PER OF BEAUTS
Matheus is spot on twice as Sam downs his rivals
WILL POWER: Willy Boly puts the home side in front at Molineux
MATHEUS PEREIRA would not have known about the history of the Black Country derby during his formative years in Belo Horizonte and Lisbon.
But the Brazilian is now a Hawthorns hero after two ice-cool finishes from the penalty spot gave West Brom hope – and local bragging rights.
Twice Pereira stared into the whites of Rui Patricio’s eyes from 12 yards. And both times he sent Wolves’ Portuguese international the wrong way, clipping his first effort to the keeper’s left and then burying his second in the opposite corner.
It gave Dudley-born Sam Allardyce (below) his first win as Baggies boss.
And as well as lifting Albion’s hopes of avoiding the drop, it also dragged their neighbours further towards trouble.
Allardyce forgave his players for their celebratory huddle at the final whistle – despite losing keeper Sam Johnstone and
Matt Phillips before the game when they tested positive for coronavirus.
“I wanted to kiss the players myself,” he said. “We spent an hour talking to the Premier League, the LMA and the PFA about the need for players to restrain themselves when they celebrate. But it’s cosmetic. I was told there’s no scientific proof that you can pass on coronavirus celebrating a goal.
“But it does send out the wrong message and I think things will improve.
“This win means so much to the players and the fans. But our heads are still under the water and we are still drowning.” Nine games ago, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team were being touted as possible top-four contenders.
Then Raul Jiminez suffered a sickening skull fracture and Wolves have gone into freefall. Teenager Fabio Silva scored his first Molineux goal with a smart 38th-minute finish to cancel out Pereira’s first penalty. And Willy Boly put the home side ahead before the break from close range.
But they have problems at both ends of the pitch. They have now gone 12 games without a clean sheet and when Nuno hauled off skipper Conor Coady and abandoned a back-four to revert to a more familiar threeman defence it illustrated the uncertainty of the boss at the moment.
Albion were level in the 52nd minute when Dara O’Shea’s long throw enabled Semi Ajayi to loop home a header.
Three minutes later, the lead changed for a third and final time.
As with the first penalty, Callum Robinson was taken out – this time by Coady – and Pereira got the better of Rui Patricio again.
Nuno said: “We don’t look at the table. We only look at how we do things – and we are not doing things well.
“We are disappointed we could not give the fans what we wanted to give them.
“There is only one solution – to go to the training ground and work.”
Rui Patricio 5; Semedo 5, Coady 5 (Ait-Nouri (64th) 6), Boly 6, Saiss 6; Dendoncker 6, Neves 5 (Gibbs-White (60th) 6), Moutinho 6 (Cutrone 79th); Traore 5, Silva 6, Neto 6
Button 6; O’Shea 6. Ajayi 7, Bartley 8, Gibbs 7; Sawyers 6, Livermore 6, Snodgrass 7, Pereira 7 (Furlong 83rd), Grosicki 6 (Robson-Kanu (69th) 5); Robinson 7
Kyle Bartley
M Oliver