Jimenez denied twice as VARsaves Saints from another defeat
NO QUESTION who finished the happier manager after deadlock at Molinueux. Ralph Hasenhuttl was desperate to end Southampton’s three-match Premier League losing streak and — before kick-off — drop into the relegation zone following Everton’s 2-0 win against West Ham.
Hasenhuttl achieved that goal — but not without a helping hand from VAR.
Wolves striker Raul Jimenez put the ball in the net three times. All he got for his troubles were one goal and one booking.
Referee Peter Bankes ruled out his first effort in the 28th minute for handball in the buildup. Premature celebrations and, after a VAR check, a yellow card.
Strike number two came in the 42nd minute. Patrick Cutrone shot, Angus Gunn saved and Jimenez joyously slammed home the rebound. A shortlived joy as it turned out. Every goal has to be checked and referee Bankes heard from HQ that Cutrone was offside by the smallest of margins before he shot. No goal.
No wonder Hasenhuttl is a fan of the VAR system. The total of strikes against Southampton that have not counted as goals so far this season now totals seven.
Hasenhuttl must have thought this was his day — especially with Nathan Redmond emerging as the most influential player on the pitch. From a wide position or from a more central role, it made no difference. Wolves could not pin him down.
For Wolves, the much-vaunted Adama Traore, the hero of the memorable win against Manchester City, could do little right. ‘He is still learning,’ said Nuno Espirito Santo, the Wolves manager, before the match. Come 5pm last night, we knew what he meant.
Ryan Bertrand hardly gave Traore a kick and when the Wolves striker did check inside, there was always a Southampton midfielder to nullify the threat.
Instead, it was Redmond who captured centre stage.
And it looked as though he would be on the winning side when Southampton were gifted the opening goal in the 53rd minute.
Conor Coady is both dependable and elegant. His mistakes are rare, so yesterday’s was something of a
collector’s item, with Danny Inga as the beneficiary.
Coady completely misjudged a ball through the centre of the Wolves defence and Ings latched on to it and put Southampton ahead.
Wolves were unnerved, although they eventually responded. Matt Doherty came on at half-time for the injured Ruben Neves, and cometh the hour, cometh the man.
Doherty foraged into the Southampton area and eluded every challenge, except one from PierreEmile Hojbjerg.
That was ruled by the referee to be a foul and he pointed to the spot. ‘He was clever, he was looking for the slightest touch,’ said Hasenhuttl who, however, had no complaint about the award.
Espirito Santo was not so sure as a VAR check was made. ‘When the referee put his finger to his ear, you have a concern!’ he said. At the third time of asking, Jimenez finally got his goal.
‘We have worked hard on our shape in the last two weeks,’ Hasenhuttl said. ‘I had a good feeling at halftime. It was important that we got something from the game.’ Southampton had lost their previous game, against Chelsea, 4-1. ‘After Chelsea we were critical of ourselves. We knew it was the time for everybody to show up. They did. It was good for morale. Now we must step on.’
The only complaint Espirito Santo had was the caution for Jimenez after the first disallowed goal. ‘For me, it was not deliberate,’ he said.