Matheus Cunha once again underlined his importance to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ prospects of putting a desperately poor start to the season behind them. The Brazilian capped an outstanding individual performance with two superbly taken goals and a clever assist as Gary O’Neil’s side maintained their recent progress with a second successive win that eased the pressure on the head coach and lifted the club out of the bottom three.
O’Neil led the celebrations in front of the visiting fans after a commanding second-half display had overwhelmed a Fulham side who started the day with hopes of breaking into the top six. The manager’s relief at seeing his injury-affected team secure three much-needed points was understandable. And, just as against Southampton when Wolves finally claimed a first league win of the season at the 11th time of asking immediately before the international break, it was Cunha who made the difference.
The signs were ominous for O’Neil and his players when Alex Iwobi put Fulham ahead in the 21st minute with a well-taken effort from the edge of the area. Wolves’ response though was impressive with Cunha equalising 10 minutes later before teeing up João Gomes to put his side ahead early in the second half. A second Cunha effort, this time a memorable first-time effort from the edge of the area, and an added-time strike from substitute Gonçalo Guedes after a counterattack that capped a performance that extended their unbeaten run to four games and that O’Neil rated as one of his best since taking charge of the Midlands club.
“There have been some tough moments,” O’Neil said. “The players never showed any cracks, Always kept working. Always keep really humble and honest. It was a step in the right direction. Some days I am sure I will be moved on, but it won’t be definitely through losing the players. That was one of my favourite performances, given all the adversity, the pressure the group have been under, some of the injuries and illness we have suffered. One of my favourite afternoons as a Wolves head coach.”
As much as O’Neil was keen to emphasise the contribution throughout his side, the head coach acknowledged Cunha stood out. “I think everyone knows how important he is to us, but also important to recognise the work that he’s put in,” he added. “This isn’t the Matheus Cunha that arrived at Wolves, however many months ago, 18 months ago. He’s come on so much that I love working with him, because the penny definitely drops, that he can be a top, top player.”
Marco Silva, the Fulham manager, was left to contemplate how his side failed to build on Iwobi’s opening goal. They were undone by Mario Lemina’s long ball that was met with an excellent first touch and finish by Cunha and then again when Cunha’s reverse pass set Gomes free inside the box.
“Looking at the result, it’s a difficult one to take,” said the Fulham head coach. “A strange game. We started like we should really, on the front foot, trying to command the game. We created some chances. What made a big impact was when we conceded the first goal. We had been controlling the game.”
