Kean Lewis-Potter scored two goals in the second half, giving Brentford a 2-0 victory over Wolves, who are still waiting for their first win of the season.
A lackluster first half saw only one shot on target, with the recalled Jose Sa making a good save to deny Lewis Potter. But it was Brentford who played with more purpose from the second start, with Kevin Shade twice seeing his shots saved by Sa.
However, the Wolves goalkeeper could do nothing. Ladislav Kureishi misjudged a promising forward from Vitaly Janert, allowing Lewis Potter to shoot freely inside the box. He grabbed another ball inside the box and volleyed a second one with his left foot.
Wolves players were bombarded with chants of “not fit to wear the shirt” and even a late penalty for Caoihin Kelleher tripping Matt Doherty failed to bring any Christmas cheer. Jorgen Strand Larsen’s modest effort was met with further jeers from Kelleher.
Rob Edwards has lost 10 games in the Premier League since joining Wolves, losing all six of them. They are currently at the bottom of the table with 2 points from 17 games. The win lifted Keith Andrews’ Brentford team into 12th place.
Analysis: Wolves are historically bad.
There’s an eerie charm to looking at this Wolves team right now. If either is just bad, it can be a joyless experience, but record-breakingly bad? That’s not true. No team has ever had fewer points after 17 games. In all four divisions. Since 1888. This is history.
Jorgen Strand Larsen’s disastrous penalty was a fitting finale to another unlucky 2-0 defeat for Wolves at Brentford, but the scoreline fell short of conveying just how desperately poor Rob Edwards’ side were at Molineux on Saturday afternoon.
Kean Lewis-Potter was the hero, scoring twice in the second half and, unsurprisingly, being the only player to hit a shot on target in the first half. Brentford didn’t have to do much to win this, just waiting for their mistakes. This was brilliantly converted by Ladislav Kureishi to score the opening goal.
The pessimistic view of supporters is to think that every time their team plays Wolves, it is their side who will be undone for their unlucky appearance. Each time, they have been proven wrong. Wolves can’t win at Christmas. Some may wonder if they will ever win again.
Home fans are angry and have criticized the players and ownership. More often, however, they are melancholy and choose to sing for heroes of the past, name-checking the Nuno Espirito Santo side, from Steve Bull to Ruben Neves. Happier days.
They finished by chanting the name of teenager Matheus Mane, who came on late in the game and at least played with purpose. In his longing for the heroes of the past, he gives hope for the heroes of the future. the current? That’s hard to take. Even if they look at history.
