Wolves Secure Important 2-0 Triumph Against Villa

WOLVERHAMPTON: Joao Gomes of Wolverhampton Wanderers scored his first goal of the season on Friday as the bottom team defeated Aston Villa 2-0 in the West Midlands derby to avoid becoming the poorest team in Premier League history.

Despite winning just three of their previous ten league games, Villa maintains their third-place standing with 51 points from 28 games, six points ahead of fifth-place Chelsea. With 13 points from 29 games, Wolves have surpassed Derby County’s all-time low of 11 points from 2007–08.

After 61 minutes, Wolves scored their first goal when Jackson Tchatchoua crossed from the right and Adam Armstrong’s touch was ideal for Gomes to steer the ball into the net from 15 meters.

“It was a very good performance, every player did well,” Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa said of the home team’s only victory of the season. Substitute Rodrigo Gomes scored a late second goal, belying the teams’ respective league positions in a match not helped by driving rain that made for a slippery surface. “We will continue to battle game by game and see what happens because we have a lot of character.

“A clean sheet is very good for everyone, we defended well, not just the defence but the whole team.”

Villa nearly equalized when Yerson Mosquera cleared Amadou Onana’s added-time attempt off the line, but Wolves broke and scored their second as the visitors pressed forward for a point.
Joao Gomes was denied a double when his shot was stopped, but Rodrigo, who shares the same name, hammered the loose ball into the back of the net from ten meters.

It wasn’t more than Wolves deserved, and Villa must now consider further points lost as the teams below them close the gap for Champions League spots.

Pau Torres, a defender for Villa, had the finest chance of the first half when he headed wide after going unmarked from a corner.

In addition to limiting Villa to few clear-cut chances of their own, the home team took their chances and scored with their two shots on goal, maintaining their fourth clean sheet of the league season.