Wolves snatch a point with late equaliser in N17

A late equaliser denied us victory on Sunday afternoon as we rounded off 2024 with a 2-2 draw against Wolves at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Having fallen behind to an early Hwang Hee-Chan opener for the visitors, we showed great resolve and character to battle back and lead by half-time. Rodrigo Bentancur netted his first goal back following his lengthy suspension and, although Heung-Min Son saw a penalty saved by Jose Sa, Brennan Johnson scored to put us 2-1 up going into the interval.

Just when it looked like we were going to hold out for a much-needed victory though, Wolves substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen rifled home an 87th-minute leveller and we had to settle for a point as the calendar year ended in more frustration.

There were just seven minutes on the clock when the visitors opened the scoring in new boss Vitor Pereira’s third game in charge, a 22-yard free-kick taken short by Andre to Rayan Ait-Nouri who squared for Hwang to curl a low right-footed shot in off the post. Fortunately though, we levelled quickly, Bentancur getting across his marker to power a near-post header past Jose Sa from Pedro Porro’s corner with 12 minutes gone. And it was another corner that almost yielded our second, another fine delivery met by Radu Dragusin eight yards out but his header drifted just wide.

Matheus Cunha had Fraser Forster scampering to his right with a 25-yard drive that just fizzed past his far upright in the 35th minute while Yves Bissouma flashed a shot high over the bar at the other end before we were awarded a penalty four minutes prior to half-time, Andre bringing down Johnson as they both went for the ball from Dejan Kulusevski’s pass. Son stepped up to take the spot-kick, drilling to the keeper’s right but Jose Sa guessed correctly and pushed the ball away with a strong save.

Former Spur Matt Doherty then denied Son on the stroke of half-time, sliding in to block the skipper’s shot at the end of a driving run and it looked like we’d go in all square at the break. That was until three minutes into stoppage time when Bentancur picked up the ball and found Johnson, he played in Kulusevski and continued his run into the box to latch onto the Sweden international’s cut-back and slam home our second.

The second half took a while to get going with injuries and substitutions disrupting the flow and it wasn’t until the 66th minute that we saw any real chance at goal, James Maddison firing over the crossbar from the edge of the area. Once the game did settle back down again, we came within a whisker of adding a third when Timo Werner’s teasing low cross just evaded the outstretched boot of Dominic Solanke at the far post, before Solanke broke away moments later and released Kulusevski in on goal, he rounded Jose Sa but from a tight angle and on his right foot, he couldn’t get enough purchase and his effort was cleared from inside the six-yard box.

At a time when it looked like we would gone on to add to the scoreline, instead it was Wolves with the next goal to draw the game level with just three minutes left. Ait-Nouri slipped a ball inside for Strand Larsen and, from a very tight angle, he rifled a shot high past Forster and into the roof of the net.

There were eight minutes added on at the end and we almost regained the lead but Pape Matar Sarr headed Kulusevski’s cross wide from six yards out, while we had a few attacking opportunities that we didn’t quite make the best of and in the end had to make do with the draw.

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Bentancur 12, Johnson 45+3; Wolves – Hwang 7, Strand Larsen 87.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Bentancur; Wolves – Bellegarde, Semedo.

Referee: Chris Kavanagh.

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weather: Light cloud, light winds, seven degrees.

Attendance: 61,284.