Home Heroics Achieving Some Extraordinary Highs

As we know to our discomfort and disappointment, clashes between Wolves and Liverpool in these parts haven’t always been about Mick Matthews, Emlyn Hughes, Eamonn Andrews, John Richards winners and unlikely goal-scoring heroics from Craig Dawson.

Among and since those memorable afternoons and nights, there has been much pain in this fixture, too…..and a familiar feeling of deflation that made Andre’s deflected strike at around 10.15 three nights ago something to truly behold.

The Brazilian’s first goal in 67 appearances for the club secured full points against these particular Merseysiders for only the second time in 13 League visits from them and sent Molineux into the kind of magnificent mayhem we are suddenly growing pleasantly accustomed to.

First, an unexpected point was gleaned off leaders Arsenal. Third-placed Villa were then beaten last Friday and, under floodlights that once more seem magical, the thrilling follow-up was the sight of last season’s champions being brought down in an abrupt ending of their run of four straight victories in all competitions.

And the glorious common denominator has been that Wolves have scored decisive stoppage-time goals in all three matches, with the recurring vision of Rob Edwards having some full workouts down the touchline providing proof of how good they have felt!

You can never have enough Gomeses on the pitch, of course, and it clearly helps if there’s a Gomez on there as well.

Liverpool defender Joe ensured Andre’s shot fizzed past Alisson on Tuesday….time now perhaps for Angel or Toti to step up in front of goal tonight?

So why do Match of the Day persist in just naming ‘Gomes’ in their graphics among lists of players going on or off? They must realise there are four to choose from here, with the full quartet on the pitch at one time against Villa. They also appear to overlook the fact Wolves have two Buenos.

Before the moment that brought Liverpool to their knees, Rodrigo’s deftest of finishes, executed at high pace, had kept Molineux spirits high following his killer strike against Villa, the ice-breaker in the derby having come from Joao, whose own form has improved massively of late. 

Diogo Jota, to whom Wolves fans led the singing in the 18th minute of the midweek game, would have been enormously impressed…..

This unlikely rush of memorable goals – two apiece against Arsenal, Villa and Liverpool – has confirmed the South Bank/Sir Jack Hayward Stand as very much Wolves’ lucky end these days.

The side’s last ten home goals have all come at what late former Express & Star correspondent Phil Morgan used to refer to as the Hotel End (the other one in his book was the Bushbury End). Come to think of it, there haven’t even been many Wolves shots at the North Bank End these last few weeks!

So, in a prolonged spell in which the side’s fortunes are going in spectacular waves, can we dare to hope that this sharply upward curve will continue into the FA Cup fifth round?

There were those six straight Premier League victories last spring, then the four closing defeats that spilled over into the nightmare of not taking maximum points off any opponents in 2025-26 until January.

Now, though, at a time when Vitor Pereira remains win-less in his last 17 League games with Wolves and Nottingham Forest, we can celebrate one more feature of this dramatic Molineux spell; namely that Wolves have claimed the scalp of another set of reigning League champions after their various conquests of Manchester City in recent seasons.

Following months of pain, we finally have some new reminders of why football can also still be a wonderful game.