Gary O'Neil singles out 'huge' Wolves star for praise after 'harsh' criticism following Southampton win

Gary O’Neil heaped praise on the decisive Matheus Cunha following a ‘big’ 2-0 win at home to fellow strugglers Southampton.

Wolves grabbed their first win of the season in convincing fashion at Molineux, with goals either side of half-time from Pablo Sarabia and Cunha ensuring all three points remained in the Midlands. The Brazilian set up his teammate for an early opener before rifling in a wonderful long-range effort, capping off a standout individual performance.

Southampton enjoyed more possession but weren’t able to create much with it, albeit Russell Martin felt aggrieved to see what would have been Ryan Manning’s equaliser ruled out for a foul on Nelson Semedo. Wolves weren’t at their lung-busting best on the day but in Cunha, had the individual quality to win a game of such magnitude.

"Pleased for the group,” O’Neil told Match of the Day. “They've given a lot and played better than we had today and came away with nothing. it was a gritty performance. Southampton are an awkward side to play against. We had to be patient. I thought we were excellent in the second half.

"We spoke a lot about this week about everyone being responsible. We did a lot of work on out-of-possession stuff. Half-time came at a good time for us and we could tweak it. It was a big clean sheet and I'm pleased for Jose Sa. He's had to work hard since Sam Johnstone came in.

"[Cunha] is huge for us. He has such ability but he is one of those players who drifts and takes up positions. We work very hard on him on how it is to be a trusted team player when we don't have the ball. He's worked very hard on it after I spoke harshly to him after Brentford away. A big win for us and Matheus Cunha had a big say in it.”

A first win has been long overdue for Wolves, who came through an incredibly difficult opening run of fixtures and put in their share of decent performances. A 5-2 thumping at Brentford was arguably the standout objectively poor performance but O’Neil insists that game proved to be a turning point for his squad.

"Brentford was a big mark for us,” the Wolves boss added. “We went there and we were miles below our level. We should have got something off Man City here and then we've gone three unbeaten. It's going to be a big fight for us but we know we can turn it around."