Gary O’Neil left disappointed as Wolves’ winless streak continues

Posted Sunday, November 03, 2024 by PA

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was disappointed his side were unable to hang on to their first win of the season after their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Molineux.

Both sides’ lack of confidence showed in a first period void of any sort of quality, epitomised by Trevoh Chalobah blocking team-mate Jean Philippe Mateta’s effort with the biggest chance of the half.

The game burst into life when Jorgen Strand Larsen inadvertently headed Will Hughes’ delivery into the path of Chalobah, who blasted into an empty net on the hour mark.

O’Neil’s triple substitution was greeted with chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” by the home support, who also booed the decision to take off Tommy Doyle.

However, the changes paid dividends as Strand Larsen and Joao Gomes turned the game on its head before Marc Guehi equalised to extend Wolves’ winless run to 10 games.

O’Neil said: “Disappointed because of a real brave fightback to spin the game from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, took a lot of effort.

“Disappointed because having worked so hard to get in front, once we got in front I thought we had a good chance of seeing it out.

“I thought we’d have to defend a couple of moments but not under any sort of siege, disappointed we came up short with one.

“Today we gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game, but didn’t quite get it done but we get another go next week and need to make sure it’s in our favour.”

Wolves had lost all four of their league games at Molineux this season before the draw with Palace, but a share of the spoils means they have taken points from back-to-back matches.

O’Neil was at the centre of negative fan chants following his reaction to going 1-0 down.

Asked whether the opinions from the stands affect him, he said: “I’m fine, it’s my job.

“The three substitutes made a big difference, I thought we were excellent from then.

“They can voice their opinions, of course, it’s my job. Mario (Lemina) made us an awful lot better when he came on. Snuffed out so many balls and turned them into attacking situations for us.

“We need to be better, of course. A lot of it ends up being my responsibility which I’m happy to take. Criticism around subs, goals can land on my doorstep, that’s what I’m here for.”

Following wins over Tottenham and Aston Villa, Crystal Palace ended the week with another result to extend their unbeaten run to three games.

Oliver Glasner was proud of what his side showed.

The Palace boss said: “I’m very proud about the performance today.

“Third game in six days with a very tight squad. The only thing we can blame ourselves is for not deciding the game when we could’ve done.

“We had the momentum with the crowd booing, this is what we could and should have done better.

“All of a sudden Wolves went 2-1 up and then it was back to the players who reacted, they were tired, came back again and what makes me proud is we went for the win.”