With each Wolves near miss, it was impossible to ignore the growing likelihood of an Aston Villa victory. For so long Unai Emery cut an agitated figure but by the end he could celebrate a seventh league victory in eight matches, Boubacar Kamara dispatching an unerring left-foot strike into the top corner midway through the second half to hoist Villa up to fourth and within a point of second-placed Manchester City.
Villa rattled the crossbar after a couple of minutes but from there Wolves gave their hosts an uncomfortable ride, this arguably their best display of the season. Jørgen Strand Larsen had an early goal disallowed for offside and on the verge of half-time Emiliano Martínez pushed Yerson Mosquera’s header on to the bar with his fingertips before scrambling the ball clear.
Wolves returned with the same aggression after the interval and seven minutes after the restart Toti Gomes shut down a Donyell Malen run and the visitors flew forward on the counter. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde beat Matty Cash down the left flank and then rolled an inviting ball across the Villa goal and to the edge of the six-yard box where Strand Larsen anticipated a tap-in. Enter Pau Torres, who raked the ball clean from Strand Larsen and left the Wolves striker in a heap. It was a Renaissance scene; Martínez leant against the base of his left post, like a drunkard seeking support at the bar.
Villa huffed and puffed, while Wolves, who last tasted victory in April, developed in confidence. When Wolves signed Jackson Tchatchoua from Verona in the summer, they trumpeted that he was timed as the fastest player in Serie A last season and here, more often than not, he was their go-to outlet. The Cameroon wing-back retrieved an early lost cause on the byline to kickstart Wolves’ first period of sustained pressure and his cross was the catalyst for Strand Larsen’s disallowed goal, when an offside Jhon Arias was deemed to impact Martínez’s eyeline. In first-half stoppage time, Strand Larsen tested Martínez after meeting another Tchatchoua cross.
But Kamara’s goal was a dagger for Wolves and Rob Edwards, this his second game in charge. John McGinn, the Villa captain, drove down the right and cut the ball back for Kamara, who wandered into the edge of the Wolves 18-yard box. Kamara controlled the ball with his left foot, opened his body and, with his next touch, he thumped an unstoppable effort in off his laces, beyond the powerless goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
Presumably Kamara’s strike contained some of the frustrations that simmered at the break, when Emery reminded his squad of costly home draws against Ipswich and Sheffield United in recent seasons. “Bouba is consistent,” Emery said. “It is very difficult to see him play a poor match.”
Now Villa were a different animal. They swarmed around Wolves. Malen, who scored twice in Thursday’s Europa League victory over Young Boys and kept his place ahead of Ollie Watkins, was denied by a Johnstone save after the goalkeeper flapped at a high cross.
A few minutes later Villa thought Chris Kavanagh would make their task easier after the official was sent by the video assistant referee to the monitor to review a poor Arias tackle on Kamara.
Villa Park awaited confirmation of a red card but Kavanagh announced the Wolves midfielder would get off with a yellow. Nine minutes of added time did little to settle the nerves and Martínez was again called into action to deny João Gomes.
Wolves succumbed to a seventh straight defeat but did not play like a team bereft of belief. “Aston Villa are brilliant, especially at Villa Park, and I thought at times we looked really good and went right up against them,” said Edwards, a former Villa apprentice.
“So there was a lot to like about the performance and I think we can take a lot of belief and confidence from that, but ultimately it’s not the result that we wanted. It is a step in the right direction and hopefully we can lean into that going forward.”
Wolves must harness the positives before hosting Nottingham Forest on Wednesday and hope an elusive first win lies around the corner. Villa are revitalised after a slow start but the table continues to make grim viewing from a Wolves perspective. “I try not to look at it,” Edwards said.
“That bit hurts – whenever I do catch a sight of it I try and quickly turn the channel or whatever. We’ve just got to fight and continue to try and do the right things.”
