Tribal Football

Wolves fight back to secure point at Tottenham as pressure mounts on Postecoglou

Ryan Fisher
Wolves players celebrate
Wolves players celebrateAction Plus
Vítor Pereira’s unbeaten start to life as Wolverhampton Wanderers manager continued as they held Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-2 draw, denying the hosts their first home league win since early November.

Action Buoyed by a pair of impressive victories against Leicester and Manchester United, Wolves capitalised on a timid Tottenham start in the capital to race into a seven-minute lead.

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A well-worked free-kick to the edge of the area found Hwang Hee-chan in space, and the Korean perfectly curled his effort in off the post past a helpless

Fraser Forster for his second goal in as many matches. Ange Postecoglou’s men therefore needed a response - a familiar position after falling behind for a PL-record 15th home game in the same calendar year.

But much to the under-pressure Australian’s relief, his side were level within five minutes as Rodrigo Bentancur powered Pedro Porro’s corner home at the near post.

Set-piece vulnerability has been a hallmark of both of these sides’ struggles, but it was Wolves suffering most here as Radu Drăgușin headed narrowly wide from another Porro corner.

Another dead ball scenario allowed Spurs the chance to complete the turnaround after André bundled into Brennan Johnson in the box, but with his side’s first PL penalty since April - Son Heung-min was denied by Wolves goalkeeper José Sá.

The Portuguese’s intervention wasn’t enough to get Wolves in at the break level, as brilliant link-up play between Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski culminated in the Welshman slamming home in stoppage time.

Both sides were dealt injury blows upon the restart, with Wolves talisman Matheus Cunha withdrawn at the interval, while Spurs full-back Destiny Udogie lasted just five minutes longer before being replaced.

An edgy start to the second half prompted Postecoglou into action with a triple substitution just beyond the hour, but tension remained rife around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the result depending on a defence that had conceded 3+ goals in each of their prior three home games.

However, Wolves’ lack of threat left them vulnerable at the back, and the game would’ve been beyond them if not for a goal-saving clearance from Santiago Bueno to deny Kulusevski.

Pressure was beginning to mount on the hosts however, and it eventually told three minutes from time when a sumptuous through ball from Rayan Aït-Nouri found Jørgen Strand Larsen, and the forward provided an emphatic finish at the near post to rescue a point for his side.

The draw not only extends Wolves’ gap to the relegation zone to two points, but extends their unbeaten H2H run to three games as pressure continues to mount on Postecoglou.