Brighton 1 Wolves 0 – report and pictures

Wolves had the better of the first half but Matt Doherty spurned their best opportunity when side-footing side, while Shane Duffy headed a great chance past the post at the other end.

Brighton took the lead shortly after half time when Glenn Murray turned home Bruno's shot.

Wolves created a glut of opportunities thereafter with Doherty, Neves and Moutinho all going close and then Ryan Bennett's injury time shot was somehow saved by Mat Ryan, but Wolves couldn't find a breakthrough.

Analysis

Wolves' lack of goals this season has been nothing more than a slight annoyance up until about a week ago.

When they were only scoring once against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace, it didn't matter at all as they were keeping a clean sheet on each occasion, writes Tim Spiers at the Amex.

But after two games in seven days in which they've failed to score – and lost both games against teams they'll have fancied their chances against – it's becoming a problem.

Yes Wolves' foundations are built on a solid defence, organisation and shape.

Nine goals in 10 games, though, is a meagre tally and their lack of prowess in front of goal cost them dearly here on an afternoon when they produced almost four times the number of efforts Brighton did.

In total Wolves amassed 25 shots to their seven, but the Seagulls showed the clinical touch that Wolves have lacked in their opening quarter of the campaign.

Wily old striker Glenn Murray showed them how it was done, needing only one opportunity all afternoon which he grabbed in both hands. What Wolves would do for someone of his ilk when it comes to putting chances away.

Wolves were good in midfield, they moved the ball well, they looked solid in defence too, but when two teams that don't score or concede many go head to head, the first goal will always be absolutely vital and sadly for Wolves, after Brighton scored it they sat deep and used all their experience and organisation to see it through despite almost constant Wolves pressure.

Against a team that has only lost five times at the Amex in the Premier League, it was always going to be tough. Nuno's team couldn't have done much more – they threw the kitchen sink at Mat Ryan's goal but just couldn't find a way through with either poor finishing, misfortune or a wonderful save from Ryan to deny Ryan Bennett in stoppage time costing them.

Sure they were unlucky, sure they played well and sure It just wasn't their day, but the recurring theme of a shortage of goals (they haven't scored in the first half since the opening day of the season) needs to be addressed soon if their excellent start isn't to be wasted.

Match report

After naming the same league XI for the opening nine games of the season, Nuno finally made a changed and it was little surprise to see Diogo Jota on the bench.

Adama Traore got the nod over Ivan Cavaleiro to make his first league start for Wolves, while Leander Dendoncker was on the bench and in a Premier League squad for the first time. Kortney Hause and Romain Saiss dropped out, while Morgan Gibbs-White came back into the squad.

Brighton named an unchanged XI, meaning Glenn Murray, who was knocked unconscious and suffered concussion at Newcastle last weekend, led the line up front.

Nuno asked for an improved performance from his side after last weekend's defeat to Watford – and in the first half he certainly got one.

Where they'd been shackled in midfield by the Hornets and lacked ideas and creativity, here they were buzzing around the Brighton half and put the Seagulls on the back foot almost from the off.

In freezing cold weather they didn't take long to warm up. Conor Coady and Willy Boly were sending piercing balls to the flanks, Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves exerted control in midfield and Adama Traore was a livewire on the left, making a couple of Brighton defenders look foolish.

However the standout man, as he has been on a couple of occasions already this season, was Matt Doherty.

The Irishman channelled his inner Stanley Matthews with a succession of darts to the right byline, regularly getting in behind left-back Gaetan Bong who looked like he was counting down the seconds to 4.50pm.

He was involved in the three key moments of the half from a Wolves perspective. Firstly, Doherty took Coady's excellent raking pass and flashed the ball right across the face of goal, with no player able to tap it home.

Then he crashed a ferocious shot into the box which was blocked at point blank range by a Brighton defender – the Wolves appeals for handball were loud, but referee Anthony Taylor was unmoved.

