Portugal forward Diogo Jota scored with seconds left on the clock to earn Wolverhampton Wanderers a draw at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were 1-0 down with ten men after Romain Saiss was sent off in the second half, with the West Midlands side appearing set for their fourth consecutive defeat until Jota’s late heroics.
Former Porto boss Nuno must have thought his recent run of bad luck was continuing at Selhurst Park as Palace took the lead through a deflected shot just after half time and midfielder Saiss was dismissed for a second bookable offence tug on Wilfred Zaha. Nuno, who selected Rui Patrício and João Moutinho in his starting line-up alongside Jota, threw on fellow Portuguese Rúben Neves and Pedro Neto during the second period in search of an equaliser.
With almost 95 minutes on the clock, Jota provided the moment of inspiration with his first league goal of the season. The Palace defence failed to clear Adama Traore’s cross to the back post and ex-Porto man Jota was on-hand to prod the ball past Vicente Guaita and save Wolves.
“It shows a lot about the character and determination of the team,” Nuno said after the game. “To produce this kind of effort having played Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, scoring in the 95th minute, up and down, running like the boys did, showed a lot of character and determination. It’s fantastic.
Players “up for the challenge” - Nuno
“There are positives, there are negatives, good things, bad things. What we are living now is a challenge for all of us. We have to realise that what we did in the first-half, this is the way we should play.
“It’s been hard, tough for the boys, but they are ready for it and they want to embrace it, they want to compete. We build on the performance, and the first-half is what we should be producing.
“This is the growing of the team, having the kind of performance that we did in the first-half. It’s not about that [the first win], it’s about what we have ahead of us. We’re going to play Thursday, Sunday, over and over again and we have to be ready for it.”
Upcoming fixtures give Wolves the chance to build some confidence after a shaky start to the season. A midweek meeting with José Gomes’ Reading in the League Cup is followed by Nuno’s side hosting a beleaguered Watford at Molineux next week, with the opposition still reeling from an 8-0 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday.
By Sean Gillen
