Wolves’ survival hopes and Gary O’Neil’s job security are intrinsically linked to the form of Matheus Cunha. The Brazilian created one and scored another against Southampton to secure a first league victory of the season and take the pressure off his manager for the time being at least.
Cunha was the difference between two underwhelming sides, who can boast one win each after 11 matches. Southampton’s problem is scoring goals and they brought a rubber spoon to a knife fight to hand Wolves a first Premier League clean sheet of the season as they doubled their points tally thanks Pablo Sarabia and Cunha.
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If there was tension in the buildup amid questions about O’Neil’s employment, it was alleviated inside two minutes when Wolves countered on Southampton after a dreadful Kyle Walker-Peters header. Cunha picked up the loose ball and drove forward before slipping the ball between defenders and Sarabia’s smart first touch took him round Aaron Ramsdale before finishing. The winger was heavily criticised for his performance last weekend against Crystal Palace but was all forgotten and he enjoyed the adulation as he saluted the crowd.
It was the confidence-booster Wolves have been searching for but unfortunately, they have the worst defence in the league, having conceded 27 in the previous 10 matches. They were constantly on edge, despite Southampton having the least prolific attack. Ryan Manning thought he had equalised in the 28th after the hosts failed to deal with a cross but VAR, deeply unpopular at Molineux, rescued Wolves. It looked like an innocuous coming together in the box when Mateus Fernandes ran into Nélson Semedo but after reviewing the footage, the referee, Thomas Bramall, generously felt it was worthy of a foul and ruled the goal out.
Southampton dominated from that point, enjoying the majority of the possession as Wolves desperately hoped to threaten on the counter. O’Neil noticed the trouble his team were in and the goalkeeper José Sá mysteriously required physio treatment in the 33rd minute, coincidentally allowing the manager to bring his team in for a huddle discuss a change of tactics as the defence was converted from a back four to a five to help stem the flow of attacks.
Despite having more than 70% of possession, Southampton had failed to muster a shot on target by the 51st minute when Cunha received a pass 30 yards from goal, got it out of his feet and whacked the ball powerfully beyond Ramsdale, who was booked for angrily claiming there was a foul in the buildup. While he was complaining, O’Neil was embracing Cunha, knowing the significance of his performance.
Even with a two-goal advantage, few in Molineux felt confident Wolves would see out the match unscathed. There was an eerie silence whenever Southampton attacked but they lacked anything akin to creativity as their domination of possession was not matched by competence with the final ball.
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The two teams can boast a Premier League victory each now, at least, but it feels like they both have a long season ahead of them.