Then Doherty engineered the opportunity of the half – he cut inside and played a one-two with Raul Jimenez, ala Crystal Palace earlier this month, before shifting onto his left foot and side-footing inches past the post.

Oh and Doherty was a part of Wolves' other goalmouth action – Neves played a defence-splitting pass into the box but keeper Mat Ryan got there first ahead of Doherty.

At the other end Wolves were rarely troubled but there was a hairy moment from a corner shortly before half time when centre half Shane Duffy somehow sent a free header past the post from about three yards.

Other than that Wolves were the better side, albeit without creating too many clear cut chances against an organised and disciplined Brighton outfit.

Nuno will have hoped for more of the same after the break. Instead Brighton took the lead.

Just a couple of minutes had passed when Bruno drilled the ball low into the box and Murray, suspiciously quiet in the first half, was left all alone to turn it past Rui Patricio with a smart finish.

Nuno reacted by moving Traore to the right flank and Costa the left, but Wolves didn't immediately respond with Brighton professionally slowing the game down.

On 61 minutes, just after Costa's ball across the face was just missed by Jonny Castro Otto, the head coach made a double change with Cavaleiro and Jota replacing Jimenez and Traore.

Wolves began to probe – Costa's cross evaded Cavaleiro and Moutinho's 20-yard effort was saved – but organised and resilient Brighton were a tough nut to crack.

The deep-lying Seagulls left little room in the final third to exploit so Wolves' main source of creating a chance from out wide. That nearly worked when Cavaleiro hung a cross to the back stick for Doherty, who side-footed into the side netting.

That man Doherty was involved yet again when he smacked one from range that keeper Ryan pushed wide – and from the resulting corner Neves' long-range effort was blocked by the keeper as Wolves started to hammer the Brighton door down.

With 15 minutes to go it was one-way traffic – Neves lined up a 22-yard free kick...but it clipped the top of the wall and drifted just over.

The closing stages were dominated by Wolves and everyone thought they'd nabbed an injury time equaliser when Bennett's shot headed for the corner – but Ryan pulled off a stunning save to deny Wolves a point at the death.

Key moments

32 - Fantastic opportunity for Wolves! Doherty, who has been a constant menace to Bong, plays a perfect one-two with Jimenez and bursts into the box. He shifts the ball onto his left foot, sidefooting inches wide.

42 - WHAT A MISS! Brighton should be in front. March's left-footed inswinging corner finds Duffy who, somehow, cannot direct his header on target from point-blank range. He will be having nightmares about that one.

48 - GOAL! The Seagulls make up for Duffy fluffing his lines as they take the lead through Murray. Bruno drives the ball across the face of goal and Murray, unmarked, steers it home. Predatory finish.

70 - Another big chance for Wolves, again falling to Doherty. Cavaleiro floats a cross to the back post. Doherty meets it with his right foot but shaves the side netting.

77 - Nuno's pack win a free-kick in a promising position. Neves' strike seems destined for the net until Dunk heroically nods over the bar.

90 - HUGE SAVE! Wolves pile on the pressure in search of an equaliser. Cavaleiro cuts back to Bennett, whose snapshot is superbly kept out by Brighton keeper Ryan.

Teams

Brighton (4-4-1-1): Ryan; Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong; Jahanbakhsh, Stephens, Kayal, Izquierdo (Knockaert, 80); March (Bissouma, 70); Murray. Subs: Steele, Bernardo, Balogun, Andone, Locadia.

Goals: Murray (47)

Wolves (3-4-3): Patricio; Bennett, Coady (c), Boly; Doherty, Moutinho, Neves, Otto (Bonatini, 84); Costa, Jimenez (Cavaleiro, 60), Traore (Jota, 60). Subs: Ruddy, Dendoncker, Vinagre, Gibbs-White.

Attendance: 30,654

Referee: Anthony Taylor

League position

9th (15 points from 10 games)

Next up

Wolves host Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux next Saturday night, kick off 7.45pm.