DUNK AND DISORDERLY... BRIGHTON SEE RED TWICE
Captain Lewis sees red and Maupay follows him after final whistle, as Seagulls get into a flap at Molineux
RELIEF for Wolves – but they only got out of jail in a classic case of Dunk and disorderly.
Brighton were in complete control at Molineux, and leading deservedly through Lewis Dunk’s towering header, until their captain’s red card (right) eight minutes after the break.
And as if shipping two goals in the last 14 minutes was not bad enough for the Seagulls, striker Neal Maupay was also sent off after the final whistle for a monumental strop.
Despite team-mate Adam Webster’s attempts to usher him away from trouble, Maupay’s appetite for confrontation got the better of him. So Wolves, whose season had been petering out like the A1 after Newcastle, head for the last rites on the back of Morgan Gibbs-White’s first Premier League goal at the death.
If that famous old gold had been looking more like a tired shade of beige, at least we can wait until next season to find out if manager Nuno Espirito Santo needs running repairs to his magic carpet or a brand new shagpile.
Taken apart by Burnley in their previous home game, Wolves were anaemic again for 45 minutes. But in a parallel universe where history holds sway over greed, as English football trailblazers they would be founder members of any European Super League.
And after Gibbs-White had missed a sitter to win it six minutes from time, he hit the gold standard with the hourglass down to the last grains of sand. Despite this heartbreaking defeat, the future looks promising for Brighton and two red cards in one game doesn’t make the Seagulls a dirty team.
It would just be a shame for Dunk if his dismissal cost him an international call-up. It is a travesty that Eric Dier and Tyrone Mings get a game for England but Dunk can’t. Albion have the tallest defence in the country, and after 13 minutes made their first set-piece count.
Dunk’s fifth goal of the season, from a Pascal Gross dead-ball delivery, was a stunning exercise in simplicity – corner, header, back of the net. But Wolves’ marking was bizarre. Assigning 5ft 11in midfielder Ruben Neves to shadow Brighton’s towering 6ft 4in captain is asking for trouble, and they got it.
Since his Premier League debut four years ago, Dunk has scored 11 goals. That is more than any other centre-back in the top flight, as he has just overtaking Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
But Wolves could not be as feeble in the second half as they were for 45 minutes and, as Nuno removed his hefty winter overcoat, his players finally pulled their socks up. And when the home side stepped it up several gears, it was Dunk who was left to carry the can.
Referee Jon Moss had little alternative but to brandish a red card when he hauled back the escaping Fabio Silva with a blatant shirt-pull – and all of a sudden, Wolves were energised. Robert Sanchez had already made decent low saves to deny GibbsWhite and Joao Moutinho before the home side’s pressure paid dividends.
Sub Adama Traore, drifting inside from his normal beat on the right wing, played an exquisite one-two with Silva before ramming his finish into the corner. When he is at full throttle, Traore’s 11st of pure muscle and baby oil is one of the most thrilling sights on the Premier League stage, and his half-hour cameo changed the game.
When the flying winger charged down Sanchez’s clearance, Gibbs-White could only shovel his finish over the top of an empty net from 12 yards.
Brighton looked like holding on until 15 seconds from the end, but this time Gibbs-White’s first shot was blocked – only for his second attempt to find the top corner.