Wolves set up an FA Cup derby showdown with West Brom after a battling extra-time win against Brentford. Matheus Cunha’s penalty sent Gary O’Neil’s side through to the fourth round as the hosts eventually sealed a 3-2 replay victory at Molineux.
Wolves hit back through Nelson Semedo and Nathan Fraser in normal time after Nathan Collins and Neal Maupay twice gave the visitors the lead. But Cunha’s extra-time spot-kick booked a Black Country derby at the Hawthorns, the first in three years, on 28 January.
“As soon as we walked off I was thinking about Brighton [in the Premier League]. I understand fans will be excited, it will be a big atmosphere, it hasn’t been played with fans for a while,” O’Neil said.
“I can’t wait to lead the team down there and see if we can progress again. There’s a Premier League game coming up and I have a very small tired group to do some work with before we go to Brighton.”
The Bees will be left with a blank weekend but will at least have Ivan Toney available having missed him during a barren winter, during which they have won once since the start of November. The striker completes his eight-month ban for betting breaches on Wednesday.
A stoppage-time goal from Koji Miyoshi earned Birmingham a 2-1 win against Hull in their FA Cup third-round replay. The result earned Tony Mowbray his first victory since taking over as manager at St Andrew’s following the sacking of Wayne Rooney.
Birmingham had to come back from a goal down to win the tie after Jason Lokilo’s first goal for Hull put them ahead after 12 minutes. Mowbray made five substitutions just past the hour and it was a move that changed the game. Two of those substitutes scored, with Jay Stansfield equalising three minutes after coming on.
“The substitutions undoubtedly changed the game with the quality they brought,” said Mowbray. “My intention was always to provide energy so I was always going to make substitutions. The supporters will get used to that.”