By Joe Bernstein for The Mail on Sunday
19:31 28 Oct 2023, updated 20:38 28 Oct 2023
- Callum Wilson scored twice in the first half for the visitors at Molineux
- Mario Lemina headed home from a corner in the first half for Wolves
- Hwang Hee-Chan earned a point for Gary O’Neil’s men in the second half
Fuelled by a sense of injustice, the roof nearly came off Molineux as Hwang Hee-Chan maintained his record of scoring in every home game to rescue a point for Wolves.
Incensed by the controversial award of a Newcastle penalty to put the visitors 2-1 ahead, fans chanted “Premier League…corrupt as f***” for most of the second half.
But anger turned to unrestrained joy after 71 minutes when Toti set up Hwang who cut inside Dan Burn and rifled in the equaliser.
It was the South Korean who had earlier conceded the spot-kick after tangling with Fabian Schar.
‘It was a scandalous decision,’ raged Wolves manager Gary O’Neil. ‘It was a terrible onfield decision and terrible that VAR didn’t intervene.
‘Hwangy gets the ball first and contact with Schar is minimal anyway, a glance of the boot. Schar was already on the way down.’
At least Hwang had the last laugh to keep up his record of netting in all five league matches at Molineux this season.
‘I’d tried to clear the ball and saw someone block me. I stopped and he touched me – I don’t think it was a penalty,’ he said.
‘I felt so sad and really wanted to do something for my team. Everybody said ‘You can do it.” They gave me trust and I scored.’
Newcastle, fatigued by their midweek Champions League efforts against Dortmund, were grateful to hear the final whistle.
Playing without Sandro Tonali, banned for 10 months for betting breaches, they led after 22 minutes through Callum Wilson’s sharp finish.
Mario Lemina levelled with his first goal for Wolves before drama moments before the interval.
Schar fell as Hwang tried to clear. When referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot, VAR official Jarred Gillett took ages before deciding not to send the official to his monitor to check.
Even Newcastle manager Eddie Howe admitted: ‘With the long delay, you knew it was a tight call.‘
Wilson kept cool to convert his seventh goal of the season but Wolves didn’t deserve to lose like that, particularly as they were also robbed of a penalty on the opening day at Old Trafford.
Thanks to Hwang they didn’t, though there was a sad footnote as their best player Pedro Neto was carried off on a stretcher after 77 minutes with a hamstring injury.
Ultimately, a draw meant both in-form sides extended their league unbeaten runs, Newcastle to six matches and Wolves to five.
‘The glass is half-full because we are thin on the ground in certain areas,’ added Howe. ‘We are not moaning about the schedule but it’s a disappointment we have a lot of injuries in attacking areas.’
The two teams deserve credit for a feast of entertainment in torrential rain.
From the first moment when Neto showed Dan Burn and Fabian Schar a clean pair of heels, you couldn’t take your eyes off it.
Newcastle went for it despite an injury list including Alexander Isak, Sven Botman and Harvey Barnes.
Sean Longstaff went close while Wolves were also dangerous with Mattheus Cunha unable to capitalise on a sloppy pass by Kieran Trippier.
The visitors went ahead when Jose Sa made a mess of trying to punch Antony Gordon’s cross, running into Longstaff and his own player Boubacar Traore and spilling the ball.
Wilson saw his first effort blocked by Toti but cleverly swivelled to hook the rebound into the corner at chest height.
It was a useful reminder to Gareth Southgate that Ollie Watkins isn’t the only candidate to be Harry Kane’s understudy with England.
Wolves used their frustration positively. Hwang tested Pope with a decent left-foot strike and from the resulting Neto corner after 36 minutes Lemina beat Trippier to power in a header.
It was the midfielder’s first goal in a year and a day when he netted for French club Nice and put Neto top of the Premier League assists charts for the season with No7.
Newcastle then regained the lead in dramatic circumstances. Trippier’s corner to the near post was miscontrolled by Schar who raced towards Hwang to try and retrieve.
As Hwang drew back his foot to clear, he and Schar collided– the Swiss defender falling to the ground.
Taylor pointed to the spot and VAR backed him even though some angles suggested Schar had trod on Hwang first.
There was increasing jeopardy in the second half on a skiddy pitch and a home crowd fired up.
Neto ran at Burn at every opportunity and from one cutback Pope did well to smother a shot by Cunha.
Burn was booked for blocking Neto but their luck ran out when Toti wriggled past three defenders and set up Hwang.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
