The Sky Bet Championship got underway this evening with a thrilling draw at Molineux between Wolves and Blackburn.
Wolves opened the scoring after 17 minutes, when Marshall Munetsi broke through the Blackburn defence and stroked the ball home. However, their lead didn’t last long as Sean McLoughlin headed home before the half hour mark to level the score.
Rovers took the lead themselves early in the second half, when Aladapo Afolayan picked out Andri Gudjohnsen in the box before the Icelandic forward fired the ball home with a first time finish.
The dream return for Raúl Jiménez was complete in the 92nd minute, when he converted from the penalty spot to rescue a point for Wolves.
As it happened
Wolves’ marquee Summer signing, Kieran Trippier, came in from the off this evening for his first game in the second tier since 2014, when he won promotion with Burnley. Blackburn named a familiar starting side, with the whole XI having been here last season, while summer signings Jayden Fevrier and Sam Morsy were named amongst the substitutes.
The first 10 minutes was something of a “feeling out” period for both sides, with plenty of possession but no chances for either team. The first shot of the game did come moments later though, when Afolayan headed over from 10-yards.
Rovers continued to drive as Ryoya Morishita forced Dan Bentley into the first save of the night after 16 minutes. However, mere seconds later, Wolves took the lead when Munetsi broke through the Blackburn defence and stroked the ball home past Balázs Tóth.
Their lead didn’t last long however, as a delightful cross from Morishita found the head of McLoughlin, who converted the chance for his first comeptitive goal since the 2019/20 season. Fer López looked to hit back immediately, but dragged his volley well wide of the post from just outside the box. Harry Pickering was shown the first yellow card of the season shortly after and was quickly joined by Todd Cantwell.
Mateus Mané came close to regaining Wolves’ lead before the break, but he was unable to keep his shot down from distance. Adam Forshaw brought down André in the middle of the park on the stroke of half-time, and was aubsequently added to the referee’s notebook, as the sides headed in all square at the break.
Afolayan took aim at goal in the opening moments of the second half and forced a superb fingertip save from Bentley. He went from shooter to creater seconds later, picking out Gudjohnsen with a great square ball across the box who fired past Bentley to give Rovers the lead. Mané was booked for simulation following the goal.
Morsy made his debut from the bench in the 55th minute, replacing Forshaw in the heart of the Blackburn midfield. César Peixoto also turned to his bench around the same time, with Mané making way for Jiménez as chants of “Sí Señor” rung around Molineux to welcome back the club legend.
The Mexican looked as if he may have won a penalty minutes after coming on, but tonight’s referee, Farai Hallam, waved away the appeals. Further changes followed for both sides, with Kieran Trippier and Rodrigo Gomes replaced by Jackson Tchatchoua and Tommy Doyle for Wolves, whilst Afolayan and Cantwell made way for Yuki Ohashi and Fevrier for the remainder of the match.
Ohashi conceded a free-kick in a dangerous position moments after coming on, which Jiménez stepped up to take; however, he fired straight into the wall. Doyle tried to find a leveller with his volley in the next phase of play, but blasted well over the bar after an awkward bounce.
The hosts won a corner with 15 minutes left to play, but McLoughlin was able to head clear with relative ease, setting up a Rovers break that lacked quality in the final pass meaning the chance disappeared.
Both sides made their final changes five minutes later, as Jake Garrett and Yuri Ribeiro replaced Morishita and Gudjohnsen for Rovers whilst Tawanda Chirewa and Pedro Lima were introduced in favour of David Møller Wolfe and André for Wolves as their hunt for an equaliser went on.
Fevrier got hold of the ball and drove at Wolves in the 85th minute, winning Rovers a corner and a chance to add a third goal, which they would have converted had Yerson Mosquera hooked the ball away a couple of yards off the line.
Munetsi looked to have broken free in the penalty area in the final moments, but a superb last ditch tackle stopped him in his tracks as fans began to head for the exit. The referee pointed to the spot in the 91st minute, after judging Tchatchoua cross to have hit Ryan Alebiosu’s hand.
Of course, Jiménez stepped up to the spot,a dn duely converted, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way in the process. Bentley was forced into a save to ensure Wolves held on to a point in the final moments of the night, meaning the game ended 2-2.