Gary O’Neil praised the character and resilience in his Wolves team as they twice were able to fight back against Newcastle United to secure a point under the Molineux lights.
Having already bounced back through Mario Lemina’s header, Wolves went behind again after Hee Chan Hwang was adjudged to have fouled Fabian Schar in the box – leaving the head coach dumfounded from a decision he felt was incorrect. But Hwang came up with the goods at the other end as he found the equaliser.
Following the match, which also saw Pedro Neto carried from the pitch with a hamstring injury in the closing stages, O’Neil felt the way his team were able to overcome adversity showed how much they are continuing to improve with each match.
On taking a point from Newcastle
“I’m really pleased with the performance. Everyone knows what a good side Newcastle are, they’re in the Champions League, and I watched them recently so we know what they could do. But, if I’m honest, we were the better side and we were on top of them and looked threatening.
“A point’s a good result against Newcastle, but the way the game went and their goals, and the energy and the positivity we had, we felt that maybe it could have been three.
“It’s a good point, but I’m really pleased with the performance and the togetherness. We suffered some setbacks out there, but I was pleased the lads were able to group together and keep pushing.”
"AN EXCELLENT EQUALISER FOR WOLVES!!" 😍
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 28, 2023
WHAT A GOAL 🔥👏 pic.twitter.com/l3svuBTc9G
On the penalty decision
“There wasn’t a penalty in the first half. No chance was that a penalty. I don’t know how they’ve got that so wrong. There’s hardly any contact on Schar at all from Channy [Hwang], it’s extremely minimal and Schar is already on his way down.
“The ball actually hits Channy on his other foot before he even makes contact with Schar, so, technically, Channy gets the ball first. I thought it was a terrible on-field decision, and I thought it was unbelievably surprising that it wasn’t overturned.
“It’s more disappointment, but I feel like I’m wasting my time speaking to them [the referees], so I won’t speak to them until they improve their level in what they produce. I have no time for them.”
On bouncing back from behind twice
“We speak a lot in the group about being ready for the next action. There’s going to be things that set you back – you go 1-0 down at Bournemouth, the referee gives a decision you don’t agree with, or someone misplaces a pass, or one of most influential players goes off injured – you always have to be ready for the next action regardless of what has happened.
“And I thought they were excellent at that today. It’s the best I’ve seen them in being able to deal with small setbacks and things that didn’t go our way, but to get back on it and crack on.”
Battling until the very end ✊ pic.twitter.com/ZfwGS92W6u
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 28, 2023
On Neto’s injury
“He's felt his hamstring, but he’s moving around a little bit in the changing room, so we’re hopeful it’s not too bad.
“There are obviously very different levels of hamstring injuries, so hopefully it’s not a big one because he’s been excellent since the start of the season for us and would be a miss for anybody.
“But as you saw for the last 20 minutes, the lads pulled together and until he’s back, we’ll find a way to keep pushing.”
On Hwang’s goalscoring run
“I haven’t done anything to him, we’ve just worked hard with him. He’s working hard and deserves all the credit. I make stuff available to them and Channy is committed to doing it and working on it.
“He has an understanding of how important he is and understanding how important getting better still is. But that’s all the group. Channy gets to stick the ball in the net at the end of it, but Daws, Max [Kilman], Nels [Semedo], Mario [Lemina] – after a spell of not playing he got through an incredible amount of work – Tommy Doyle when he came on, Rayan [Air-Nouri] – we’re getting him through 90 minutes, which is a big improvement as he couldn’t last 90 when we got here, so he’s getting fitter.
“But we just need to keep pushing. We know that was a good level of performance today, and we felt that within the stadium it got the fans on board with what we’re trying to do, and that’s a big part of it as well, and a big part of what we’re trying to achieve here.
“I’m sure we’ll have some more bombs, but what I saw today was a team who could bounce back.”
