Rob Edwards met with full-time boos as Wolves beaten by Spurs

Already relegated Wolves lost their third consecutive Premier League match after conceding late against Spurs at Molineux.

The visitors controlled the opening stages of the game but were unable to punish a lacklustre Wolves, in a first half that was devoid of any action.

Wolves were much better in a second 45 that saw them create some half chances, but they could not convert before the visitors struck late through Joao Palhinha to win it.

Analysis

Rob Edwards made five changes to his Wolves team following the defeat to Leeds.

Jose Sa, Pedro Lima, Matt Doherty, Mateus Mane and Rodrigo Gomes all came in, with Sa recovering from a shoulder knock and Lima making his first Premier League start for more than a year.

Dan Bentley, Jackson Tchatchoua, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Angel Gomes dropped to the bench, while Ladislav Krejci missed out with a neck injury.

Wolves made a sluggish start to the game and the visitors took control with some early set pieces that flashed across goal.

The hosts were giving away plenty of poor passes and on one occasion, Andre’s terrible midfield pass handed the ball straight to Randal Kolo Muani, who charged forward but dragged his shot wide.

The game was being played at a walking pace for most of the half, with Spurs happy to keep the ball in convenient areas and Wolves unwilling to press or show any intensity.

However, there were some green shots from Wolves when Adam Armstrong did well to win a corner and the set piece routine was cleared as far as R.Gomes, who saw his strong effort blocked by Dominic Solanke.

On the stroke of half-time, a boring match finally had a talking point when Andre flew into a robust tackle on Yves Bissouma.

Despite it looking like a firm, but fair, challenge, the Spurs fans and players were calling for a red. A yellow was given, to Andre’s disgust, just before the teams entered half-time at 0-0.

Wolves made a brighter start to the second half, with Lima delivering some nice crosses from the right, but it was the visitors that had the biggest chance.

A delightful cross-field pass put Xavi Simons in, he cut inside Doherty, before shooting over from close range.

Shortly after, the Spurs attacker seemingly suffered a nasty knee injury and was stretchered off.

Spurs had a big chance when Rodrigo Bentancur met a corner with a header, but goalkeeper Sa stood firm to make a big save.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 82nd minute when a Spurs corner came in and after a scramble, Richarlison poked it towards goal for Palhinha to stick into the net from close range, with Doherty playing him onside.

Joao Gomes came close with a free-kick in the 98th minute, which goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky acrobatically saved, before the full-time whistle came.

An anti-Fosun banner was displayed by fans at full-time, while Edwards was booed as he approached the South Bank.

Key Moments

GOAL 82 Palhinha pokes the ball into the net for Spurs

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Lima (Tchatchoua, 85), Doherty (Hwang, 85), S.Bueno, Toti, H.Bueno (Wolfe, 94), Andre, J.Gomes, Mane, R.Gomes (Arokodare, 71), Armstrong.

Subs not used: Bentley, Olagunju, A.Gomes, Bellegarde, Edozie.

Spurs: Kinsky, Porro, Danso, van de Ven, Spence, Bissouma (Palhinha, 62), Bentancur, Gallagher (Dragusin, 91), Kolo Muani (Tel, 45), Simons (Bergvall, 62), Solanke (Richarlison, 40).

Subs not used: Austin, Souza, Gray, Maddison.