‘Wolverhampton ace’ Hwang Hee-chan opened the scoring, but the Blues couldn’t survive late stoppage time.
Wolverhampton fell 2-3 to Fulham in the 13th round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) season at Craven Cottage in London, England, at 5:00 a.m. ET on April 28. With the loss, Wolverhampton were unable to extend their winning streak after a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and remain in 12th place with four wins, three draws and six losses (15 points).
The home side Fulham deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation. Raul Jimenez, Willian, Andreas Pereyra, Tom Cairney, Harrison Reid, Alex Iwobi, Anthony Robinson, Tim Ream, Calvin Bash, Timothy Castagne, and Bert Leno were on the field.
Wolverhampton lined up in a 3-5-2 formation. Mateusz Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan, Layan Aitnuri, João Gomes, Mario Lemina, Jean-Luc Bellegarde, Nelson Semedo, Totti Gomes, Santiago Bueno, Maximilian Kilman, and Souza started.
Hwang Hee-chan was paired with Cunha in front of goal for Fulham. As expected, he was named in the starting lineup. Ahead of the game, Birmingham World said, “Hwang is the seventh highest scorer in the PL and his quality is unrivaled at Wolverhampton. I think he will play in the center of the field instead of on the flanks,” predicting the starting lineup.
He was also named as the player most likely to score. “Wolverhampton will be looking for back-to-back wins against Fulham. And Hwang Hee-chan is the player most likely to score. Wolverhampton manager Gary O’Neill is confident after the win over Tottenham Hotspur, and so is Hwang. He’s the odds-on favorite to score at 2/1 with the bookies.”
Hwang has been in the spotlight at every Wolverhampton game, as he has been in tremendous form this season. He scored against Brighton in Round 2, followed by goals against Crystal Palace in Round 4, Liverpool in Round 5, Manchester City in Round 7, Aston Villa in Round 8, and Newcastle United in Round 10. He also provided assists against Bournemouth in Round 9 and Sheffield United in Round 11.
In the Premier League alone, he has eight offensive points (six goals and two assists). Hwang also created a goal against Ipswich in the third round of the English Football League Cup, giving him a total of seven goals and two assists. This is his best pace since joining Wolverhampton, where he had five goals and one assist in 31 games in 2021-22 and four goals and three assists in 32 games in 2022-23. It’s already a career high.
Hwang Hee-chan had the lion’s share of the action on the day, with an early scoring chance coming up just short. In the 14th minute, Lemina intercepted a pass in the middle of the field and sent a through ball to a diving Hwang. Hwang sprinted with tremendous speed before beating a defender and shooting from the penalty arc. The ball hit the crossbar and headed into the back of the net.
The assist also flew in. Nine minutes into the second half, Hwang Hee-chan received a through ball from Cunha and cut in from the right flank. He set a precise course for the onrushing Doherty, but was hit by a contending defender and a corner was awarded.
It was a close call. In the 28th minute, he was pushed down by Lim as he ran into the penalty box. The referee called for a penalty kick (PK). Hwang Hee-chan took the ball and stepped up to take the PK kick, and then boldly took it to the center to split the goal. Hwang performed the ’emblem ceremony’.
But unfortunately, the team lost the game. With the score tied at 2-2, in the 45th minute, Gomes tripped Wilson inside the penalty box. An on-field review was conducted, and the referee awarded a PK. Willian stepped up to take the spot-kick and finished in the bottom left corner.
And just like that, Wolverhampton went to their knees at 2-3.
[First half] Lee Wobbey goal → Cunha equalizes…Hwang Hee-chan hits the crossbar
Fulham took the lead. In the seventh minute, Robinson exchanged one-on-one passes with Willian on the left flank. He cut back inside the penalty box and Lee, who was rushing into the box, got a foot on it and rattled the post.
Fulham missed a chance. In the ninth minute, a short corner was cleared and Willian crossed to the back of the penalty box. It was met by a non-stop run from Kane, but he was denied by Sa.
Wolverhampton hit the ground running. In the 14th minute, Lemina intercepted a pass in midfield and played a through ball to the onrushing Hwang Hee-chan. Hwang sprinted with tremendous speed before beating a defender and shooting from the penalty arc. The ball hit the crossbar and then headed into the top corner of the goal.
Hwang made a quick move. In the 18th minute of the first half, Hwang stripped Rim with a simple turning move downfield. He was shown a yellow card for grabbing his jersey.
Wolverhampton used a substitution. In the 20th minute, Aitnouri came off and Doherty came on. Earlier, Aitnouri had twisted his ankle in the 13th minute after a challenge on the sideline. He returned to the field but was unable to play further.
Wolverhampton equalized. In the 22nd minute, a pass from Semedo allowed Bellerin to beat Robinson on the right flank before crossing to the other side. Cunha met it with a header from a no-mark chance, and the ball was sucked into the corner of the net.
Fulham’s chances went begging. In the 29th minute, Iwobi cut into the middle from the right flank and shot from in front of the penalty arc. However, it was not quite on target and sailed wide of the post. Then, in the 36th minute, Iwobi sent in a cross from the right flank that Willian trapped and crossed to Pereira on the flank. However, he was unable to get a shot on target as he was caught by the toe of the Sa goalkeeper. 토토사이트
Hwang Hee-chan took advantage of an attacking opportunity. In the 36th minute, he intercepted a Fulham back pass and made a quick run into the penalty box before crossing for the onrushing Cunha, who was unfortunately caught by the onrushing Bash.
Wolverhampton almost pulled one back. In the 44th minute, goalkeeper Leno was forced to dribble and lost the ball under intense forward pressure. Lemina intercepted the ball and cut it to the side, but it came to nothing as Bash was caught out.
Three minutes of first-half added time were awarded. No further goals were scored and the first half ended 1-1.