Carabao Cup: Brighton 3 Wolves 2 - Report

The visitors made the long midweek trip to East Sussex and struggled in a disappointing first half, as goals from Carlos Baleba and Simon Adingra put the Seagulls firmly in control.

But Wolves scored a crucial goal on the stroke of half-time as Goncalo Guedes netted his third goal of this year’s competition to give his side a lifeline.

Wolves were the better team in an entertaining second half and had several chances to take the game to penalties, but they were unable to make one count as Brighton scored a late third through Ferdi Kadioglu.

Tommy Doyle’s late strike was not enough for Wolves to complete the comeback, as their Carabao Cup journey ended in the third round.

Analysis

Gary O’Neil made 10 changes to his side from their Premier League loss to Newcastle, but stuck with the 4-2-3-1 formation.

Joao Gomes was the only player to keep his place, while 20-year-old centre-back Alfie Pond made his full debut.

Brighton made eight changes of their own, with Jack Hinshelwood, Baleba and Yankuba Minteh remaining in the starting XI.

As the game got under way, Minteh tested Matt Doherty early on, filling in at left-back for Wolves, as he took the defender on one-v-one. However, Doherty made a superb sliding tackle in the box to deny the winger.

Evan Ferguson then had a tame shot saved by Jose Sa, before Doherty again did well to shield the ball from Minteh.

Guedes was then played through for Wolves, and set up Pedro Lima who had a shot blocked.

After 14 minutes, Wolves found themselves behind from an avoidable goal of their own making. Playing out from defence, Sa delayed his initial pass before Wolves got out of defence through Doherty and Pond.

But J.Gomes was then bullied off the ball on the edge of his own box by Baleba, who curled the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot, leaving Sa frustrated he was unable to get to it.

With Wolves eager to bounce back, Pablo Sarabia was brought down in the box but was flagged offside.

And at the other end, Sa was having an evening to forget. The goalkeeper was incredibly uncomfortable with the ball at his feet as Ferguson almost dispossessed him. Sa spared his own blushes with a sliding tackle before Brighton scored just moments later, only for Minteh to be flagged offside.

Wolves recovered to enjoy their best spell of the half, as Guedes’ strong shot from a tight angle was saved by Jason Steele.

But that spell was cut short as Brighton doubled their lead in the 31st minute. Adingra cut in off the left flank, easily went beyond Lima and Santi Bueno, before firing into the bottom corner in very similar fashion to Baleba’s opener.

Wolves were struggling and looked set to limp over the line to half-time, but a well-worked move saw them grab a goal just before half-time.

Rodrigo Gomes darted down the left and played a pass for the overlapping Doherty. His cut back found Guedes, who did superbly well to lift the ball into the top corner and give Wolves a lifeline as they entered half-time 2-1 down.

Within seconds of the restart, Wolves had a huge opportunity to equalise. Guedes played R.Gomes through but his low shot was saved by Steele.

Wolves were putting in a much better performance as they won possession in midfield and found space in attacking areas.

They almost equalised after a fabulous Bueno ball found Guedes, who crossed low for Sarabia looking for a tap in, but Steele did well to get down and smother the chance.

Wolves introduced Nelson Semedo, Mario Lemina and Carlos Forbs just after the hour mark and Semedo almost had an instant impact as his cross was almost turned home for an own goal by Adam Webster, but Hinshelwood made an impressive goal line clearance.

After 70 minutes, Wolves should have been level. A counter-attack saw R.Gomes find Guedes with a clear sight of goal, but he dragged his effort wide.

Brighton still carried a threat, however, as Danny Welbeck was played through but saw his effort blocked by Bueno.

Wolves’ hopes of a comeback were dashed in the 85th minute as Brighton scored a third. A wonderful flick from Adingra started the move, which allowed Welbeck to take aim. His shot was saved but Kadioglu beat Doherty to the rebound to finish.

As four minutes of added time were announced, Wolves pounced on a Brighton error as Jorgen Strand Larsen set up Doyle, who finished emphatically with a shot that crossed the line off the underside of the crossbar from distance.

But Wolves were unable to find one more chance as the final whistle blew and they were condemned to defeat.

Key Moments

GOAL 14 Baleba curls the ball home from distance to give Brighton the lead

GOAL 31 Adingra cuts in off the left to fire into the bottom corner

GOAL 44 Guedes fires Wolves back into the game

GOAL 85 Kadioglu finishes the game off

GOAL 90 Doyle gets a second for Wolves

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Lima (Semedo, 62), Bueno, Pond, Doherty, J.Gomes (Lemina, 62), Doyle, Hwang (Cunha, 70), Sarabia (Forbs, 62), R.Gomes, Guedes (Larsen, 80).

Subs not used: King, Dawson, Cundle, Andre.

Brighton: Steele, Estupinan, Webster, Julio, Hinshelwood, Baleba (Wieffer, 62), Moder (Ayari, 70), Minteh (Lamptey, 80), Enciso (Kadioglu, 80), Adingra, Ferguson (Welbeck, 62)

Subs not used: Verbruggen, Dunk, Veltman, Mitoma.