And here is our match report, from John Brewin at Molineux. That’s my cue to bow out. Thanks for your company, correspondence, sharp observations and mostly carnivorous musings. I’ll be back at 2.30pm tomorrow to cover some match taking place in Manchester.
Lemina is joined by Hwang Hee-chan, who is offered the chance to complain about the penalty that was given against him. He is diplomatic, preferring to dwell on the fact that he redeemed himself with the second equaliser, which was very neatly taken.
A stat box pops up to show us that Hwang is in the top five PL players this season in terms of minutes per goal. Top of the chart is Callum Wilson, with a goal an hour (seven in 420 mins). Second is his mate Alexander Isak, with 83 (six in 495 mins). Third is Erling Haaland, with a frankly feeble 89 (nine in 799): no doubt he will improve on that tomorrow. Fourth is Hwang on 99 (six in 594). And fifth is Heung-Min Son, with exactly 100 (eight in 803). Did somebody forget Scott McTominay?
“We are really happy,” says Mario Lemina, “because we have been working really hard the past few weeks, and we can see the chemistry is going on now. I really thought we could win the game. But it is what it is and a draw against a big team is good.” And they came from behind twice. “It showed the mentality.”
The player of the match is Callum Wilson. Well, he did score twice, but it still feels as if Pedro Neto was robbed. Insult to injury!
Updated
“O’Neil’s Wolves remind me of how they played at their best during Nuno’s time in the hot seat,” says Kári Tulinius. "Well-drilled defensively with sparks of invention going forward. It’s odd how quickly his star faded, even before his desperate time at Spurs.” It is. I’d go a bit further than sparks of invention: they were consistently creative today, making good use of their 43pc of possession, having slightly more shots on target than Newcastle (6-5) and winning more corners (8-7). They’re a pleasure to watch too, with their blend of style and grit.
So Newcastle stay sixth after flirting with fifth. They have 17 points from ten games. And Wolves move up to 12th, nudging past Palace on goal difference. They have 12 points from ten games, the same as Chelsea.
Bournemouth, by the way, managed a first win of the season earlier by beating Burnley. So they leap to 17th, which leaves the three promoted clubs in the relegation slots.
FULL TIME! Wolves 2-2 Newcastle
It was the game with everything bar the late twist. And a draw seems the right result.
90+6 min Yet another Newcastle card, Longstaff this time. The ball goes to Semedo down the right, a bit easier for Burn to deal with than Neto.
Here’s Chris Davis, quoting me back at myself. “‘As things stand, Newcastle are up to fifth, ahead of Villa on goal difference – it does help when you have an 8-0.’ Beating Villa 5-1,” Chris adds, “probably helps the respective goal differences as well to be fair.” Ha, true. Maybe we’re both right?
90+3 min Chance for Newcastle! A corner comes in from the tireless Trippier. It’s bedlam in the box, somebody shoots and Tommy Doyle gets a vital block in. Another Trippier corner is palmed away by Sa, partly redeeming himself for his early clanger.
Updated
90+1 min Sure enough, there will be eight minutes of added time.
90 min The game wakes up again with a start as Wolves prowl into the area. Kalajdzc wants a penalty, Taylor is not interested.
89 min The game has gone to sleep, choosing an odd time to do it, but there should be quite a few added minutes.
“Good evening Tim,” says Simon McMahon. “I’m currently making macaroons - note the double ‘o’ - not the French abomination, but proper Scottish ones, made with mashed potato and icing sugar, and then dipped in chocolate and coconut. Licensed to kill, but vegetarian, and pairs very well with an organic Bordeaux, so it’s an ethically sound and morally superior heart attack that awaits …”
86 min Another sub from Gary O’Neil: Joao Gomes replaces Mario Lemina, who used his head to score such a good first goal for Wolves.
84 min In the interests of balance, Anthony Taylor books Ait Nouri. Newcastle, who’ve been rejuvenated by the Neto injury, march into the box.
“Re 68 mins,” says Mark Childs. “'You said, ‘You can see why both these teams have beaten Man City: they’re organised, inventive and very, very determined.’ I appreciate your wishful thinking ahead of tomorrow’s derby:). Thanks for your weekly United Writing.” Ha, it’s a pleasure. Not sure United fit that bill!
82 min Two cards bring three as Trippier joins his mates in the book.
81 min Chance for Newcastle! Schar starts the move, finding Joelinton with an elegant diagonal. He flicks it out to Trippier, who sends in a peach of a cross, but Schar, who has continued his run, can’t get the header on target.
80 min Newcastle win a corner but can’t do anything with it. Rain is still falling steadily on the West Midlands.
78 min Neto eventually goes off on a stretcher. That’s a body blow to Wolves.
