Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) advanced to the round of 16 in the English FA Cup with a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion (WBA) in the ‘Black Country Derby’ thanks to goals from Netou and Cunha.
Wolves defeated WBA 2-0 in the round of 32 of the 2023-24 English FA Cup at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich, England, on Monday at 8:45 p.m. ET.
The visiting Wolves deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation. José Sa was in goal, while Gomes, Dawson, and Kilman formed the back three. In midfield, Doherty, Doyle, Lermina, and Semedo lined up with Cunha and Vellegard in the second line. At the top of the front line was Neto.
WBA lined up in a 4-5-1 formation, with Griffiths in goal and Townsend, Kipré, Bartley, and Foulon forming a back four. Swift, Mowatt, Chalobah, Yokushulu, and Wallace lined up in midfield, with Thomas Asante at the top of the front line.
As expected from a divisional match, the first half was a tight affair. Both teams didn’t back down and played aggressively, battling hard and looking for the first goal.
Wolves were unable to penetrate WBA’s defense. In fact, WBA was the more aggressive team at home, attempting more shots.
That’s when Wolves took the lead. In the 38th minute, Wolves launched a quick counterattack off a WBA corner kick. Neto cut into the middle from the right flank and finished with a left-footed shot to give Wolves a 1-0 lead.
The Wolves went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The second half continued to be a tight affair. WBA pressed hard up front in search of an equalizer. Wolves took the pressure off WBA and built up from the back.
In the 25th minute of the second half, Wolves attacked and Bellegarde tried to shoot from the edge of the box. The curling shot went just wide of the side netting.
Soon after, WBA created an attacking chance. They broke down the right flank and Fellows’ cutback pass was met by Asante with a right-footed shot that flew over the bar.
Wolves’ second goal came in the 33rd minute. Kilman’s long pass from the back was played in at the back post and Cunha ran into the space behind the defense to collect it. She then had a one-on-one opportunity to finish between the keeper’s legs to extend the lead to 2-0.
After the Wolves goal, fans from both teams clashed. Some fans ran onto the field and the game was briefly suspended due to the bloodshed.
The game resumed after the situation was cleared up. Wolves held on to their two-goal lead and eventually won the derby to advance to the FA Cup round of 16.