At this stage Gary O’Neil could be forgiven for wondering if VAR has been designed purely to drive him mad. Clear and obvious? All that was beyond debate when Harry Wilson tumbled over João Gomes’s outstretched leg in added time was that the Fulham substitute had taken advantage of the Wolves midfielder’s naivety. It was barely a challenge from Gomes and Fulham could hardly have cried foul if Michael Salisbury’s decision to wave play on had stood.
But there would be interference from Stockley Park. There was slight contact from Gomes; enough to make Stuart Attwell send Salisbury to the pitchside monitor. Wilson had played it beautifully, tumbling theatrically. Fulham, seeking their first win in five league matches, needed the points. There was no holding back when Willian, who had already scored one contentious penalty early in the second half, lifted Marco Silva’s side 10 points above the bottom three by firing a low spot-kick past José Sá.
Craven Cottage roared. Fulham had done their best to blow it. As their problems in front of goal faded during a performance full of flair, so did their ability to defend. Twice they led and twice they were pegged back. Matheus Cunha met Alex Iwobi’s early opener with a fine equaliser for Wolves midway through the first half and the outstanding Hwang Hee- chan, who made it 2-2 from the spot with 15 minutes left, ran Tim Ream ragged at times.
Even so Silva could argue that he deserved a reward for refusing to settle for a point. Fulham were vulnerable without the suspended João Palhinha patrolling midfield and did not even convince after going ahead for the third time. There was still time for Hwang to volley inches over. Fulham’s relief was vast.
And yet the enduring image was still O’Neil stalking off at full time, a look of pure thunder on his face. Already this season Wolves have been on the wrong end of pivotal decisions against Manchester United, Luton, Newcastle and Sheffield United. Points have been lost and apologies have been handed out. Three referees have been demoted to the Championship after hurting Wolves with inexplicable blunders. Attwell and Salisbury may be next. O’Neil even revealed that Salisbury had told him that he should have been advised to have another look at Fulham’s first penalty, given after Nélson Semedo was deemed to have fouled Tom Cairney.
The Wolves manager had a litany of complaints. He could not understand how Ream had avoided a second booking when he brought down Hwang for his penalty. He was even more baffled about Carlos Vinícius staying on the pitch after appearing to head-butt Max Kilman in the 87th minute.
“I’ve been in to see the referee,” O’Neil said. “He regrets the fact he’s not been sent to the screen to overturn the first penalty and he thinks he would have overturned it from the images he’s seen. Ream should receive a second yellow card. We then discussed the head-butt. He debated that and he said it was a soft head- butt. I said that’s crazy.
“They’ve since sent a representative saying it should have been a red. The Wilson one, they think they’ve got right. I disagree. There’s minimal contact. I don’t think there’s enough. I feel for the fans. We’re probably seven points down. You can say sorry, you can send me flowers, but we should be on 22 points.”
The shame was that the latest refereeing escapade diverted the focus from a thrilling contest. Silva reacted to Palhinha’s absence by replacing the midfielder’s steel with Cairney’s silk. Fulham led when Iwobi linked with Willian, who released the overlapping Antonee Robinson. The left- back crossed and Iwobi was free to score his first goal for Fulham.
Wolves struggled without the suspended Craig Dawson in defence. But while Fulham went close to extending their lead through Raúl Jiménez and Cairney, gaps soon appeared at the other end. There was a warning in the 14th minute, Mario Lemina advancing and releasing Hwang, whose shot hit the bar. Then Jean-Ricner Bellegarde found space on the right. He beat Robinson once, then beat him again before crossing for Cunha to head past Bernd Leno.
Wolves had recovered from their left wing-back, Rayan Aït-Nouri, limping off. They were making Fulham look soft and pressed for a second before half-time. Fulham needed to prise control of midfield away from Bellegarde, Lemina and Gomes.
There was more urgency at the start of the second half. Fulham stopped Wolves playing out from the back and Cairney turned into a destroyer, dispossessing Lemina with a crunching tackle that allowed Andreas Pereira to start another attack. Cairney took charge and went over Semedo’s challenge. Salisbury pointed to the spot and Attwell had a long look before Willian restored Fulham’s lead.
Wolves responded. Their belief grew after Sá made a crucial stop from Iwobi. They were level again when Calvin Bassey’s poor clearance dropped to Hwang. Ream, already on a booking, brought him down. Hwang converted the penalty.
It seemed it would end in a draw. Wilson, on as substitute, had other ideas. The assist went to the man at Stockley Park.