Updated
76 min Neto is having treatment, but it looks hopeless. And he looks distraught, as well he may after shining so brightly and going top of the assists chart for the Prem. Sasa Kalajdzic is ready to replace him, so maybe Hwang will move to the right wing.
Updated
Neto injured!
Neto is threatening yet again, but with nobody on him he suddenly pulls up, holding his right hamstring. What a shame.
Updated
73 min Eddie Howe responds to that blow with his first substitution, bringing Joe Willock on for Almiron. Willock goes on the left, with Anthony Gordon moving to the right.
GOAL! Wolves 2-2 Newcastle (Hwang, 71)
… and Pope punches it out, allowing Wolves to do some recycling. A wonderful run by someone – Toti I think – tees up Hwang, who twists and turns the ball into the corner with great composure.
Updated
70 min One card brings two! Lascelles brings down Hwang. Neto chips the free kick in…
69 min The latest person to dance through a defence is Cunha, who does beautifully wiggling in from the left, but the move is sabotaged by a silly foul from Semedo.
68 min Now Wolves are on the attack again. You can see why both these teams have beaten Man City: they’re organised, inventive and very, very determined.
66 min At last, a yellow card – to Dan Burn, not for conceding a free kick, but for giving the assistant ref a barbed thumbs-up.
64 min End-to-end again! Wilson gets a through ball from Gordon, but can’t quite make up his mind what to do with it. Then Neto races away down the right for the umpteenth time. He plays in Cunha at the near post, only for the ball to go too close to Pope.
62 min As things stand, Newcastle are up to fifth, ahead of Villa on goal difference – it does help when you have an 8-0.
60 min Up comes the hour with Wolves still looking the more likely team to score. But one of Newcastle’s strengths is getting a lot of men back and they see off the danger again.
59 min Doyle replaced Traore, by the way. Now Hwang sets Neto free down the right, and Schar has to be quick to shove the ball out for a corner. Newcastle deal with it better.
57 min … and it’s an excellent one, whipped in, crying out for a flick that doesn’t come. There’s a VAR check for a penalty but nothing doing.
Updated
56 min Gary O’Neil has brought on one of his subs: Man City royalty, Tommy Doyle. He’s about to take a free kick…
55 min Wolves’ turn to waste a cross, as Semedo can only chip into the arms of Pope.
53 min Almiron does well again and whips in a cross, but none of the three Newcastle players in the box is foxy enough to gamble and get on the end of it.
51 min Traore gets into a prolonged scrap with Almiron, in a good way – both players showing the sort of grit that goes down well with season-ticket holders.
49 min Newcastle nick the ball off Toti and Wilson is sent through. He can smell a hat-trick but Semedo does very well, racing back to squeeze the ball out for a throw.
47 min Wolves’ turn to see a bit of the ball, with Neto surging across town from the right and winning a free kick. He’s the clever man’s version of Antony.
46 min Wolves get the second half under way, and it’s instantly end to end.
At last, a veggie writes. “I am a vegetarian,” says Richard Hirst, “and as a result of a dodgy lunch am making do with the toast, without the sausage stew or anything else.”
Meat-eating latest. “Hi Tim,” says Paul Howarth, “watching this game sat in Los Banos De Foruna, Murcia, Spain, having sausage baps with English mustard. Ole!”
Hang on, time for an email first. “One wonders on this display so far from NUFC,” says Em Jackson, “ whether or not, if they end up in the Europa League, Howe would be better to let that one go and aim for 4th as I can’t see NUFC – so far anyway – beating a likely finalist which, at this rate, could be Liverpool or Brighton (so as to get back in the Champs League). I did predict 2-2 though to the Toon, so far … so good (but no I didn’t put money on that).”
HALF-TIME! Wolves 1-2 Newcastle
An eventful half finally comes to an end. It’s Wolves 1, Wilson 2. Newcastle have had more of the ball, but Wolves can consider themselves hard done by. Time for a snack.
Penalty? To Wolves... No!
Now a possible pen up the other end … not given!
45+6 min Newcastle fancy another! Joelinton goes on a good run but can’t match it with a strong shot.
“A nice corned beef sarnie round at Pete Higginson’s house,” says Simon Kirchin. “I’m tempted too. I’m having sausage and bean stew with some buttery toast.” Gents, this is the Guardian: you’re supposed to be vegetarian.
GOAL! Wolves 1-2 Newcastle (Wilson 45+3, pen)
And he just squeezes it past Sa! The keeper dived past the ball, got his trailing hand to it, and was unlucky to find the ball dribbling over the line.
Updated
45+3 min Callum Wilson will take it. Newcastle have scored all of their last 12…
Penalty confirmed!
