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 table. first division.
A crazy first half at the Gtech Stadium resulted in six goals, four of them for Brentfordwho fell horribly short of scoring in the first minute for the fourth consecutive game.
Nathan Collins' header after one minute and 15 seconds set the visitors on course for a heavy defeat and, alarmingly, they have now only managed one win in their last 17 league games, but it was the way his team collapsed that which left O. 'Neil feels dejected.
“There was no structure,” said the Wolves manager. “A total loss of control over what the team should do and where it should be. The worst performance I've seen from the group since I've been here.
“The early goal might knock them down. But too open, without real understanding. We didn't give ourselves any chances 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 much from them.”
The game had begun at a breakneck pace, fueled in part by the home fans urging their team to extend their remarkable scoring streak. Frustratingly for the statisticians, the 60-second period had just elapsed when Collins headed Mikkel Damsgaard's cross at the near post into the bottom corner, although the Brentford fans cared little.
But seconds later his joy faded. Matheus Cunha equalized in the fourth minute after a good play on the right by Nélson Semedo.
Brentford had failed to win despite taking the lead in each of their previous three matches, and seemed determined not to let another early lead slip away. From a corner, Mario Lemina brought down Collins and, following a pitch-side VAR check by referee Andrew Madley, Bryan Mbeumo scored his sixth goal of the season from the penalty spot.
Jørgen Strand Larsen drew Wolves level for the second time with Rayan Aït-Nouri's cross, then Christian Nørgaard gave his team a lead they would not relinquish, drilling into the corner to finish a fine pass.
Ethan Pinnock headed in a fourth when the Wolves defense failed from a corner on the stroke of half-time. Substitute Fábio Carvalho and Aït-Nouri scored for both teams later on, giving the scoreboard a very successful feel.
“I accept full responsibility,” O'Neil said. “Players will make mistakes and do things wrong, but the responsibility is mine.
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“Today they couldn't carry out what we needed, so we need to rethink how we do things. “I am absolutely devastated by the way the team performed today.”
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Thomas Frank, whose team moved into the top half with its third win of the season, reflected on how close his players came to doing something historically improbable.
“We've been joking about it,” he said. “It's always easier to joke when you're in charge and you win the game. We've been practicing coin tosses all week.
“This time it took a little longer, 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 plays. “We want to move forward as quickly as possible.”
