Wolves drew 1-1 with Luton Town yesterday in what is undoubtedly a disappointing result.
Wanderers had a golden chance to pull further clear of the relegation zone, against a team that had lost every game so far this season.
But perhaps inevitably, Wolves struggled at Kenilworth Road and in the end, the Hatters were able to take their first point of the season.
There were some big talking points in the game.
The silly red card for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde undoubtedly made life much harder for Wolves.
And in the second-half, after Pedro Neto had brilliantly put the visitors ahead against the run of play, a controversial VAR decision went against Wolves.
Ultimately, Wolves struggled offensively, both before and after the red card.
And one wonders why O’Neil did not start Sasa Kalajdzic…
Sasa Kalajdic not starting for Wolves against Luton felt a strange decision from O’Neil
O’Neil decided to go with an unchanged side against Luton.
He clearly felt that the first-half performance against Liverpool the weekend before was good enough to not need to change anything.
So we saw Matheus Cunha leading the line once again.
And he just didn’t impact the game.
The Brazilian has been wasteful in front of goal of late, but yesterday he didn’t even get any chances.
It just felt like a game for Kalajdzic to come in.
The 26-year-old hasn’t actually featured since the defeat to Crystal Palace before the international break, when he came off the bench for a cameo.
Kalajdzic being on the bench for the past few games indicates that his fitness is high enough now. Perhaps he can’t play full games just yet, but surely he is ready to start in the Premier League.
Against Luton, the club’s August Player of the Month could have been a really effective outlet.
Wolves were penned in early doors, and just needed someone to hit and for the ball to stick. You don’t really get that with Cunha, who often works back and comes deep to pick up the ball.
The fact he got no minutes at all yesterday is something some Wolves fans have struggled to get their heads around.
After the sending off, you could understand O’Neil wanting the team to defend and hit on the counter with Neto’s pace up top.
But more often than not, the balls to Neto were poor. And he looked to be tiring late on which was no surprise.
Maybe Kalajdzic could have provided a better goal threat in the late stages. At least he could have held the ball in the right area for Wolves.