FA Cup: Bristol City 1 Wolves 2 - Report

The visitors showed their Premier League prowess by taking the game to their Championship opponents in the first half, as they took a swift 2-0 lead.

Rayan Ait-Nouri headed home the first before Rodrigo Gomes tapped in a second, as Wolves had complete control over the fixture.

But Wolves allowed Bristol a way back into the game at the very end of the first half as Scott Twine found the top corner with a free-kick.

The second half was a much less interesting contest as both sides failed to impress, although Wolves did have chances to extend their lead.

In the end they did not regret those missed chances - despite City coming close by hitting the crossbar and pushing for an equaliser - as they saw out the 2-1 win.

Analysis

Vitor Pereira named a strong side at Ashton Gate as Wolves began their FA Cup journey in the 2024/25 season.

With three changes to the side, Jose Sa was the only player fully rested and not in the squad, as Sam Johnstone replaced him.

New signing Emmanuel Agbadou started in defence as Pedro Lima dropped to the bench, and Andre came in for Tommy Doyle.

Toti Gomes, Craig Dawson and Nelson Semedo all missed the game through injury, while Matheus Cunha was banned.

Mario Lemina was also unavailable due to illness, according to Pereira, with the former captain’s Wolves future in doubt.

The first big chance fell to Wolves when Goncalo Guedes’ fantastic pass released Gomes down the right. His cross found Ait-Nouri from five yards out, but he shot straight at goalkeeper Max O’Leary when he should have scored.

Moments later, however, the wing-back did take his chance to put Wolves ahead. A corner was cleared as far as Joao Gomes, who lifted a cross back into the box and Ait-Nouri made an excellent run to head home at the far post.

Wolves had their tails up and almost made it 2-0 when Jorgen Strand Larsen crossed, but Guedes made a mess of his shot as Bristol cleared off their own line.

In particular, Wolves were having a lot of joy down the right, with R.Gomes making life difficult for the hosts.

And the young wing-back then put Wolves 2-0 up after a sublime one-two with Guedes, as he lifted the ball into the back of the net in front of the travelling fans.

Wolves almost scored a swift third when Ait-Nouri set up Guedes on the edge of the box, but the attacker missed the ball completely. 

The hosts began to see more of the ball in the final 10 minutes of the half, as Wolves hit a lull, and they then scored on the stroke of half-time. Hwang Hee-chan gave a foul away on the edge of the box, as Twine curled the free-kick into the top corner, sending both sides into the break at 2-1.

As the second half got under way Wolves broke forward at speed and should have scored. J.Gomes pulled the ball back for Hwang from 10 yards, but he fired over.

Wolves should have added a third when a terrible Haydon Roberts mistake gave R.Gomes a free shot, but he fired off the post from a tight angle.

After another long lull in the game it should have been 3-1 when Guedes’ cross came all the way through to Hwang at the far post, but he blazed over the bar from close range.

The South Korean international received sarcastic cheers from some Wolves as he was taken off the pitch and shortly after Pablo Sarabia came on, the replacement hit the post with an effort from distance.

Bristol were inches away from equaliser when Ross McCrorie met a free-kick at the far post and saw his header smash the crossbar and bounce on the line, before Wolves cleared it.

The hosts pushed hard for an equaliser in the five minutes of added time, but Wolves’ defence stood firm to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round.

Key Moments

GOAL 10 Ait-Nouri heads Wolves in front

GOAL 21 R.Gomes doubles Wolves’ lead

GOAL 45+1 Twine curls home a free-kick

Teams

Wolves: Johnstone, R.Gomes (Lima, 89), Doherty, Bueno Agbadou, Ait-Nouri (Pond, 96), J.Gomes, Andre, Guedes (Bellegarde, 75), Hwang (Sarabia, 75), Larsen.

Subs not used: Bentley, Meupiyou, Doyle, Forbs, Chiwome.

Bristol City: O’Leary, McCrorie, Tanner, Vyner, McNally, Roberts, McGuane (Earthy, 68), Knight (Bird, 65), Twine, Mehmeti (Hirakawa, 65), Mayulu (Wells, 77).

Subs not used: Bajic, Naismith, Morrison, Sykes, Bell.