Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s thunderbolt earned Wolves their first Premier League point of the season as they came from behind to claim a hard-earned 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Sunday’s chastening 6-2 defeat to Chelsea meant Wolves were one of five teams who failed to earn a point from their first two games – and their miserable start looked set to continue when Chris Wood headed Forest into a 10th-minute lead.
But Bellegarde’s stunning long-range strike emphatically erased Forest’s lead two minutes later to earn Gary O’Neil’s side a point he will hope sparks their campaign into life after defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea in their opening two matches.
Both teams saw penalty appeals for handball turned down by referee Simon Hooper but Forest created enough to win the game – Wood seeing a late winner ruled out for offside after forcing a series of saves from debutant Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
The draw extends Forest’s unbeaten start to the season under Nuno Espirito Santo to three games, while a deserved point is enough to lift Wolves – whom Gary O’Neil likened to “wild horses” – out of the relegation zone.
Wolves off the mark after Bellegarde’s stunner at Forest
Chris Wood celebrates scoring the opening goal of the game
Wolves’ bid to secure their first points of the season nearly got off to the perfect start when Matheus Cunha threaded Rayan Ait-Nouri in on goal, but Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels smothered his low effort before Murillo cleared his second attempt off the line.
It would instead be Forest who opened the scoring, Wood peeling away to the back post to head a corner past Wolves goalkeeper Johnstone, who claimed his view was impeded by Anthony Elanga in an offside position but saw his protests fall on deaf ears.
But Forest’s lead would last just two minutes, as Wolves sought their own retribution in spectacular fashion. Bellegarde latched onto Mario Lemina’s flick in midfield, swivelled and sent a thunderous effort crashing into the Nottingham Forest net.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde equalises for Wolves
Forest re-established control but not the lead, as they saw appeals for a penalty turned down before half-time, with Jorgen Strand Larsen escaping punishment after a cross struck his arm and denied Wood a scoring opportunity.
The intensity continued after the interval, with Forest and Wolves readily trading blows. Johnstone produced a stunning save at full stretch to claw a Wood header away after brilliant improvisation from Morgan Gibbs-White.
Wolves responded with a flurry of chances of their own, with a crucial block from Murillo diverting Tommy Doyle’s goal-bound drive over before Cunha whistled a shot inches past the post.
Wolves had a penalty appeal of their own rejected after Wood was adjudged to have not intentionally handled the ball while marking Craig Dawson. O’Neil disagreed and was booked for his furious outburst on the touchline.
Forest thought they had snatched all three points five minutes from time when Wood swept home after Wolves failed to clear a corner, but the striker was found to be in an offside position by VAR as the spoils were shared.
O’Neil ‘goes ballistic’ – but should Forest and Wolves have been awarded penalties?
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson:
“In my opinion, Nottingham Forest should have had a penalty. I thought Larsen knew what he was doing. In the second half, when the ball struck Wood’s arm, he was more concerned with marking Dawson, so it wasn’t. Gary O’Neil goes ballistic and gets booked in the end, but there is no way that was a penalty.”
‘I hate having to talk about this’ – O’Neil on penalty incident
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil told Sky Sports: “I hate having to talk about this. Firstly, my yellow card, I apologised for the overreaction to Simon [Hooper] when he booked me, it was not directed at anybody, it was just disappointment in a massive moment for us.
“Away from home, 20 minutes to go, it’s a huge moment. I feel like the human in me is allowed to show disappointment at that moment. It wasn’t directed at anyone, there wasn’t any abuse.
“The decisions could both have been penalties. Obviously, if you look at where the ball hits Jorgen on the arm compared to where it hits Chris [Wood] on the arm, there is a difference. Maybe I’m splitting hairs, maybe because I’ve got a Wolves top on, and Nuno has a Nottingham Forest top on, we’ll have different opinions.
“But it was a good game, I’m sure everyone enjoyed watching it.”
On this side, he later added: “What a group we have in terms of entertainment, courage, bravery, togetherness. A little bit crazy. At the end of the game there, some of the decisions we make, it’s like I’m trying to hold on to this wild horse and all of a sudden they’re just off and gone.
“It’s why I end up being so animated on the side, just trying to get them back to where you need them.”
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Gary O’Neil explained the reason for his ‘over-reaction’ which led to his booking after he was aggrieved that Wolves were not awarded a penalty against Nottingham Forest.
Nuno: Forest ‘frustrated’ and ‘disappointed’
Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo: “We had moments where we could have done better today but we looked solid, which is a positive.
“I believe that as time goes by we will start to gel better and decide the final touch much better and much sooner. There are moments where we could have done it faster.
“Overall, I’m disappointed. In the second half, we went for three points and we got one, so we are frustrated.”
Wood haunts Wolves again – Opta stats
- Chris Wood scored the opener for Nottingham Forest in this match with his seventh Premier League goal against Wolves – the joint-most he’s netted against any opposition in the competition (also 7 vs West Ham).
- Each of the last four league games between Nottingham Forest and Wolves have now ended in draws after today’s 1-1 result, the most in succession during this fixture’s history.
- Nottingham Forest are unbeaten across their last 11 home league games against sides from the West Midlands (W6 D5) since a 2-1 loss to West Brom at the City Ground in August 2019.
- In the Premier League in 2024, both Nottingham Forest and Wolves have kept just two clean sheets – the joint-fewest of any side to play in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns during that time.
- Wolves have conceded at least one goal in all but three of their away league games since the start of the 2022-23 season, with only Morecambe (2) recording fewer in that time across all ever-present teams in England’s top four tiers.