Wolves score twice in stoppage time to stun Spurs

Wolverhampton Wanderers came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Saturday, scoring two goals in stoppage time to steal the win as the London club visibly struggled to keep their momentum going.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan, left, duels for the ball with Tottenham's Brennan Johnson during a Premier League match at Molineux in Wolverhampton, England on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Wolverhampton Wanderers came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Saturday, scoring two goals in stoppage time to steal the win as the London club visibly struggled to keep their momentum going.

“We probably ran out of steam in the last few minutes,” Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said after the game. “Wolves, particularly with the crowd behind them, were able to lift themselves.”

Spurs got off to a fast start on the road at Molineux in Wolverhampton, England, with Brennan Johnson scoring the opener just three minutes after the whistle.

But the visitors seemed to struggle after that, controlling the majority of the ball but finding very little to do with it. Wolves looked increasingly confident as the second half ticked on, culminating in stoppage time goals from Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina.

The result really tells two very different stories; one of a Spurs squad gutted by suspensions and injuries and reeling from their first loss of the season, and the other of a quietly confident Wolves that have been gradually finding their feet over the last few months.

Postecoglou arrived in Wolverhampton with a starting lineup containing only seven players that started last week’s game against Chelsea. Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie are both suspended and James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are out for the rest of the year with injuries, leaving Tottenham with a practically untested back line and none of the Son Heung-min-Maddison magic that has so far defined this campaign up front.

The cost of those absences was the loss of the fluidity and movement that Spurs have used so effectively this season. Captain Son was not able to play as aggressively up the middle as he had previously, dropping back into a more traditional 4-3-3 with Hojbjerg filling the empty spot in the midfield.

In defense, Pedro Porro was the only constant — and also responsible for assisting Johnson’s goal — with Ben Davies, Eric Dier and Emerson Royal returning after being pushed more to the sidelines under Postecoglou’s leadership.

Despite seeing the most changes, the defense worked for the majority of the game. Wolves had 17 attempts on goal, nearly triple Spurs’ efforts, but were shut down for 91 minutes before things went wrong. Had there been a little more cohesion at the other end of the pitch it could have been a very different result.

Wolves, meanwhile, deserve full credit for the win. Sarabia’s equalizer was a work of art; catching a Matheus Cunha pass off the instep of his right foot to set up a clinical left-foot volley into the goal. Sarabia, who only came on in the 87th minute, also set up the winner, cutting a low cross in for Lemina to poke home.

Those two goals make Wolves only the eighth team in Premier League history to win after being down at the 90-minute mark.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan, left, and Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min greet each other before a Premier League match at Molineux in Wolverhampton, England on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Saturday’s game was also highly anticipated as the Premier League’s only regular Korean derby, with Spurs captain Son and Wolves’ midfielder Hwang Hee-chan both playing the full 90 minutes.

Although both players are in the middle of fantastic seasons — Son is tied for second on the Premier League top scorer ranking with eight goals and Hwang is just behind in sixth with six — neither was able to make much of an impact on Saturday’s game.

Hwang came closest, fluffing a huge opportunity in the 55th minute that should have tied things up much earlier, while Son could have put the lead out of reach with a chance in the 89th minute.

With that game now over, the Korean duo are back on the same team for the next 10 days. The FIFA international break kicks off Monday with both Son and Hwang set to return to Korea for a game against Singapore in Seoul on Nov. 16 and against China in China on Nov. 21.

Spurs will be the first back in action after the break as they take on Aston Villa at home on Nov. 26, with Wolves to play Fulham on the road to round off the weekend on Nov. 27.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]