O’Neil fury as he blasts ‘scandalous’ decision
Anger over penalty as Hwang saves point
THE ROOF nearly came off Molineux as Hwang Hee-Chan maintained his record of scoring in every home game to rescue a point for Wolves.
Incensed by the controversial award of a Newcastle penalty to put the visitors 2-1 ahead, fans chanted “Premier League… corrupt as f***” for most of the second half. But anger turned to unrestrained joy after 71 minutes when Toti set up Hwang who cut inside Dan Burn and rifled in the equaliser.
It was the South Korean who had earlier conceded the spot-kick after tangling with Fabian Schar.
‘It was a scandalous decision,’ raged Wolves manager Gary O’Neil. ‘It was a terrible onfield decision and terrible that VAR didn’t intervene. Hwangy gets the ball first and contact with Schar is minimal anyway, a glance of the boot. Schar was already on the way down.’
At least Hwang had the last laugh to keep up his record of netting in all five league matches at Molineux this season. ‘I’d tried to clear the ball and saw someone block me. I stopped and he touched me — I don’t think it was a penalty,’ he said. ‘I felt so sad and really wanted to do something for my team. Everybody said “You can do it.” They gave me trust and I scored.’
Newcastle, fatigued by their midweek Champions League efforts against Dortmund, were grateful to hear the final whistle.
Playing without Sandro Tonali, banned for 10 months for betting breaches, they led after 22 minutes through Callum Wilson’s sharp finish. Mario Lemina levelled with his first goal for Wolves before drama moments before the interval.
Schar fell as Hwang tried to clear. When referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot, VAR official Jarred Gillett took ages before deciding not to send the official to his monitor to check.
Even Newcastle manager Eddie Howe admitted: ‘With the long delay, you knew it was a tight call.’
Wilson kept cool to convert his seventh goal of the season. Thanks
to Hwang they didn’t lose, though there was a sad footnote as their best player Pedro Neto was carried off on a stretcher after 77 minutes with a hamstring injury. A draw meant both extended their league unbeaten runs, Newcastle to six matches and Wolves to five.
‘The glass is half-full because we are thin on the ground in certain areas,’ added Howe. ‘We are not moaning about the schedule but it’s a disappointment we have a lot of injuries in attacking areas.’
The two teams deserve credit for a feast of entertainment in torrential rain. From the first moment when Neto showed Dan Burn and Fabian Schar a clean pair of heels, you couldn’t take your eyes off it.
The visitors went ahead when Jose Sa made a mess of trying to punch Antony Gordon’s cross, running into Sean Longstaff and his own player Boubacar Traore and spilling the ball. Wilson saw his first effort blocked by Toti but cleverly swivelled to hook the rebound into the corner at chest height.
Wolves used their frustration positively. Hwang tested Pope with a decent left-foot strike and from the resulting Neto corner after 36 minutes Lemina beat Trippier to power in a header.
It was the midfielder’s first goal in a year and a day when he netted for French club Nice and put Neto top of the Premier League assists charts for the season with No7.
Newcastle then regained the lead in dramatic circumstances. Trippier’s corner to the near post was miscontrolled by Schar who raced towards Hwang to try and retrieve. As Hwang drew back his foot to clear, he and Schar collided– the Swiss defender falling to the ground.
Taylor pointed to the spot and VAR backed him even though some angles suggested Schar had trod on Hwang first.
Burn was booked for blocking Neto and Newcastle’s luck ran out when Toti wriggled past three defenders and set up Hwang.