Jack Taylor scored with the last attack of the game to plunge Wolves and Gary O’Neil into big trouble as Ipswich landed a huge 2-1 win.
O’Neil’s men looked to have salvaged a point when Matheus Cunha cancelled out a Matt Doherty own goal but a failure to defend a late set-piece proved costly for Wolves as Taylor headed home on 93 minutes.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Rayan Ait-Nouri had to be dragged away from a full-time scuffle following their 2-1 loss to Ipswich.
It sparked angry scenes at full-time as Rayan Ait-Nouri, who was shown a second yellow card after the whistle, had to be dragged down the tunnel by team-mate Craig Dawson after clashing with Ipswich’s Wes Burns as boos rang down from the stands.
“I was disappointed he wasn’t able to control himself as we need him,” O’Neil said.
“We are short enough in areas of the pitch and now I need to find a left-back for next week.”
Rayan Ait-Nouri clashes with Wes Burns after the whistle
Ipswich were superb for 65 minutes with Liam Delap setting the tone in attack and it was his great work down the right flank that sparked some chaos in the box that ended with Doherty deflecting into his own net.
The boos and groans only intensified as a series of Wolves attacks ended with poor passes and worse decisions, but Wolves finally pulled something out of the bag to draw themselves level in the 72nd minute when Cunha smashed past some questionable goalkeeping by Arijanet Muric.
Wolves were did push for a winner but Taylor headed home from a brilliant Jack Clarke set piece to bag the points.
Wolves have now lost their last four Premier League games and leaves them four points off the bottom of the table.
They’ve won just two of their 16 league games this season with O’Neil now in serious danger of losing his job.
O’Neil: These players need me
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Gary O’Neil reflects on his side’s 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town and discusses their second full-time scuffle in less than a week.
Wolves boss O’Neil:
“That group need me to get them in a place where they’re ready to go and I’ll keep fighting for them. And that doesn’t mean I’m not going to get sacked. For every result, the chances of me losing my job will heighten, that’s nothing new – it doesn’t concern me.
“When I speak to Matt [Hobbs] and Jeff [Shi], they’ll tell me I’ll need to do more otherwise they’ll replace me. That’s the same message for the players, you need to do more to compete at this level or you’ll get replaced. That’s how the business works.
“I’m not interested in my own position – I know the work I do every day and I know the situation we’re in. To get this group to perform the way they did took a lot of work today. People can point the finger at me but some of the responsibilities have to land on the players in those moments. When we get in good positions and we spoon the ball off the pitch – I can’t help them with that . Come on guys – this is the Premier League.
“[Dara] O’Shea booting down the pitch for [Liam] Delap and us not dealing with it, that’s not me. I can’t fix that. That’s the lads. I’m really comfortable as myself as a coach and my standards as a coach and what I’m going to do over the next years for however long I decide to be a coach. I also embrace difficult moments.”
Story of the match in stats…
‘A brilliant moment’
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna:
“It’s a brilliant moment for us and we have been on the other side of it this season so we have to enjoy that one. I thought we were the better team until they scored their goal and then we came under some big pressure. We hung in and I thought the five or six minutes before the goal we came again – and it is a great way for Jack to get his first Premier League goal.
“I wasn’t thinking about it before [relegation] and I am not thinking about it now. I didn’t come into the Premier League to worry about where we are going to finish. We want to make the most of the journey we have been on and show our identity as a football club and that’s what we are going to try and do.”
Opta stats: Wolves’ woe
- Wolves have lost four or more consecutive Premier League games for the second time this season, and have conceded 40 league goals in total, shipping two or more in 13 of their 16 matches in the competition this season
- Doherty’s own goal was Wolves’ third of the season in the Premier League, more than any other team, while it was the first own goal Ipswich have benefited from in the competition since May 2001 (Horacio Carbonari against Derby).
What’s coming up in the Premier League?
