Nottingham Forest 2 Wolves 2 - Report
A Matheus Cunha brace on his return to the starting XI secured Wolves a point at Nottingham Forest.
A magnificent solo goal from the Brazilian international put the visitors ahead, before former Wolves attacker Morgan Gibbs-White headed home an equaliser.
Danilo put Forest ahead in the second half after some poor Wolves defending, before Cunha slid home his second in a frantic game.
Neither side could find a winner as they shared the points.
Analysis
Gary O’Neil made one change to his side and switched to the 5-3-2 formation.
Cunha made his first start after a seven-week lay-off with a hamstring injury, as Rayan Ait-Nouri missed out on the squad altogether with a calf issue.
Hwang Hee-chan also made his return from a hamstring knock and made the bench.
It was a cautious approach at the start of the game from Wolves, who were keen to keep the ball and take the sting out of the City Ground crowd.
Tommy Doyle blazed a shot from the edge of the box over the bar, while Ryan Yates shot straight at Jose Sa from distance.
Callum Hudson-Odoi then lifted a shot over the bar after a corner fell to him.
As the hosts pushed, Toti Gomes was called into action to block a powerful effort from Danilo after the ball fell to him inside the box.
Wolves were fortunate not to concede when a terrible Nelson Semedo pass handed possession to Gio Reyna, but his effort from distance flashed the wrong side of the post.
The visitors then should have taken the lead when a Forest mistake playing out from the back handed the ball to Joao Gomes in the box. His effort was headed off the line by Murillo, before Pablo Sarabia lashed the follow-up wide from 10 yards.
A decent Doyle cross also saw Cunha got on the end of it, before Forest found space on the right and Neco Williams shot wide.
After 40 minutes Wolves took the lead in style. Cunha ran the length of the pitch with the ball, wriggled his way between two defenders and cut onto his right foot, before smashing the ball in off the far post.
Wolves’ lead lasted just six minutes, however, when a corner came in and Gibbs-White snuck in at the near post to head it into the far corner. He celebrated in front of a furious away end.
The teams then entered the break drawing 1-1.
Forest capitalised on a good spell by taking the lead in the 57th minute. Gibbs-White was given space to run at the defence and after he was tackled, the ball fell kindly to Danilo from close range and he slotted it into the bottom corner.
Wolves reacted by introducing Hwang and Hugo Bueno, and the former almost had an immediate impact. He raced into the box and went down under a challenge from Murillo, but no penalty was given.
But Wolves did not need it as Cunha equalised in the 62nd minute. A corner came in and was headed back towards goal by Max Kilman, which caused a scramble near the box, and Cunha reacted quickest to slide home his second.
In an end-to-end game, Forest almost took the lead again when Hudson-Odoi forced Sa into a save and moments later the goalkeeper tipped over the bar from Danilo’s effort.
The hosts had a huge chance when Divock Origi was released behind Toti, with a clear pass across goal for Chris Wood. But he got too much on his pass and the chance was gone.
In the end, neither side could find a winner and Wolves returned to the Black Country with a point.
Key Moments
GOAL 40 A magnificent solo goal sees Cunha smash Wolves into the lead.
GOAL 45+1 Gibbs-White heads Forest level from a corner.
GOAL 57 Danilo gives Forest the lead from close range.
GOAL 62 Cunha slides home a quick equaliser from Wolves.
Teams
Wolves: Sa, Semedo (Chirewa, 88), S.Bueno, Kilman, Toti, Doherty (H.Bueno, 59), M.Lemina, Doyle (Hwang, 59), Gomes, Sarabia (Fraser, 88), Cunha (Traore, 76).
Subs not used: Bentley, King, Dawson, Barnett.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Aina (Tavares, 89), Danilo (Ribeiro, 89), Yates (Dominguez, 66), Reyna (Origi, 71), Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood.
Subs not used: Turner, Diakhate, Toffolo, Sangare, Montiel.