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Cunha strikes late as Wolves recover to draw with Brighton

Posted on by Bobb
Cunha strikes late as Wolves recover to draw with Brighton

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha scored a superb stoppage-time equalizer to snatch a 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday as they came back from two goals down to claim a point that lifted them off the bottom of the Premier League table .

Although the late recovery from Wolves was brilliant, Brighton only had themselves to blame for not wasting their chances and allowing the visitors to get back into the game, especially after they went two goals ahead late on.

The Seagulls dominated the first half but it wasn’t until the 45th minute that they broke the deadlock with a brilliant strike from Danny Welbeck after visiting goalkeeper Jose Sa gave the ball away cheaply to allow Brighton to counter-attack.

The hosts had struggled to get shots on target up to this point and that was to come back to haunt them as Wolves gradually increased the tempo in the second half.

Norwegian striker Jorgen Strand Larsen missed several good chances for Wolves and the game was over for the visitors when Brighton substitute Ferguson turned and fired into the bottom left corner in the 86th minute.

Instead, Wolves were given a lifeline when Ryan Ait-Nouri scored from a corner two minutes later to secure a grandstand finish.

Looking for a third goal, Brighton somehow botched a four-on-one situation and allowed Wolves to break up at the other end of the pitch, where Cunha advanced and fired the ball into the net in the third minute of stoppage time, resulting in a highly unlikely draw. .

The point – only Wolves’ second of the season – lifts them into 19th place with two points, one ahead of Southampton and one behind Crystal Palace, while Brighton are fifth on 16 points.

“I’m very happy for the players and the fans because all the players gave so much and I know it may not always look like that because the results can cloud the situation but they gave a lot and if you continue to do that, it can’t continue to go against you,” Wolves coach Gary O’Neill said.

“We were too passive, we weren’t mature and professional enough today,” Brighton coach Fabian Hurtzeler told Sky Sports before rueing the way his side handled the four-on-one break.

“This is football and football can be cruel sometimes and today we experienced that in a bad way,” he said.