Rafa’s fuming after Wolves snatch ’n’ grab
The Toon manager was fuming when Dean sent off DeAndre Yedlin in the 56th minute, believing his foul on Diogo Jota merited a yellow card and not a red.
And Benitez was apoplectic with rage when a Willy Boly elbow on Ayoze Perez in the Wolves box went unpunished.
Ten-man Newcastle coped well but the fatigue told. They got a let-off when Raul Jimenez’s shot cannoned off the bar.
And only a stunning 80th-minute save from Martin Dubravka denied Doherty following a clever dummy by Morgan Gibbs-White.
But with just seconds to go, Jota, who had opened the scoring, ran at a tiring defence.
Dubravka pushed away his shot but it looped invitingly for Doherty to head in at the far post.
Yet whatever Phil Neville may say, Wolves are hardly the best side to be promoted to the Premier League.
Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle Entertainers of 25 years ago would have overwhelmed them.
Even the modern-day Magpies, a pale imitation, were the better side for long spells and initially appeared unfazed by Yedlin’s dismissal.
For a team of such gifted technicians, Wolves do not quite add up to the sum of their parts and made hard work of beating opponents who on paper were inferior.
No footballer likes being jeered but it certainly has the capacity to stoke the fires of certain individuals.
Certainly Newcastle pair Salomon Rondon and Perez proved boo-busters in the opening 45 minutes.
The former, targeted by the away fans due to his West Brom connections, bullied the Wolves defence.
He was the architect behind Perez’s equaliser five minutes after Jota had struck.
It rounded off a rollercoaster week for Perez, who missed a hatful of chances during the 3-0 defeat by West Ham, was jeered off by a section of fans when substituted and then axed for the trip to Everton.
Yesterday’s goal was only his second of the season but it was a gem. Rondon was so unlucky when his thunderous 22-yard free-kick thudded against the underside of the bar, but it was the striker himself who retrieved the clearance.
His delivery back into the box was made to measure for Perez to glide across Conor Coady and send a glancing header past Rui Patricio.
Wolves’ opener was also beautifully crafted but owed much to bad defending.
Helder Costa showed great vision in picking out Jota but with Yedlin deciding to forfeit responsibility and Jamaal Lascelles ball-watching, Jota had all the time in the world to score from close range. ALL SQUARE: Perez silences the boos with his header Benitez reacted furiously to Yedlin’s red card but the player had only himself to blame, with his dreadful first touch letting in Jota and forcing the American to pull him back.
In the end, it proved a costly mistake.
NEWCASTLE Booked: Goal: Booked: Goals: UP: Referee: (3-4-2-1):
Dubravka 7; Lascelles 5, Fernandez 6 (Manquillo 45, 6), Clark 6; Yedlin 4, Ki 7, Diame 7, Ritchie 7; Atsu 6 (Kenedy 89), Perez 7; Rondon 7 (Joselu 86). Clark, Ki. Yedlin 57. Perez 23. Huddersfield (a), Sat PL.
Patricio 6; Bennett 6, Coady 5, Boly 6; Doherty 7, Neves 7, Saiss 5 (Jimenez 60, 6), Vinagre 5; Costa 7, Traore 5 (Gibbs-White 60, 7), Jota 8.
Bennett, Coady, Doherty, Costa, Jota. Jota 17, Doherty 90. Bournemouth (h), Sat PL.
M Dean (Wirral).
WOLVES (3-4-3): Sent off: NEXT UP: NEXT
begun. The episode destabilised them, sending them on a downward spiral.
And when Silva was sacked in January he had picked up just one win and two draws from his final 11 games in charge.
Watford blamed an “unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival” that led to “significant deterioration in both focus and results to the point where the long-term future of Watford FC has been jeopardised” for their decision to ditch Silva.
Everton ended up appointing an out-of-work Silva in May but Watford felt the harm caused by their initial attempt meant they were entitled to damages.
The ill-feeling did not stop the two clubs doing business over forward Richarlison, who will also come up against his old club for the first time.
And Silva hopes the Brazilian can become the prolific striker the Toffees crave.
Silva’s side have scored just two in their last four and 21 in total in the Premier League this season, lower than all their top-six rivals.
“A striker needs to score often to keep his confidence high,” said Silva. “That’s seven goals in 13 games, it’s a good number. He can do better, I’ve no doubts about that, because he has the quality to do better.”