Gary O’Neil’s team defeated Southampton 2-0 to earn Wolves their first victory of the Premier League season.
After Wolves defeated Southampton 2-0 at Molineux to secure their first Premier League victory of the season, manager Gary O’Neil showered his team with adulation.
Wolves took the lead in the first two minutes of the match after Matheus Cunha set up Pablo Sarabia, who skillfully ducked past Aaron Ramsdale and tucked the ball home.
Ryan Manning’s dazzling effort into the top corner gave the away team the impression that they had tied the score, but referee Thomas Bramall disallowed the goal following a VAR intervention because Mateus Fernandes had fouled Nelson Semedo.
With a spectacular goal from Cunha that flew past Ramsdale, Wolves secured their vital victory and moved up to 18th place in the rankings, barely above Southampton.
“The athletes are deserving. They’ve worked so hard,” O’Neil remarked. “Second half I thought we were excellent – didn’t feel under any real threat once we got to grips with the shape and a nervy first half as expected under the circumstances.”
O’Neil intended to change the conversation amid rumors about his personal future: “I wanted them (fans) to enjoy it because they’ve waited a very long time for it,” he said. The victory wasn’t about me today; rather, it was about me and my future. I’m content with my role and the direction my coaching career is taking.
“Today was about Wolves; I didn’t want it to be about me either, so I was eager to let the players mingle with the fans. I’m happy for the players and supporters, but we must get back up and go four games without losing.”
When Sarabia was removed in last week’s draw with Crystal Palace, the supporters gave him a heartfelt farewell, and manager O’Neil’s choice to keep the Spaniard on the field paid off as he scored his first goal of the year. “Those who I believed could withstand the pressure of what today was going to look like were part of my team selection,” O’Neil said, expressing his happiness. I was confident Pablo could handle that. He exudes confidence. He took his goal really well today, and I’m happy about that. It was an amazing goal, and he had some great chances of that similar sequence against Crystal Palace.”
