Photo: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters
This should have been a story about how Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha etched their names in Black Country folklore when they helped Wolves win their first derby at the Hawthorns since 1996 and earn a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup .
Instead, the passions of this match spilled over into ugly scenes as fans clashed in the Halfords Lane stands and the match was suspended for 35 minutes. West Bromwich Albion defender Kyle Bartley went with his family, child in arms, to call for peace.
Related: West Brom 0-2 Wolves: FA Cup tie marred by crowd problems - live reaction
It was a sobering sight. The players all left the field as police and stewards attempted to restore law and order. While the West Midlands Police (all leave canceled for this first Black Country derby with fans in twelve years) were stretched to their limits in the hotspots on either side of the pitch, special fans still walked onto the pitch to taunt their opponent . being led away by stewards; other individual fans were led away, one on a stretcher, the other with blood pouring from his head.
The Football Association has launched a rapid investigation into the problems with the crowd. "The disorder that took place at the Black Country derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers is completely unacceptable," the statement said. "Safety and security are of the utmost importance, and the behavior of those involved is dangerous and inexcusable. We will investigate these serious incidents together with the clubs and the relevant authorities and take appropriate action."
These were the most worrying scenes imaginable as the draw took place for an intense derby that has been fought since these clubs were founding members of the Football League. They may not have played for three years, with West Brom on their way out of the Premier League, but that only added to the expectation that has brought down household names such as Steve Bull, Kevin Donovan, Rob Hindmarch, Iwan Roberts and Peter Odemwingie . the years. Not to mention the 11-point deficit that West Brom overcame to Wolves by recruiting them for promotion in 2002; or the FA Cup tie at Molineux in 2007, when Wolves gave up the entire South Bank before losing 3-0 and all face when Albion fans left Tesco carrier bags on the seats they had cheerfully been given.
The story continues
Wolves are now seven games unbeaten and are in good shape, while West Brom, despite a fine record here at the Hawthorns, having been beaten just four times in Carlos Corberan's 15 months in charge, remain in the hunt for a play-off off field upon return to the club. elite as they await their long-term takeover.
Neto, who now has 10 goals to his name despite a three-month injury, scored seven minutes before half-time and during half-time. Matheus Cunha also showed just how lethal Wolves are in transition as he effectively sealed the result, if not the drama, 12 minutes from time.
West Brom were the better side in the first quarter of the match, repeatedly finding themselves on the left behind Wolves left winger Matt Doherty, and had Brandon Thomas-Asante or Jed Wallace scored from relatively free headers, from the center of the goal , then the trajectory of the match could have been very different.
When Wallace, getting past Toti, invited John Swift to calmly set down Craig Dawson and return to the six-yard area for his shot to be deflected behind, it was clear where Wolves were struggling. Gary O'Neil acted and Tommy Doyle fell into what used to be called the left side. This resulted in Doherty being further released for the Premier League side who, despite an under-performance at this stage, began to gain a foothold in the tie.
There was one warning for the home side when Doherty's back heel allowed Jean-Ricner Bellegarde to free Matheus Cunha through his favored inside-left channel. His cross was cleared by Cédric Kipré of oke Yokuslu for a corner.
It was from a corner kick for the home team that Wolves scored. When Doherty intercepted Alex Mowatt's delivery on the edge of his own box, Neto took off like a hare in the right direction. Doherty took a few touches, looked quickly and passed perfectly. That's how Neto likes it. The Portuguese forward threw a few shapes with his shoulders, coming from the flank, and drove in past Swift and Conor Townsend before drilling a left-footed shot back into the near post, wrong-footing Josh Griffiths.
Corberan had opted to stick with his 'cup keeper' despite Alex Palmer, his regular number 1, having kept more clean sheets than any other Championship stopper. West Brom were missing nine players, with Semi Ajayi and Grady Diangana still away from the African Cup of Nations and Daryl Dike and Adam Reach joining the injured list.
Yet they stubbornly stuck to their task against these Wolves. Kilman had to throw his body into the path of Swift's shot and Albion might have been awarded a penalty shortly after half-time. Mowatt crossed from the left and when Wallace headed intelligently across goal, Max Kilman seemed unable to get anything off the ball as he challenged to prevent the impressive Thomas-Asante from turning the ball over the line.
In fairness to Thomas Bramall, the referee erred on the side of leniency allowing play to proceed even as Wallace took out Doyle and was given a warning. When Bartley stopped Matheus Cunha as the Wolves forward prepared to open his quick legs with the whole half in front of him, Dawson led the charge of offense and accused his former teammate of using his elbows. Bramall again limited himself to handing out a yellow card.
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Matheus Cunha collected the ultimate revenge when he scored the goal that should have taken the sting out of this match and eased Wolves into the fifth round tie. Kilman intercepted the ball and played a fairly standard ball into the right channel, where the in-form Brazilian striker, who scored the winning penalty in the third round replay against Brentford, composed himself before scoring his eighth goal of the season through Griffiths . legs.
A minute later, however, any sense that this would go down as a relatively comfortable derby win for the Premier League visitors against their Championship neighbors in the chilly Black Country afternoon disappeared.