Matt Maher: The Black Country Derby will be remembered for the missing 37 minutes

By the end of one of the most shameful days in the history of this rivalry, the image which stuck most in the mind was not of the two pieces of skill from Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha which earned Wolves a first win at The Hawthorns for nearly 28 years.

Instead, it was Albion defender Kyle Bartley wading into the Halfords Lane Stand to rescue children.

That image was not screened on ITV’s live coverage. Neither were several other depressing sights, the TV director opting to keep the camera trained on the centre circle as violence flared after Cunha had put Wolves 2-0 up in the 78th minute.

As a region, we owe that director a debt of gratitude. What the national audience did see and hear in those moments was embarrassing enough, without them witnessing everything 25,000 people inside The Hawthorns could.

The lowlights, the sight of terrified children aside, included an Albion supporter being led across the pitch by police and paramedics, bleeding heavily from a head wound, while still making an attempt to break away and confront Wolves fans behind the Smethwick End goal.

Another moment, which rather neatly summed up the chaos, saw a Baggies fan wearing a flatcap stroll casually through the technical areas unchallenged and then out onto the pitch toward the Wolves supporters, scarf aloft in an act of defiance.

Soon after, another supporter was wheeled down the touchline on a stretcher, horizontal but for a raised hand waving in an apparent attempt to further whip up the crowd. All around, meanwhile, anger reigned, the fury mostly concentrated in two corners of the ground as police battled to regain control.

Eventually, they did and the final 14 minutes of the match - including two minutes for stoppages - were played out in an uneasy air, both teams appearing reticent, perhaps even slightly frightened to go at it full pelt out of concern for how it might impact emotions in the stands.

The same applied to the post-match celebrations. This was an historic result for Wolves, their first victory at The Hawthorns since 1996. Gary O’Neil, after condemning the violence, stressed how he did not want that fact forgotten.

He’s right, of course. Wolves will host Brighton in the fifth round and who knows, perhaps a few months from now Sunday’s win will be viewed as a step toward a truly glorious occasion?

Yet in the immediate aftermath, it was difficult to feel as though anything had been won at all.

Instead, there was a collective sense of loss, most particularly of pride and respect. As an advert for our part of the world, it was humiliating.

How we had all looked forward to it. Nearly 12 years had passed since the last meeting in front of fans. By the end, you were almost left hoping the next gap will be longer. Not even a morning kick-off could quell the hatred.

Whenever the rivals next meet, there will be calls for the fixture to be played in front of a severely reduced crowd or perhaps behind closed doors entirely. Right now, that feels difficult argument to counter.

Unsavoury incidents, of course, are nothing new in this fixture. Concern yesterday’s match might be marred by what happened off the field was obvious through the presence of 400 police officers.

But there has never before been an occasion where play had to be suspended, or players felt the need to march into the stands, such was their worry for loved ones. In the catalogue of Black Country Derby indignities, yesterday now probably tops the list.

Last night it was still not totally clear what sparked it. The most prominent claim on social media was visiting supporters sat in the home end celebrating Cunha’s goal. That is never a clever move, even in matches where the dislike is nowhere near so extreme.

But while the reasons are important in terms of establishing any breakdown of security measures and identifying the culprits, in every other sense they are irrelevant.

Nothing excuses what happened. Yes, it was a minority, it always is. But that is all it takes and this minority was enough to force both teams and officials off the pitch.

When addressing those responsible, it is simply a case of picking your adjective: Disgraceful, idotic, reprehensible, reckless, any of those and more will do.

For many caught up in the mayhem, the experience was truly frightening. Unsavoury post-match anecdotes included accounts of stewards being hurled down stairs, police officers struck as they tried to calm the situation.

“Been to many derby games but never left feeling glad that my kids are still alive,” tweeted one Albion supporter yesterday evening.

Is that really what we want the experience of watching sport to be like? More pointedly, is this how we want our part of the world - already too easily seen as a target for ridicule - to be viewed?

Albion will bear the brunt of the fallout. The trouble was entirely concentrated in home areas of the stadium. Most of the 4,000 Wolves supporters in the Smethwick End watched things unfold with a sense of near bemusement.

The range of possible FA sanctions includes a partial or full stadium closure. That might be unlikely, yet a hefty fine is surely on the way, hardly ideal for a club increasingly in need of new investment.

Yesterday, it was hoped, would be a nice distraction from the ongoing off-field concerns but this was not an alternative narrative anyone would have chosen.

The idiots should get the bans their actions deserve.

But there is a much bigger issue here, a simple but important one which involves having respect for other human beings and not finding an instant dislike merely through the colour of the scarf they wear.

The history of the rivalry is there for all to see. Too much of it is unpleasant. Yesterday felt a new low and surely the point where both sides take a step back and think? It can never be right to leave a football ground with the relief only one person was hospitalised.

If there was a positive to be found, it came from the players, O’Neil and Carlos Corberan. The action on the field was everything a derby should be, hard-fought but fair.

It ended with handshakes and the clear message, to those who still can’t quite seem to understand: It is only a game.