Four things we learned after Wolves narrowly overcame Brentford 3-2 to progress into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
It was a close game at the Molineux with Gary O’Neil’s side certainly having to work for the victory.
Brentford took the lead twice before it was cancelled out by both Nelson Semedo and Nathan Fraser. Matheus Cunha then sealed the win in extra time with a brilliant penalty to send Wolves through.
The game certainly wasn’t as smooth run as Wolves’ recent fixtures such as their 3-0 demolishing of Everton or their 4-1 victory away against Brentford in December.
However, O’Neil’s side did the job in the end. Looking back on the game, here are four things we took away from the tie.
Nathan Collins comes back to haunt Wolves
The former Wolves defender came back to haunt Wolves at Molineux.
Despite Nathan Collins having a horror show when the two sides met in December, the centre-back popped up with the opener early on.
Former players coming up against Wolves always seems to be a curse for the Molineux men. Diogo Jota for Liverpool and David Davis for Birmingham are just two former stars who have netted past their former old gold teammates.
Collins has now joined that list. Luckily for the hosts, the goal wasn’t enough for Brentford.
Local lad the hero
Many of O’Neil’s heroes so far this season were unavailable for the tie due to AFCON and the Asian Cup. However, this presented a golden opportunity for both Joe Hodge and later on Nathan Fraser.
With the score 2-1, qualification into the next round looked slim. Brentford were happily sitting back and soaking up the pressure with Wolves unable to find a way through.
In the 70th minute, the manager decided to roll the dice and bring on Fraser to try and get the hosts back into the game. Yet, after only two minutes on the pitch, the striker found the net to the delight of the 24,000 fans.
Fraser could have easily had another just before extra-time as well with the youngster more than up for the cup. Maybe, O’Neil has found his striker after all.
Wolves leave it late
The hosts certainly went into the game as favourites. O’Neil’s side easily dispatched Brentford in December with a 4-1 win. Then, in the FA Cup, the visitors could have easily won despite being down to 10 players.
Yet Wolves found themselves losing not once, but twice in the game, Wolves fans were certainly sweating.
However, O’Neil’s side has certainly developed a mentality this season of never giving up and that was on full show again today.
Amidst multiple tired legs and two equalisers, Wolves had their reward as they won a penalty in the 105th minute.
Matheus Cunha made no mistake from 12 yards as he cooly slotted home to ensure an eye-catching fixture is lined up at the end of the month.
Black Country Derby is coming soon
After tightly making their way through the third round, Wolves will soon have their reward.
An away day against West Brom is set to take place on January 28, with a place in the fifth round up for grabs.
The two sides have not played each other since the 2020/21 season with Wolves only coming away with a point from the two fixtures.
However, they have a chance to get revenge against the Baggies in less than two weeks in front of fans for the first time in almost 12 years.