Wolves tasted their first defeat under Vitor Pereira as high-flyers Nottingham Forest clinched a 3-0 victory at Molineux.
Pereira made five changes to the side that started against Tottenham, as Wolves were without the suspended Matheus Cunha and wing-back Nelson Semedo.
The hosts went 1-0 down inside seven minutes, with Morgan Gibbs-White celebrating his goal after putting the visitors ahead.
Wolves then created multiple chances to score as Jorgen Strand Larsen saw his headed attempt saved at point-blank range by Matz Sels, who proved unbeatable between the posts.
Unfortunately, the Wanderers were punished for missing some fine opportunities as Chris Wood scored on the stroke of half-time before Taiwo Awoniyi sealed all three points in the 94th minute.
Defeat leaves Wolves in 17th position heading into FA Cup weekend, and also gives Pereira one obvious change to make to his starting lineup.
Vitor Pereira must axe Hwang Hee-chan after Nottingham Forest performance
Hwang Hee-chan is one player who has benefitted from Pereira replacing Gary O’Neil in the dugout.
The South Korean came off the bench against Manchester United and got his season up and running with a classy finish.
The 28-year-old was then rewarded with a start at Tottenham, repaying his manager’s faith with another well-taken goal.
However, he failed to carry those promising displays into Monday night’s clash against Forest as Hwang produced an ‘all-time terrible performance’, according to one Wolves fan.
In his 75 minutes on the pitch, it was hard to disagree with the above comment as the attacker had little influence on the match.
Hwang Hee-chan’s stats vs Forest
- 75 minutes
- 41 touches
- 0 shots on target
- 0 accurate crosses
- 0 key passes
- 0 successful dribble attempts
- 10x possession lost
It was disappointing to see the international forward produce such a drab display and Hwang – who is wanted by West Ham – should be dropped next weekend.
Carlos Forbs should start vs Bristol City
Wolves travel to Championship side Bristol City in the FA Cup in the second and final game of Cunha’s ban.
While Cunha is deciding his Wolves future, Pereira must decide to drop Hwang for the lively Carlos Forbs, who has totalled just 259 minutes of action for the Old Gold.
The promising 20-year-old winger has started just once in the Premier League but did show some intent off the bench against Forest.
Forbs was looking to drive at the opposition with his searing pace, and although there was no end product to match, that can be put down to his lack of match sharpness.
So, when Pereira perhaps utilises the full depth of his squad against Bristol City, Forbs should be guaranteed a starting place over Hwang.