45+2 min VAR still at it… and finally a decision is reached: it will be a pen!
Penalty? To Newcastle
Hwang, trying to clear the ball, kicks Schar and Anthony Taylor gives a pen. VAR on the case: could go either way.
44 min Quiz question: who has the most assists in the Premier League this season? It’s not James Maddison, who has five. Two of the participants here have more: Trippier, with six, and Pedro Neto, who took the Wolves corner, with seven.
42 min Guimaraes sets off on another slalom and this time he ends up taking a shot himself – deflected behind for (I think) Newcastle’s first corner. Trippier swings it in and Wolves are not above hoofing it clear.
40 min Newcastle respond by dominating the ball for a couple of minutes. Schar plays a lovely ball, chipped forward to Longstaff, who can’t quite sort his feet out. It feels as if there are a few more goals in this.
38 min So Newcastle have now conceded from a set piece. And justice has been done: this has been a fairly even game, with Wolves getting more of the shots and all of the corners.
GOAL! Wolves 1-1 Newcastle (Lemina 36)
… and the corner is headed home by Lemina! He hurled himself at the ball, muscling Trippier out of the way. That’s Lemina’s first goal for Wolves and it’s a belter.
Updated
35 min Newcastle have another of those tame spells of possession, and then Wolves have one too… but it’s not so tame as Neto, jinking in from the right, hits the ball high and hard at Pope, who palms it over…
32 min Guimaraes, sharp again, threatens to burst forward from the centre circle, so Traore pulls him back. He doesn’t appear to get a yellow card for it, prompting boos from the Toon Army.
30 min Newcastle haven’t done much in the box, except score a goal. Guimaraes rectifies that by dancing past half the Wolves defence and teeing up Longstaff for a long shot that comes to nothing. After a third of the game, we’ve had a whole half’s worth of entertainment.
28 min Chance for Wolves! Cunha, in the inside-left channel, shoots low towards the far corner, where Pope gets down well to palm the ball away.
27 min Wolves have a spell of possession which ends with Burn being tormented by Semedo rather than Neto. They have a tussle and Burn is lucky to get a free kick out of it.
25 min Wilson did badly with the first try and very well with the second, which he had to hook from over his right shoulder. He goes ahead of Andy Cole and Shola Ameobi on Newcastle’s list of Premier League scorers, with 44.
Updated
GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Newcastle (Wilson 21)
Jose Sa, what are you doing? He comes for a cross and drops it – or rather pops it up, so that it bobbles around the six-yard line. Callum Wilson swoops with a shot that is blocked, but then tries again with a hook and buries it in the corner.
Updated
19 min Chance for Wolves! For the second time tonight, Trippier whips a pass infield from the right-back zone and gives the ball away. Cunha gets a shot in, but it’s an easy take for Pope.
17 min Newcastle again slice Wolves open with a couple of diagonal balls. The dangerous Gordon is released into the box, only to run into traffic.
15 min We all need a breather and Newcastle provide it by passing the ball around the halfway line. Dan Burn tries to get forward on the overlap, but Neto shows he can defend as well as attack.
13 min Another minute, another spin from a Wolves player – Lemina this time. It must be part of Gary O’Neil’s masterplan.
“On the sofa,” says Pete Higginson, “after failing to cadge a ticket outside Molineux. Got £10 on Wolves win at 13-5. Predict Neto opener and 2-1 win. Having corned-beef sandwiches at half-time. Want to pop round?” Certainly tempted.
11 min You know those games that get off to a cagey, sleepy start? This is not one of them. Now Ait Nouri makes a great run down the left, starting with a beautiful spin. He stays calm enough to look up and find Hwang near the D, but the surface is slippery and the ball skids away.
9 min Another Wolves corner, which again comes to nothing. Newcastle, apparently, are the only team in the Prem not to have conceded from a set piece this season.
8 min Close! Two diagonal balls – one from Tripper, back out of the doghouse – and Sean Longstaff has a pretty free shot, which he puts just wide.
Updated
6 min Reverse curse of the commentator! Trippier misdirects his next pass and Wolves get a corner, then another, which brings a skyer from Ait Nouri.
4 min The player of the match so far has been Trippier, who has already played three classy passes. The third is a cross that might have been a chance on a plate for Alexander Isak. As it is, it finds Anthony Gordon, who can’t get more than a glancing header.
Updated
3 min Pedro Neto’s turn to show a turn of speed. He leaves Dan Burn for dead as he belts to the byline, but he can’t quite keep the ball out of Nick Pope’s hands. Could be a long evening for Burn.
