In some ways, it changed nothing. In others, it changed everything.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ first win of the Premier League season on Saturday, at the 11th attempt, did not dramatically alter the plight facing the club or head coach Gary O’Neil. They remain in the bottom three and face six crucial fixtures immediately after the international break which begins today that will go a long way to shaping Wolves’ future and the next phase of the head coach’s career.
Yet from a position of extreme peril, O’Neil delivered a result that gives him a chance of saving his job.
And there was little doubt in the wake of the 2-0 home win against last-placed Southampton, the only team below them in the table, that the mood around the place had been lifted by the doubling of their pre-match points tally.
The players’ tunnel was filled with the sound of celebratory music booming out of the home dressing room. Former captain and talisman Ruben Neves, making his first return to Molineux since leaving 17 months ago to play for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia (recent knee surgery has given him some time off), was invited into the inner sanctum to celebrate with friends and ex-colleagues.
Pablo Sarabia, scorer of the opening goal, appeared in the dressing room with a Colin The Caterpillar cake bearing candles to celebrate defender Santiago Bueno’s 26th birthday.
Very happy to celebrate my birthday with this great team victory! COYW 🐺💪🏼🥳 pic.twitter.com/7b5izuFFX7
— Santiago Bueno (@SantiBueno98) November 9, 2024
And Bueno’s fellow defender Craig Dawson even took his two young children into the dressing room briefly to help bask in the celebrations.
So while one win does little in mathematical terms to change the picture facing Wolves, and beating an extremely limited Southampton side offers scant evidence that they have corrected the problems that had previously dogged them, there will be hope for O’Neil and his backers in the boardroom that the feelgood factor evident after Saturday’s final whistle can be harnessed in the crucial next phase of the season.
All signs pointed to a change of manager had Wolves failed to win this one, but a comfortable victory has improved O’Neil’s chances of staying in charge for the vital sequence of games ahead, even if it has not secured his position completely.
Wolves will inevitably have been weighing up the merits and availability of potential successors as part of normal contingency planning so, with two weeks until their next game and their league position still perilous, some frank conversations are likely to still take place during the year’s last international break.
But as he left the ground later in the evening, O’Neil will surely have been hoping for the chance to try to harness the positive vibes that were evident around the dressing room.
“The whole city has been missing that sensation,” captain Mario Lemina told radio reporters after the game. “We are so happy now and proud of our performance and the crowd are still with us at this moment. They could have changed their mind but they are fantastic. I’m positive. Happy for the city and for the club. We’ve been struggling a lot since the start of the season and we’ve been trying to find our way to win games and sometimes it comes from scrappy games like that when you have to be resilient.”
There were more reasons to be content following the long-awaited victory, which was just Wolves’ second in 21 league games dating back to early March. It also brought a first clean sheet in 23 league games, albeit against a side who lacked any punch to go with their seemingly endless possession, and Wolves’ earliest ever Premier League goal (after one minute and 48 seconds, eclipsing a Matt Jarvis strike with one minute, 56 seconds gone against Blackpool in February 2011).
⚡️ @Pablosarabia92 scores inside two minutes to give us the lead! pic.twitter.com/lK9wIxSpwB
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 9, 2024
And for Matheus Cunha, it brought a continuation of the superb form that has been the shining light of a largely depressing campaign so far.
Cunha has directly contributed to 23 goals across his past 28 Premier League starts (scoring 15, assisting eight) with Saturday being the second time the Brazilian has scored and assisted in a league game for Wolves, after doing so against Everton in December last year.
After less than two years at the club, Cunha’s 28 goal involvements (19 goals, nine assists), puts him behind only Raul Jimenez (58), Pedro Neto, Kevin Doyle and Neves (all 30) on Wolves’ all-time Premier League list.
It was fitting that, after displaying his composure to lay on Sarabia’s opener, he showcased his confidence with a thunderous goal of his own in the second half and celebrated in front of the Billy Wright Stand corporate box from where Neves was watching.
A @mathcunha20 🚀 to seal victory at Molineux! pic.twitter.com/zfjEwG7f2o
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 9, 2024
“He was there and my family was in the box next to him,” Cunha told reporters. “It was a moment to celebrate with the people around me. It’s so important for me to be with these people, because of their support. When you have a day like today, you can show everyone your quality and help the group to win. These are the days you think about and dream about.”
It is unlikely O’Neil ever dreamt about a 2-0 win against a fellow struggling side that might save his job.
His coaching ambitions are doubtless loftier than that, but for now he will be well aware of the significance of this result, while also conscious that it will bring only temporary respite. In that respect, the situation remains unchanged and the scrappy overall performance left little doubt more improvement is needed before Wolves can genuinely claim to have rediscovered form.
But as the music blared, Neves was welcomed back and the birthday cake was sliced, things felt different enough to offer hope.
(Top photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
