions being incredibly poor against Brighton.