ROUTE ONE!
Pereira makes Wolves pay penalty as Allardyce gets first win by going down ...
YOU can’t teach an old dog new tricks, so 66-year-old Sam Allardyce won’t care that the first Black Country derby since 2012 — and with it possibly West Brom’s entire season — was changed by a long throw-in.
Albion were trailing 2-1 and fearing the worst given their position in the relegation picture when Dara O’Shea launched one Rory Delapstyle after 52 minutes.
The excellent Kyle Bartley won aerial duel No1 by the near post and Semi Ajayi sent a loopi ng header over Rui Patricio for the equaliser.
Matheus Pereira went on to net a penalty winner t hat meant so much to the Baggies’ players they forgot the Covid protocols and hugged each other enthusiastically at the final whistle.
Vi c t o r y o ver t he e team Allardyce supported as a boy will mean less to him than achieving his first win as Albion manager.
One point in three games had not been the desired ‘ new manager’ bounce after he succeeded Slaven Bilic, but this was more like it.
Albion went ahead early through Pereira’s penalty, fell behind by the interval as Fabio Silva and Willy Boly exploited poor defending, but showed character to go again.
At 33, debutant Robert Snodgrass injected new enthusiasm into the team following his move from West Ham United.
Stand-in goalkeeper David Button made some good saves in his first League appearance for two years following Sam Johnstone’s positive test for Covid.
Wolves have collected only five points from nine games since Raul Jimenez suffered a fractured skull against Arsenal and Nuno Espirito Santo Santo’s s mainstays Conor Coady Coady, Ruben Neves and Ada Adama Traore are suffe fering a dip in form. None of which took the gloss off a f a mous wi n for Allardyce, who wasn’t making any apology for his attacking tactics and will now think teams above can be caught. ‘We pointed out to the lads that Wolves particularly s t r uggl e o f f set pl a ys , ’ said Allardyce. ‘The advantage of a long throw is it’s as good as a corner. It was very important to get back to 2-2 after going in front and then conceding two sloppy goals.
‘The spirit of the players to come back was excellent. There are times you can go under and it worried me when Wolves scored two quick goals. This game is a boost but we are still in a massively difficult position. Our heads are still under water.’ Boly was back in the Wolves defence after missing a month with a hamstring injury and showed early rustiness by conceding the opening penalty after eight minutes.
He trod on Callum Robinson’s foot as the Albion striker took a touch past him and Pereira sent Rui Patricio the wrong way from the spot — the ninth match in a row
Wolves have conceded first. The home side appealed for a penalty when the ball struck Kieran Gibbs on the hand and Leander Dendoncker and Boly forced Button into smart stops before they struck twice in quick succession.
Allardyce’s assistant Sammy Lee had just anxiously looked at his watch when Jimenez’s deputy, 18-year-old Silva, scored his first goal at Molineux.
The Portuguese teenager was stronger than Pereira in the box as they challenged for a bouncing ball. With Pereira on the floor, Boly collected the ricochet via Silva’s shoulder and produced a flick back into the striker’s path.
Silva had the composure to sidefoot his finish and celebrated with a solo dash and kneeslide. Even better was to follow for Wolves when Albion dealt badly with a corner after 43 minutes.
Two defenders missed the cross and Ajayi didn’t get his feet sorted quickly enough to clear, allowing Boly to gratefully stab the ball home from six yards.
But Albion responded in the second half, Ajayi’s equaliser adding to his reputation as a goalscoring centre half following contributions against Liverpool and Blackpool.
The visitors then went 3-2 ahead after 56 minutes. Robinson turned on Kamil Grosicki’s ball into the box and Coady planted just enough contact on the striker’s heel for the Albion man to take a tumble and Michael Oliver pointed to the spot.
Pereira struck his second successful penalty of the day.
Nuno reacted with the unusual decision to remove his captain Coady and Joao Moutinho. Substitute Patrick Cutrone missed the best equalising chance by hitting his finish into the ground, then Silva was rightly booked for diving as Albion hung on.