2 min Newcastle kick off, but it’s a false start. Try again. The ball goes back and then wide to Kieron Trippier, who sends Almiron down the right. Then Hwang bursts into the box at the other end, but the whistle has gone.
Wolves are in gold and black, as ever. Newcastle are in green with white shorts.
Right, enough of that – back to Molineux. The players are out there and a great big round of applause is ringing out for Bobby Charlton and Bill Kenwright. “Only one Bobby Charlton,” sing the fans.
And here is Bellingham’s second, which came in the 92nd minute.
🚨🚨| GOAL: Bellingham gives Madrid the lead!!
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) October 28, 2023
Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/Wgk1D1cZa5
Bellingham, bloody hell. Not content with getting the equaliser, he’s now grabbed the winner.
Jude Bellingham has scored 13 goals in 13 games for Real Madrid. The last player to achieve that feat was Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009:
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) October 28, 2023
🏟️ 13 games
⚽ 13 goals
🅰️ 3 assists
Phenomenal. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/5SDWFtKjrF
On the subject of forwards, it’s been a day to remember for some of England’s finest. Harry Kane has hit a hat-trick for Bayern, including a Beckham-style lob from his own half. Bayern, playing ten against the nine of Darmstadt, went from famine (0-0 at 55 mins) to feast (8-0 at 86). Kane’s understudy’s understudy, Eddie Nketiah, has a hat-trick too, for Arsenal against poor old Sheffield United, who are now 5-0 down at the Emirates. (Surely Aaron Ramsdale should have played for them?) And Jude Bellingham, fast becoming the Platonic ideal of the false nine, has just continued his hot streak to give Real an equaliser in his first El Clásico. He struck it from 30 yards!
With both teams pretty much as expected, the eye is caught by the two benches. Eddie Howe keeps saying he’s got a small squad and this evening rather bears him out. Gary O’Neil has some firepower to bring on, including two spare centre-forwards, in Fabio Silva and Sara Kalajdzic, and the gifted Man City midfielder Tommy Doyle. Howe, deprived of Jacob Murphy as well as Isak, has plenty of defenders up his sleeve but only one established forward, Joe Willock.
Teams in full
Wolves (probable 3-4-3) Sa; Kilman, Dawson, Gomes; Semedo, Lemina, Traore, Ait Nouri; Neto, Cunha, Hwang.
Subs: Bentley, Doherty, Santiago Bueno, Jonny, Joao Gomes, Silva, Doyle, Sarabia, Kalajdzic.
Newcastle (probable 4-3-3) Pope; Trippier, Lascelles, Schar, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Almiron, Wilson, Gordon.
Subs: Dubravka, Gillespie, Livramento, Dummett, Krafth, Targett, Ritchie, Hall, Willock.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
Team sheet: Newcastle
HOWAY NEWCASTLE! 💪#WOLNEW pic.twitter.com/Q9O2PhYlDT
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) October 28, 2023
Team sheet: Wolves
✌️ changes from #BOUWOL
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 28, 2023
🔙 Semedo and Lemina return
🇲🇱 Traore starts
How we line-up to face @NUFC.
🐺📋 @AstroPay_OK pic.twitter.com/zxlpUuvaGN
Updated
Preamble
Afternoon everyone and welcome to the last Premier League game before the clocks go back. It’s not the biggest fixture of the weekend – that’s tomorrow – but it is a clash between two of the form teams of the past month.
Newcastle can’t stop collecting goals, in the league at least. They’ve racked up 24, which was more than anyone else had in their first nine games, and 16 of those have come in the last four. Wolves have bounced back from scraping only four points from their first six matches to pocket seven in their past three. And both clubs have proved too hot for Manchester City to handle.
Form, though, is such a fickle mistress that she’s quite capable of blowing hot and cold at the same time. As of this morning, Wolves were one of 10 clubs in the Premier League that had managed only one home win all season. In the home table they were lying 15th with just four points from four games – which makes it all the more astonishing that they collected three against City.
Newcastle, for their part, haven’t been great on the road, except at Bramall Lane. Their two games south of the Trent have yielded only one point, with a defeat at Brighton followed by a draw at West Ham.
After all those scoring sprees, they’ve just drawn a blank against Borussia Dortmund – and lost two of their linchpins. Alexander Isak, their elegant spearhead, has a groin injury, and Sandro Tonali, their elegant pivot, has something more avoidable – a 10-month ban for betting. So the happier of the two managers at the moment may well be Gary O’Neil, who, unlike Eddie Howe, has had a whole week to drill his players for this game. Anyone who saw him on Monday Night Football knows what a sharp tactician he is.
I’ll be back soon with the teams. In the meantime do join Taha Hashim to keep an eye on the 3pm games, not to mention El Clásico.
