Dave Edwards has hailed Wolves’ match-winner against Southampton at the weekend Joao Gomes.
The Brazilian midfielder popped up to score late on at St. Mary’s Stadium against Southampton to give Wolves three more huge points.
Gomes had replaced Matheus Nunes earlier in the half, and was enjoying a very tidy cameo.
But he spotted an opportunity to get forward and make an impact when the ball came loose.
He carried it forward and had a shot from the edge of the box.
It was blocked by Jan Bednarek, but luckily it felt right back to him.
Gomes then opened up his body and guided the ball into the top corner. It was a brilliant finish from the youngster, and Edwards was left impressed by the composure he showed.
He wrote for the Express & Star: “Gomes came on at 1-0 down with a lot to do on his debut. He made an immediate impact in covering ground, hassling opponents. Wolves had lost that bite without Lemina.
And everything he did was on the front foot, he tried to progress his team with whatever he did. As for his moment, the goal, the best thing was the composure after the initial block, the extra second to guide his strike into the corner.”
Gomes’ goal prompted scenes of utter bedlam in the away end. It also saw Pedro Neto sprint all the way across the pitch to join in the celebrations.
Edwards joked that Gomes’ only mistake in the game was failing to actually run to the Wolves supporters, who were on the opposite side to where he went.
He added: “His only mistake and slight inexperience was darting off to celebrate in front of the wrong set of fans! I’d have been in the away end.”
Gomes can obviously be forgiven for losing his bearings after such a big moment in his career.
Wolves have a top young player and budding cult hero on their hands in Joao Gomes
What a moment it was for Gomes.
The youngster has only been at the club for two weeks, and he has already made a huge contribution in Wolves’ season.
It was a dream debut, and he really showed his quality on the goal. Many other players would have blazed that second shot over the bar.
He certainly showed brilliant composure, and his stock has absolutely soared since the game.
Gomes was already hugely popular on his arrival from Flamengo. But the man has the potential to become a bona fide cult hero at Molineux.