Two ‘dreadful’ 4/10s but one ‘promising’ 8/10 - Wolves player ratings vs Brighton

Gary O’Neil’s side now have just two wins in their last 16 outings in all competitions following Wednesday night’s defeat at American Express Stadium.

Wolves lacked passion, endeavour and cooperation for much of the first half, giving themselves a mountain to climb. There was an improvement in the second period - and there was a goal-line clearance thrown into the mix - but Brighton held on and progress to the fourth round.

Brighton had the early momentum and took just 15 minutes to break the deadlock, delighting manager Fabian Hurzeler on the touchline. It was a goal worthy of taking the lead in any game as Carlos Baleba struck a terrific curled effort into the bottom left corner from around 25 yards. Wolves had dilly-dallied on the edge of their own area and Joao Gomes was shrugged off the ball far too easily by Baleba, who then went on to power in from range.

Simon Adingra doubled the Seagulls’ lead in the 32nd minute with another excellent strike from distance, rather reminiscent of Baleba’s. Wolves right-back Pedro Lima backed off passively and Santiago Bueno was beaten by the slightest drop of the shoulder from Adingra, who fired into the far bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Goncalo Guedes gave Wolves a glimmer of hope just before half time, reducing the deficit with a composed finish from inside the area. Rodrigo Gomes fed Matt Doherty on the underlap and the Irishman cut the ball back for Guedes to strike into the net via a bounce and deflection. The Portuguese had Wolves’ only other chance of the first half when he forced a stinging save from Jason Steele on the half-hour mark.

Rodrigo Gomes had a brilliant opportunity to equalise for Wolves just seconds after the restart as he was played clean through by Guedes. The summer signing took a decent touch into his stride but lacked conviction with his finish, firing straight at Steele.

Wanderers, looking like an entirely different outfit to the one that disappointed in the opening 40 minutes or so, enjoyed a lengthy spell of dominance at the start of the second period. Brighton were forced to retreat well within their own half as Wolves applied heaps of pressure to try and source a second goal.

The finest of margins denied O’Neil’s side just that as Jack Hinshelwood made a miraculous clearance off the line. The ball looked destined for the net when Nelson Semedo’s low cross ricocheted off both Steele and Adam Webster, but Hinshelwood sprinted in to hash it away at the very last moment. Guedes then missed a great opportunity, scuffing wide after being found by Rodrigo Gomes.

Wolves were made to rue their missed chances as Brighton netted a third in the 85th minute, making it 3-1. Ferdi Kadioglu scored his first goal for his new club, tapping in on the rebound from a saved Danny Welbeck effort. Bueno mistimed a challenge in the build-up and Doherty failed to clear away from Kadioglu.

Tommy Doyle scored in stoppage time for Wolves but it turned out to be merely a consolation. Steele made an error when passing out and Jorgen Strand Larsen cut the ball back to Doyle, who struck exquisitely in off the crossbar for 3-2. The goal didn’t make a difference to the result, however, and the Old Gold bow out of the Carabao Cup at just the second hurdle.

Player ratings

Jose Sa - 4

Could’ve done better in the lead-up to the opening goal as he took too long to pass out in the build-up, then wasn’t close to the resultant strike. Hardly dived for Adingra’s goal, either, despite having a while to react. Got himself in a pickle with poor distribution on several other occasions, too. Dreadful, quite frankly.

Pedro Lima - 6 (off 64’)

Backed off for Adingra’s goal as he backed off and didn’t even try to press, let alone make a challenge. Really improved in the second half as he made plenty of tackles and interceptions.

Santiago Bueno - 4

Another to defend poorly for Adingra’s goal as he was wrongfooted and put up no competition at all. Dreadful timing of challenge in the lead-up to Kadioglu’s goal, too.

Alfie Pond - 6

Didn’t put much of a foot wrong except making a poorly-weighted pass to Joao Gomes ahead of the first goal. Certainly not bad given his inexperience.

Matt Doherty - 7

Much improved defensively compared to his terrible cameo off the bench against Newcastle and assisted Guedes’ goal with a great run and cut-back. Did put Sa under huge pressure midway through the first half, however, powering a pass back to the goalkeeper needlessly.

Joao Gomes - 6 (off 64’)

At fault for Baleba’s opener as he was dispossessed by the midfielder. Otherwise had a decent game as he broke up the play effectively and created a couple of chances.

Tommy Doyle - 8

Scored a brilliant goal late on, it’s just a shame it didn’t matter. Very involved in Wolves’ two periods of dominance throughout the second half and battled hard to win the majority of his duels. Promising.

Pablo Sarabia - 6 (off 63’)

Swung in a couple of nice crosses in behind Brighton’s high line and beat his man a few times with nice footwork. Fortunate not to be sent off with a bad foul while on a yellow card, though.

Rodrigo Gomes - 6

Involved in the build-up to Guedes’ goal and provided decent width down the left in the second half. Still a little raw.

Hwang Hee-Chan- 5 (off 71’)

Absent for much of the encounter; we’d love to know what Wolves have done with the real Hwang because he’s been off it for a while.

Goncalo Guedes - 7 (off 82’)

Promising. Scored the goal to bring Wolves back into the game just before the break and had a decent shot on target saved earlier in the first period. Created the good chance for Rodrigo Gomes just after half time. Let down a little by being caught offside far too many times, however, and had a few dodgy touches.