Although Wolves manager Gary O’Neil “can’t wait” to lead his team against West Brom the next Saturday, his entire attention is currently on a demanding trip to Brighton and Hove Albion.
After a wild comeback against Brentford, O’Neil’s team advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals, where they will take on their local rivals.
However, he maintains that at full time, his only concern was how to defeat Roberto De Zerbi’s team in a match that has the potential to put them above Newcastle United, equal on points with Chelsea, and face Brighton.
He remarked, “I started thinking about Brighton as soon as we walked off.”
“I know there will be a lot of excitement among the fans because it hasn’t been performed in front of them in a long time. I’m eager to take the team out there and see if we can make any more progress. Before we travel to Brighton for the Premier League match, I need to work with a very small and exhausted squad.”
After extra time on Tuesday, Wolves defeated Brentford 3-2 thanks to a penalty kick from Matheus Cunha, advancing them to the fourth round.
In an enthralling replay, goals from former defender Nathan Collins and Neal Maupay were followed by two more goals from Nelson Semedo and Nathan Fraser for the hosts.
After just 13 minutes of play, Collins—who only paid £23 million to join Brentford from Wolves—scooped in to score the first goal, calming the home crowd. Jose Sa had already saved Kristoffer Ajer’s opening attempt.
After 36 minutes, Pablo Sarabia and Semedo both had close calls before the rampaging full back tied the score with a tap-in after Thomas Strakosha had saved his first header.
But Brentford rallied, and six minutes into the second half, a VAR flag for offside allowed Maupay to give them back the lead. But, with 17 minutes remaining, Fraser struck into the corner three minutes after entering the game to give Wolves another equaliser.
It set up extra time, and when Pedro Neto was tripped in the box during stoppage time of the first period, Cunha won it. Shandon Baptiste had a shot deflected on to the post by Jose Sa.
O’Neil acknowledged the performance and the triumph, saying, “I’m happy about the win, but I have mixed feelings about the performance.” Over the two ties, the boys have put in an incredible amount of labour. We have discussed treating the FA Cup with respect. The athletes merit praise.”
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