My favourite match: The wild night Wolves returned to top table
In a new weekly series, our reporters are looking back at their favourite matches covering their respective clubs.
First up is Wolves correspondent Joe Edwards, who reflects on an FA Cup corker.
When it comes to magnificent victories, Wolves fans have been spoilt for choice under Nuno Espirito Santo.
Many magical performances have come at Molineux, and on the road as well.
In the Championship, triumphs at Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Cardiff were full of drama – all massive tests of resilience.
Back in the top flight, downing Chelsea at home was a success that sprung Wolves into life.
Tottenham were beaten ever so memorably at Wembley, too, while a seven-goal thriller against Leicester proved a rollercoaster of emotions.
This term, reigning Premier League champions Manchester City have fallen to Nuno’s lot – home and away – while European football has made its long-awaited return.
Another win at Spurs, this time managed by Jose Mourinho, a couple of months ago may well prove to be the most significant result of the past few years.
But through it all, one match undoubtedly sticks out – a Saturday night under the lights that will never be forgotten.
After downing a much-changed Liverpool in the third round, needing a replay to get past a buoyant Shrewsbury in the fourth and edging past Bristol City in the fifth, Wolves were drawn against Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
And if you think the magic of the competition is no longer there, rewatch this game and your mind will be changed.
It was not just about making it to the semi-finals. It was Wolves getting back into the big time, in the national conversation, recognised as a top side.
Even before a ball was kicked, there was a unique atmosphere.
Kicking off at 7.55pm on a Saturday night, a fair few fans arrived after spending their day getting merry in the city centre.
Still, they brought an enormous amount of energy and galvanised the players – when Molineux is rocking, it may well be louder than any other ground in the country.
Wolves were also on prime-time TV, live on BBC One, and amid the expectation from a vastly-excited Molineux crowd and many more watching on eagerly from their homes, Nuno’s lot thrived.
Gold and black flags shone in the stands, music blasted and fire blazed as the two teams took to the pitch.
Once the match had begun, it actually took a fair bit of time to get going. The first 45 minutes were not the most exhilarating.
Wolves, perhaps, paid United too much respect early on, sitting deep and letting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges have the lion’s share of possession.
Or you could argue that it was a cunning plan from Nuno & Co.
After all, while United saw ever so much of the ball, they never, really, carved Wolves open.
And just before the interval, Nuno’s men had a very good chance to take the lead.
Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota were on the same wavelength, as ever, with the former’s perfectly-weighted pass releasing the latter through on goal.
Jota, though, lost the battle with United shot-stopper Sergio Romero, who raced off his line and swatted away the shot.
However, while the opportunity was missed, it was a preview as to what unfolded in a sublime second period.
Wolves had their tails up and as the crowd got noisier – they continued to make their presence felt going forward.
Romero was forced into action again just prior to the hour mark, somehow tipping Raul Jimenez’s bullet header on to the crossbar.
Some wondered if it was going to be one of those games until the deadlock was broken and Molineux erupted.
Jimenez found himself swarmed by a sea of red shirts in the box but, astonishingly, with his back to goal, he managed to find the space to strike the ball on the turn – right into the bottom corner.
A deafening roar, Jimenez running with his arms outstretched in celebration before being jumped on by several team-mates, those scenes remain vivid in our memories.
But if that was amazing, what came next was utterly spellbinding.
Jota left Luke Shaw trailing in his wake, flat on his backside, before thumping the ball past Romero to make it two.
Molineux screamed in delight and wonder, both so proud and so perplexed by one of the most well-taken goals you will ever see.
Those final 15 minutes or so after that were a bit of a blur, to be honest.
United had Victor Lindelof shown a red card – only for VAR to intervene and downgrade it to a yellow – and Marcus Rashford grabbed a last-second consolation.
Ultimately, though, Wolves had done it – risen to the grand occasion, in their 100th meeting with United.
We all know what followed in the semi-final at Wembley.
But despite that disappointment, it did not take the gloss off this special night .
March 16, 2019, will be looked back upon with the utmost fondness for eternity.
It was, after all, the night Wolves truly announced they were back among the elite of English football.
