Wolves 1 Brentford 1 - Report

Some more self-inflicted mistakes, which have crept into Wolves’ game in recent weeks, handed Brentford the lead through Bryan Mbeumo inside 20 minutes.

Wolves improved in the second half and finally found the back of the net when Marshall Munetsi smashed home in front of the South Bank.

Neither side could add a second and the points were shared as the season came to a close.

Analysis

Vitor Pereira made six changes to the team that lost to Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.

Jose Sa, Nelson Semedo, Matt Doherty, Joao Gomes, Munetsi and Matheus Cunha all came into the side, while Jorgen Strand Larsen was deemed fit enough for the bench.

A number of players missed out on the squad altogether, including Sam Johnstone, Dan Bentley, Tommy Doyle, Boubacar Traore and Carlos Forbs, while 17-year-old attacker Mateus Mane was named among the substitutes.

For Brentford, former Wolves defender Nathan Collins lined up at centre-back.

Wolves started the game the brighter of the two teams and were more threatening going forward, despite neither side creating a clear chance in the opening stages.

The hosts were largely limited to shots from distance, but made a good start by controlling possession at Molineux.

But Wolves were also creating their own problems with some needless mistakes and that was how they gifted Brentford the lead.

First, Toti Gomes’ poor pass had the Bees racing forward and Kevin Schade’s shot was saved by Sa.

The goalkeeper then rolled the ball out to Rayan Ait-Nouri, who lost it on the edge of his own box after exchanging passes with Cunha, and after Yoane Wissa had a shot blocked, Christian Norgaard picked it up and put it on a plate for Mbeumo to finish.

That goal resulted in Wolves having a difficult period in the game, where they were making too many mistakes and taking too many unnecessary risks that Brentford were fortunately not punishing.

Cunha did have a sight of goal when it opened up for him on the edge of the box, but his curled effort was easily saved by Mark Flekken and the Brazilian cut a frustrated figure as he struggled to get into the game.

The forward was furious when he did not win a foul and Brentford’s immediate counter-attack had Keane Lewis-Potter in but his chip over Sa landed on the roof of the net when he should have scored.

Ait-Nouri then set Cunha up for a volley but his effort was straight at Flekken, before Wissa came close and forced Sa into a save.

Semedo then came close with a strong shot, as Wolves went into half-time losing 1-0.

The hosts started the second half stronger and the first chance came when Ait-Nouri stung the palms of Flekken with a near post shot, shortly after Brentford wasted a counter-attacking opportunity that came from another Ait-Nouri mistake.

The biggest chance fell to Goncalo Guedes, who was picked out by an excellent Munetsi pass, but the forward made a mess of his shot inside the box and fired wide, which prompted a furious reaction from Pereira in the dugout.

That was Guedes’ last major action of the match as he was replaced by Larsen, while Rodrigo Gomes came on for Ait-Nouri.

R.Gomes could have made an instant impact if Cunha picked the right pass and played him through, but the Brazilian made the wrong decision and the chance was gone.

Wolves finally equalised in the 75th minute and they did it in style. The set-up was route one as a long ball was excellently flicked on by Larsen and the onrushing Munetsi smashed the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box to send Molineux into raptures.

In the 91st minute, Wolves brought on goalkeeper Tom King for his club and Premier League debut.

The shot-stopper had to deal with a 94th minute corner that caused havoc in the Wolves box, but the defenders cleared their lines and the final whistle quickly followed.

Wolves’ failure to win the game and results elsewhere meant they finished 16th in the Premier League table.

The players and staff took a lap of appreciation around the Molineux pitch after full-time as a gruelling season in which Wolves battled relegation came to an end.

Key Moments

GOAL 20 Mbeumo put Brentford ahead

GOAL 75 Munetsi smashes Wolves level

Teams

Wolves: Sa (King, 91), Semedo, Doherty (Bueno, 86), Agbadou, Toti, Ait-Nouri (R.Gomes, 65), Andre, J.Gomes, Munetsi (Bellegarde, 86), Cunha, Guedes (Larsen, 65).

Subs not used: Lima, Mane, Sarabia, Hwang.

Brentford: Flekken, Kayode (Ajer, 86), Collins, van den Berg, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard (Jensen, 80), Schade (Thiago, 80), Mbeumo, Wissa.

Subs not used: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Henry, Pinnock, Konak, Nunes.