Match report as goals from Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha give Wolves a 2-0 win over Black Country rivals West Brom in the FA Cup fourth round; the tie was marred by crowd trouble with the game suspended for over half an hour in the second half after fighting broke out in the stands
Sunday 28 January 2024 16:06, UK
Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha inspired Wolves to a 2-0 FA Cup win over Black Country rivals West Brom in a fourth-round tie that was suspended for over 30 minutes due to crowd trouble.
The game was temporarily stopped after problems erupted soon after Cunha had doubled the visitors' advantage with 12 minutes remaining.
West Brom's Kyle Bartley went into the crowd to take out his children amid the ugly scenes, which occurred in the corner of the West Stand and Birmingham Road End.
It was part of the ground which theoretically should have been holding solely home supporters but there was a lot of pushing and shoving, with some fans spilling onto the pitch.
Police and security rushed over to the area to quell the problems but it was a long time before order could be restored and both teams were taken back to the dressing rooms before play later resumed.
The Football Association confirmed it has launched a swift investigation while West Midlands Police said two people were arrested after the disturbance and another prior to the match for possession of an offensive weapon. A man has been taken to hospital with head injuries.
It was the first meeting between the clubs in front of supporters since 2012 and had been designated high risk, with security increased and the kick-off scheduled for 11.45am.
There had already been pockets of trouble with flares thrown towards the pitch by Wolves fans after Neto had opened the scoring in the 38th minute.
There were further problems when objects were thrown towards Wolves' Tommy Doyle as he prepared to take a corner in the second half.
The incidents completely overshadowed what had been a hard-fought and absorbing fourth-round tie.
West Brom were dangerous on the break in the first half but failed to seriously trouble Jose Sa in the Wolves goal.
Wolves had plenty of possession but failed to create meaningful chances until breaking from a corner to take the lead in the latter stages of the first half.
Matt Doherty found space in the middle and released Neto, who cut inside from the right and fired a shot into the bottom corner after an ineffective challenge from John Swift.
West Brom tried to respond but Max Kilman blocked a Jed Wallace effort and Sa saved from Swift early in the second half.
The Baggies also appealed for a penalty after Brandon Thomas-Asante tangled in the area with Kilman but nothing was given and Thomas-Asante scooped a good chance over.
Tempers threatened to boil over after Bartley crudely blocked Cunha in an attempt to halt a Wolves attack.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde curled an effort narrowly wide for Wolves and emotions did then spill over after Cunha raced onto a Kilman ball to fire the killer goal through Josh Griffiths' legs.
It soon became apparent there was a serious problem in the stands as Wolves celebrated.
As the delay grew longer, referee Thomas Bramall took the players off the field and it was half an hour before they returned to warm up and restart the game.
The players went through the motions as they played out the closing stages of the game, Wolves holding on for their first win at the ground since 1996.
Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil said: "I saw a little bit of an overspill in the far corner but, from where I am, it's impossible to know what's going on.
"It's really disappointing. Anybody that wants to come to a football match should feel safe. Young children and elderly people could be in that area. We shouldn't have to discuss incidents like that - they shouldn't happen.
"I hope everyone is safe and there are no lasting effects. I thought the respect on the pitch was excellent and the game was played in a really good spirit.
"I know there were players' families in that area and I hope everyone is OK. I don't think the players would have been involved in anything like it before."
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan said: "I'm against any kind of aggressive behaviour. It's unfortunate it happened and that this is the summary of this game.
"Fortunately there was no dramatic situation with the families. Everything was controlled by the security people. But of course, the players were worried because they knew their families were there."
West Brom have another derby on the horizon as Birmingham visit The Hawthorns on Saturday in the Sky Bet Championship.
Wolves are back in Premier League action on Thursday as Manchester United make the trip to Molineux.
