Gary O’Neil said he was “devastated” by the “worst performance” of his Wolves tenure after a 5-3 defeat at Brentford left them winless at the foot of the Premier League.
A wild first half at the Gtech Stadium brought six goals, four of them for Brentford, who fell agonisingly short of scoring in the first minute for the fourth game running.
Nathan Collins’ header after one minute and 15 seconds set the visitors on their way to a chastening defeat, and alarmingly they have now managed just one win in their last 17 league matches, but it was the manner in which his team collapsed that left O’Neil feeling downcast.
“There was no structure,” said the Wolves manager. “A complete loss of control as to what the team were meant to do and where they were meant to be. The worst performance I’ve seen from the group since I’ve been here.
“The early goal knocks them maybe. But just far too open, no real understanding. Gave ourselves no opportunity at all because of the defensive shape. Even when we had the ball we were all over the place.
“It’s a shock. I haven’t seen that from them much.”
The game had begun at a breathtaking pace, fuelled in part by home fans urging their team to prolong their remarkable scoring run. Frustratingly for statisticians, the 60-second deadline had just elapsed when Mikkel Damsgaard’s cross to the near post was headed down into the bottom corner by Collins, though Brentford supporters hardly cared.
But seconds later their joy was extinguished. Matheus Cunha levelled in the fourth minute after good work down the right from Nélson Semedo.
Brentford had failed to win despite taking the lead in each of their previous three matches, and they appeared determined that another early advantage would not wither away. From a corner, Mario Lemina wrestled Collins to the ground, and after a pitch-side VAR check from the referee, Andrew Madley, Bryan Mbeumo clipped home his sixth goal of the season from the penalty spot.
Jørgen Strand Larsen poked Wolves level for a second time from Rayan Aït-Nouri’s cross, then Christian Nørgaard gave his team a lead they would not surrender, drilling into the corner to cap a fine passing move.
Ethan Pinnock headed a fourth as Wolves’ defence went missing at a corner on the stroke of half-time. Substitute Fábio Carvalho and Aït-Nouri scored for either side late on to lend the scoreline a blockbuster feel.
“I accept full responsibility,” said O’Neil. “Players will make mistakes and get things wrong but the responsibility lies with me.
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“Today they weren’t able to carry out what we needed, so there needs to be a rethink around how we go about things. I’m absolutely devastated with the way the team performed today.”
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Thomas Frank, whose team climbed into the top half with their third win of the season, reflected on how close his players came to making an unlikely piece of history.
“We’ve been joking about it,” he said. “It’s always easier to joke when you’re on top of things and win the game. We’ve been practising coin tosses the whole week.
“It took a little bit longer this time, but all jokes aside it’s fantastic. It’s a great mentality in the group.
“If you look at us over the last four seasons, we always have goals in the team, no matter who is playing. We want to play forward as quick as possible.”
